Geometry of Space
Section 1.2
Space Coordinates and Vectors in Space
o Vectors in 3 Space
o Different forms of vectors
o Vector operations
o Parallel vectors
o Applications of vectors
Three-Dimensional Space
Previously you studied vectors in the Cartesian plane or 2-dimensions, now
we are going to expand our knowledge of vectors to 3-dimensions. Before
we discuss vectors, let’s look at 3-dimensional space.
x
z
This is considered a right-handed system.
x
Throughout this lesson, we will use
right-handed systems.
y
The 3-dimensional coordinate system is divided into eight octants. Three
planes shown below separate 3 space into the eight octants.
xy plane y
y
xz plane
x
x
Plotting Points in Space
P (3, 4, 2)
y
Q (-3, 4, -5)
Take a look at the next two slides to see how we come up with this formula.
Consider finding the distance between the two points,
P x , y , z and Q x , y , z .
1 1 1 2 2 2
R
Using the Pythagorean Theorem again
we can show that
Q
PQ = x2 x1 2 y2 y1 2 z2 z1 2
z2 z1
P
x2 x1
R That’s how we get the formula for
the distance between any two points
in space.
y2 y1
We will look at example problems related to the three-dimensional
coordinate system as we look at the different topics.
Example 1:
d x2 x1 2 y2 y1 2 z 2 z1 2
d 3 22 4 32 2 12
d 52 12 12
d 25 1 1
d 27 3 3 5.2
Example 2:
Find the lengths of the sides of triangle with vertices (0, 0, 0), (5, 4, 1) and
(4, -2, 3). Then determine if the triangle is a right triangle, an isosceles
triangle or neither.
Solution: First find the length of each side of the triangle by finding the
distance between each pair of vertices.
(0, 0, 0) and (5, 4, 1) (0, 0, 0) and (4, -2, 3) (5, 4, 1) and (4, -2, 3)
These are the lengths of the sides of the triangle. Since none of them are
2 2
equal we know that it is not an isosceles triangle and since 42 29 41
2
we know it is not a right triangle. Thus it is neither.
The Midpoint Between Two Points in Space
The midpoint between two points, P x1, y1, z1 and Q x2, y2, z2 is given by:
x x 2 y1 y 2 z 1 z 2
Midpoint 1 , ,
2 2 2
2 4 3 4 0 2 2 7 2 7
Solution : , ,
, ,
1, ,1
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Equation of a Sphere
A sphere is the collection of all points equal distance from a center point.
To come up with the equation of a sphere, keep in mind that the distance
from any point (x, y, z) on the sphere to the center of the sphere, xo , yo , zo
Using the two points (x, y, z), xo , yo , zo and r, the radius in the distance
formula, we get: r x xo 2 y yo 2 z zo 2
If we square both sides of this equation we get:
Example 5:
Find the equation of the sphere with endpoints of a diameter (4, 3, 1) and
(-2, 5, 7).
Solution: Using the midpoint formula we can find the center and using the
distance formula we can find the radius.
Solution: To find the center and the radius we simply need to write the
equation of the sphere in standard form, r x xo y yo z zo .
2 2 2 2
Then we can easily identify the center, xo , yo , zo and the radius, r. To do
this we will need to complete the square on each variable.
x 2 y 2 z 2 4x 6y 8z 7 0
x 2 4x y 2 6y z 2 8z 7
x 2 4x 4 y 2 6y 9 z 2 8z 16 7 4 9 16
x 22 y 32 z 42 36
Thus the center is (2, -3, -4) and the radius is 6.
Vectors in Three-Dimensional Space
In three dimensions
the zero vector is O = < 0, 0, 0> and the standard unit
vectors are i 1, 0, 0 , j 0, 1, 0 and k 0, 0, 1 .
o Vector Equality: u v if and only if u1 v1 , u2 v2 and u3 v3 .
o Magnitude or Length of a Vector: u u1 2 u2 2 u3 2
o Vector Addition: u v u1 v1,u2 v2,u3 v3
o Scalar Multiplication: cu cu1 , cu2 , cu3
u 1
o Unit Vector in the Direction of u : u1,u2,u3
u u
Example 1:
Sketch the vector with initial point P(2, 1, 0) and terminal point Q(3, 5, 4).
