Vector Calculus – Part 1

Vectors and Operations

by:
W Rada, MS Applied Math
Outline
Definitions
Operations on Vectors
Addition: definition and properties
Scalar Multiplication: definition and properties
Dot Product
Cross Product
Triple Scalar product
Triple Vector Product (optional)

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 Definitions(1)
1. Scalar – a quantity that is determined by its magnitude;
number. Examples are time, mass, speed, volume, etc.
2. Vector - a quantity that has both magnitude and direction;
an arrow or directed line segment, e.g, force, velocity,
acceleration.
3. Length of a vector a, denoted |a|, is the length of the arrow.
4. Unit vector – a vector whose length is 1.
5. Zero vector – a vector with zero length and no direction;
denoted as a bolded zero (0).
6. Equal vectors – vectors of the same length and direction.
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 Definitions(2)
7. Cartesian coordinate system – rectangular coordinate system with the same
scale of measurement on the mutually perpendicular coordinate axes.
8. Components of a vector – expressed as an ordered group of scalars inside
square or angle brackets, e.g., in 3-space, there will be three components say
a1, a2, and a3. If P(x1,y1,z1) and Q(x2,y2,z2) are the initial and terminal points
of the vector, then the components are a1 = x2-x1, a2 = y2-y1 and a3 = z2-z1.
9. In R3, |a| = sqrt(a12 + a22 + a32), where ai's are the components of the vector.
10. Position vector of a point A(x,y,z) – a vector with origin as the initial point
and A as the terminal point in a given Cartesian coordinate system. Thus, the
position vector of A is [x,y,z].
11. Direction angles of a vector (in R3) – the three angles the vector makes from
the positive axes (these are also the angles that an equal vector makes with
those axes, whose tip is the origin).
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 Direction Angle and Cosine

If vector a = [a1, a2, a3] is the arrow

represented in the diagram to the left
where point O is the origin of the xyz
system, then OR is the length of a.

In the right triangle OPR, OP is the

component of OR along the z-axis. If
OR makes an angle of γ with the z-axis,
then:

OP = a3 = OR cos γ = |a| cos γ .

The cosines of the direction angles are

called direction cosines.

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Notes:
1. A vector (arrow) has a tail, called the initial point, and a tip, called a
terminal point.
2. Each vector is uniquely determined by its ordered triple of corresponding
components in R3, and conversely, to each ordered triple of real numbers
there corresponds precisely one vector.
3. Vectors are denoted by either: (a) small bold letters, (b) (small) letters
overlined with an arrow, (c)tuples, i.e., as ordered groups of numbers
enclosed in grouping symbols such as square or angle brackets, (d) as sum
of multiples of basis vectors described subsequently, or (e) as arrows (in
drawings).
4. Norm or Euclidean norm is another name for length of a vector. For a vector
to have a length of zero, its components must all equal to zero.
5. Equal vectors have their corresponding components equal.
6. Special unit vectors, in 3-space, are i, j and k defined as follows: i = [1,0,0],
j =[0,1,0], k = [0,0,1]. These three vectors form what is called as standard
basis of R3. Vectors can also be expressed in terms of the basis vectors, e.g.,
a = [a1, a2, a3] = a1i + a2 j + a3 k.
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 Vector Addition and Properties

Definition: Given vector a = [a1, a2, a3], b =[b1, b2, b3], their sum is
defined as a+b = [a1+b1, a2+b2, a3+b3].

Example: Given a = [1 ,0 ,5] and b=[-1 ,2 ,4], then a + b = [0, 2, 9]

Properties
a + b = b + a (Commutativity)
a + (b+c) = (a + b) + c (Associativity)
a + 0 = a [Note: The zero is bolded.]
a + (-a) = 0 [Note: The zero is bolded.]

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 Scalar Multiplication and Properties

Definition: Given vector a = [a1, a2, a3], and some scalar k, their
scalar product is defined as ka = [ka1, ka2, ka3].

Example: Given a = [1 ,0 ,-5] , then 2a = [2, 0, -10]

Properties
c(a + b) = ca + cb
(c+k)a = ca + ka
c(ka) = (ck)a
1a = a
0a = 0
(-1)a = –a

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 Inner Product

Definition: The inner product or dot product a∙b read “a dot

b”, of two vectors a and b is defined as follows:
●
a∙b = |a||b| cos C, where C is the (smaller) angle between
them, 0≤C≤π, if a and b are nonzero vectors.
●
a∙b = 0, if a=0 or b=0.

In components, a=[a1,a2,a3], b=[b1,b2,b3], and a∙b = a1b1 +

a2b2 + a3b3.

Example:
Given a = [2 ,0 ,5] , and b = [-2, 1, 3], then a•b=11.

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 Inner Product Properties

1. (q1a+q2b)•c = q1a•c + q2b•c (Linearity)

2. a•b = b•a (Symmetry)
3. a•a ≥ 0,
4. a•a = 0 if and only a=0 [Note: The second zero is bolded.]
5. (a+b)•c = a•c + b•c (Distributivity)
|a•b| ≤ |a||b|, (Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality)
6. |a+b| ≤ |a|+|b|
7. |a+b|2 + |a-b|2 = 2(|a|2 +|b|2)(Parallelogram Equality)

Notes:

●
Properties 3 & 4 are collectively called positive-definiteness.
● Distributivity is a consequence of linearity when q 1 and q2 are
both set to 1.
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 Inner Product Application

Work Done by a Force

Let a body be given a displacement d ( a directed straight-

line distance) after acted upon by a CONSTANT force p,
then the work W done by the force on the body is the
product of the magnitudes of d and the component of p
ALONG d, i,e., W=|d||p| cos C, where C is the (smaller)
angle between the two.
As an inner product, W = p•d. p
C
d
For work done by a variable force or over a curved path,
refer to line integrals.

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 a
Orthogonality
b
A vector a is called orthogonal to a vector b if their dot
product is zero. Then b is also orthogonal to a. We call
vectors a and b orthogonal vectors. This will happen, for
nonzero vectors, only when the angle between the two
vectors is 90º.

The following theorem (called the Orthogonality Criterion)

describes the criterion for vectors to be orthogonal:

THEOREM (Orthogonality Criterion)

The inner product of two nonzero vectors is 0 if and only
these vectors are perpendicular.

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 Vector Product (Cross Product)

The cross product, also outer product, a x b, of two vectors a

and b is the vector v defined as follows:
1. If a=0 or b=0, then v=axb=0
2. If both vectors are nonzero, then |v| = |a||b| sin C, where C
is the angle between a and b.
3. If a and b lie in the same straight line, then v = 0 since sin
C is zero, whether they point in the same or opposite
directions.
4. If cases 1 and 3 do not occur, then v is a nonzero vector and
is perpendicular to both a and b in such a way that a, b,
v in this precise order form a right-handed triple.

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 Vector Product (Cross Product)

If a = [a1, a2, a3], and b = [b1, b2, b3], then their vector product
a x b can be calculated by the following determinant:

i j k

|
a x b= a1 a2 a3
b1 b 2 b 3 |
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 Cross Product Properties

1. For every scalar k, (ka) x b = k(axb) = a x (kb).

2. Cross multiplication is distributive with respect to vector
addition, that is,
i. a x (b + c) = (a x b) + (a x c)
ii. (a + b) x c = (a x c) + (b x c)
3. Cross multiplication is not commutative but
anticommutative, that is, b x a = –(a x b)
4. Cross multiplication is not associative, that is, in general,
a x (b x c) ≠ (a x b) x c so that the parentheses cannot
be omitted.
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 Triple Scalar Product

The Triple Scalar Product [a b c] is a•(b x c).

In R3:
If a = [a1, a2, a3], b = [b1, b2, b3], and c = [c1, c2, c3], then [a b
c] is equal to the following determinant:
a1 a2 a3

It can be shown that:

| |
b1 b2 b3
c1 c 2 c 3

[a b c] = [b c a] = [c a b]

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 Triple Vector Product (Optional)

A x (B x C) = (A  C)B – (A  B)C

Prove!!!

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 Examples

Given:

A = 2i-2j+k, B = i+8j-4k, C = 12i-4j-3k

1. what are the lengths of A,B,C?

2. AB?
3. AxC?
4. The angle between A and B?
5. [ABC]?
6. Ax(BxC)? [optional]

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