Then find the component form of the vector, the standard unit vector form
and a unit vector in the same direction.
Solution: First draw a 3D system and plot P and Q. The vector connects P to Q.
P
Example 1 Continued:
PQ 3 2, 5 1, 4 0 1, 4, 4 Component form
and
PQ i 4 j 4k Standard Unit Vector Form
PQ 12 42 42 1 16 16 33
1 1 4 4 33 4 33 4 33
Unit Vector 1,4,4 , , , ,
33 33 33 33 33 33 33
Note: You can verify it’s a unit vector by finding its magnitude.
2 2 2
1 4 4 1 16 16 33
1 1
33 33 33 33 33 33 33
Example 2:
Given the vectors u 2,5,3 , v 1,7,4 and z 0,5,6
find the following:
a. u v b. u 3z c. 2u v z
Solution:
a. u v b. u 3z
2,5,3 1,7,4 2,5,3 3 0,5,6
2 1, 5 7 , 3 4 2 0, 5 15 , 3 18
1, 2, 1 2, 10 , 21
c. 2u v z
2 2,5,3 1,7,4 0,5,6
4 1 0 , 10 7 5, 6 4 6
5, 22, 4
Parallel Vectors
You may recall from the previous section that a nonzero scalar multiple of
a vector has the same direction as the vector (positive scalar) or the
opposite direction as the vector (negative scalar). Since this is the case,
any nonzero scalar multiple of a vector is considered a parallel vector.
In other words, if two vectors, u and v, are parallel, then there exists
some scalar, c such that v cu . The zero vector does not have direction
so it cannot be parallel.
z 2u
Example 3:
Determine if the vector with initial point,
P(3,2,-2) and terminal point,
Q(7,5,1-3) is parallel to the vector v 12, 9, 3 .
Second, if the two vectors are parallel, then there exists some
scalar, c, such that v c PQ or 12,9,3 4c , 3c , c .
Then –12 = 4c c = -3
And -9 = 3c c = -3
And 3 = -c c = -3
Solution: We need to find two vector between the three points and
determine if they are parallel. If the two vectors are parallel and pass
through a common point then the three points must be in the same line.
The vector from A to B is 0 2i 1 3j 3 1k 2i 2 j 4k
Since c is not the same in each case, the vectors are not parallel and the
points are not collinear.
Example 5:
Find a vector parallel to the vector v 3i 2 j k with magnitude 5.
v 32 2 12 9 4 1 14
2
Unit Vector in Direction ofv
1
14
3i 2 j k
Vector with magnitude 5 in Direction ofv
5
1
14
3i 2 j k
5
14
3i 2 j k
15
14
i
10
14
j
5
14
k
Solution to Example 5 Continued:
You can verify the new vector is parallel if you look at the form:
5
14
3i 2 j k
5
Obviously the scalar multiple is 14 .
You can verify the magnitude is 5 by finding the magnitude of the form:
15 10 5
i j k
14 14 14
2 2 2
15 10 5 225 100 25 350
Magnitude 25 5
14 14 14 14 14 14 14
Example 6:
The weight of an 80lb. chandelier hanging 2.5 feet from the ceiling is
distributed over 3 chains. If the chains are located as shown below,
represent the force exerted on each chain with a vector.
(-1,-1,0)
1 ft
1 ft 1 ft
(1,-1,0) 1 ft (0,1,0)
(0,0,-2.5)
Solution to Example 6:
First find the vectors from the chandelier to the three points on the ceiling.
Each force is a multiple of the vector since we can find the direction, but we
don’t know the magnitude.
F2 b 1,1,2.5
(-1,-1,0)
1 ft
1 ft 1 ft
(1,-1,0) 1 ft (0,1,0)
F1 a 0,1,2.5
F3 c 1,1,2.5
(0,0,-2.5)
Solution to Example 6 Continued:
The sum of the three forces must negate the downward force of the
chandelier from its weight.
So, 0,0,80 F1 F2 F3
0,0,80 0 b c , a b c , 2.5a 2.5b 2.5c
b c 0
a b c 0
2.5a 2.5b 2.5c 80