Vectors - Definition, Properties and Algebra: Topic B1.1

c 2003 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, RMIT. All rights reserved.
engineering mathematics b
Topic B1.1
Vectors - Denition, Properties and Algebra
Screen 1 of 23 c 2003 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, RMIT. All rights reserved.
Upon successful completion of this topic, you will be able to
explain the dierence between a scalar and vector
explain addition, subtraction and multiplication by a scalar in geometric terms
sketch points and vectors in 2D or 3D
calculate the components of a vector
AB between two points A and B

add or subtract two or more vectors (or their scalar multiples) algebraically
calculate the length of a vector
verify the triangle inequality
determine a unit vector parallel to a given vector
use both types of vector notation (bracket or i, j, k)
Introduction
Physical quantities are either scalars or vectors. Scalars, e.g. 1, 5, , x
2
, have mag-
nitude only. Examples of scalars include mass, temperature, volume, time, pressure,
distance, etc. Vectors have magnitude and direction. Physical examples include force,
velocity, acceleration, momentum, torque, electric and magnetic eld, displacement, etc.
A vector is represented geometrically by a directed line segment. The arrow at one end
of the line segment gives the direction of the vector and its length gives its magnitude.
A
B
a
a
Notation
A vector which starts from point A and ends at point B is denoted by
AB.
It is important to note that nowhere in the denition of a vector is there mention of the
words starting point or end point. In other words, regardless of their location, two
vectors with the same direction and magnitude are the same vector. For this reason we
prefer to refer to vectors by name, e.g. a, rather than using the start and end points as
in
AB.
The magnitude or length of a vector a is denoted |a|.
Algebraic Representation
Vectors are not only geometric quantities, but also may be represented algebraically. For
example consider the vector a shown below. This vector has components 2 and 3 in the
x and y directions respectively. Thus, we write the vector a as
a = (2, 3).
`
y
x
a
2
3
Similarly the three-dimensional vector v shown below, which has components 2, 5 and 3
in the x, y and z directions is written as
v = (2, 5, 3).
`
x
y
z
I
v
2
5
3
Vector Algebra
Negative of a vector
The vector a is a vector of the same length but opposite direction to a. Clearly then,
in the alternative notation, the negative vector
AB equals
BA. Algebraically, we have,

in general, that if a = (a, b, c) then a = (a, b, c).
For example, let a = (2, 3). The negative of a is a = (2, 3) as shown below.
-
a
2
a
2
2
3
Scalar multiple of a vector
The vector ka (where k is a scalar constant) is called a scalar multiple of a. ka is a vector
of length |k| times the length of a and points in the same direction as a if k > 0 and the
opposite direction if k < 0.

a
2a
a
1
2
a
Algebraically, we have, in general, that if
a = (a, b, c) then ka = (ka, kb, kc).
For example, if a = (2, 3), the vector 2a = (4, 6) and if v = (4, 8, 2) then
1
2
v = (2, 4, 1).
Vector addition and subtraction
Vectors are a and b are added nose to tail, i.e. by bringing the starting point of b to
the end point of a.
`
a
b
a +b
-
a
b
a b = a + (b)
The (red) vector which starts at the starting point of a and ends at the end point of b is
called the sum of a and b, i.e. a + b, as shown below. Subtraction of vectors is carried
out using vector addition and the equality a b = a + (b), as shown above.
Algebraically, we have, in general, that if
a = (a
1
, a
2
, a
3
) and b = (b
1
, b
2
, b
3
) then a +b = (a
1
+ b
1
, a
2
+ b
2
, a
3
+ b
3
).
For example, if a = (2, 1) and b = (1, 3) then a +b = (3, 4), as shown below.
`
2
1
1
3
4
3
a
b
-
a +b
Position Vector
The position vector of a point A in 2D or 3D space is the vector
OA from the origin

to A. Algebraically, if point A has coordinates (a, b, c) then the position vector of A is
written identically, i.e.
OA= (a, b, c).

`
x
y
z
I
OA
a
b
c
A(a, b, c)
Vector between Two Points
If A and B are two points in 3D we may nd the vector
AB, i.e. the vector from A to B,

using vector addition.
`
x
y
z
I
OA
A
U
OB
B
From the sketch, we see that
OA +
AB=
OB
using vector addition. Thus,
AB =
OB
OA
= position vector of B position vector of A
= coordinates of B coordinates of A.
This gives us the simple rule for nding a vector v between two points:
v = end point starting point
For example, let A(1, 2, 3) and B(4, 7, 9) be two points in 3D. Then the vector
AB is given
by
AB=
OB
OA= (4, 7, 9) (1, 2, 3) = (3, 5, 6).

Worked Example 1
Find the vector
AB from A(1, 4, 7) to B(2, 5, 8).
AB = end point starting point

= (2, 5, 8) (1, 4, 7)
= (3, 9, 1).
Worked Example 2
Determine the midpoint of the points A(1, 0, 4) and B(5, 6, 12).
The midpoint M of
AB can be found by vector addition. Clearly,
OM =
OA +
AM
=
OA +
1
2
AB
=
OA +
1
2
(
OB
OA)
=
1
2
(
OA +
OB)
=
1
2
((1, 0, 4) + (5, 6, 12))
=
1
2
(6, 6, 16)
= (3, 3, 8)
Length of a Vector
In general, the length of a vector a = (a
1
, a
2
) in 2D is |a| =
a
2
1
+ a
2
2
, a result which
follows simply from Pythagoras theorem.
In 3D, the length of a vector a = (a
1
, a
2
, a
3
) is
|a| =
a
2
1
+ a
2
2
+ a
2
3
.
The result follows from two applications of Pythagoras theorem, as shown below.
`
x
y
z
I
|a|
a
1
a
2
a
3
A(a
1
, a
2
, a
3
)
d
Using Pythagoras theorem, the distance d in the picture is given by
a
2
1
+ a
2
2
. Another
application of Pythagoras gives
|a| =
a
2
1
+ a
2
2
)
2
+ a
2
3
=
(a
2
1
+ a
2
2
+ a
2
3
For example, the length of v = (2, 3, 6) is |v| =
2
2
+ (3)
2
+ (6)
2
=
49 = 7.
Worked Example 3
Find the length of the vector v = (1, 4, 7).
|v| =
(1)
2
+ 4
2
+ 7
2
=
1 + 16 + 49
=
66.
Triangle Inequality
For all vectors a and b,
|a +b| |a| +|b|.
This inequality expresses the principle that the shortest distance between two points is a
straight line. The inequality only becomes an equality when a and b are parallel.
`
b
a
a +b
Worked Example 4
Verify the triangle inequality for a = (1, 2, 2) and b = (6, 3, 2).
The LHS of the inequality is
|a +b| = |(7, 5, 4)| =
90 9.5
The RHS of the inequality is
|a| +|b| = |(1, 2, 2)| +|(6, 3, 2)| = 3 + 7 = 10
which is greater than the LHS, as expected.
Unit Vector
Any vector which has length 1 is called a unit vector. A unit vector can be thought of
as a pure direction vector. A simple example of a unit vector is the vector (1, 0, 0).
In general, we may convert a vector a into a unit vector a which is parallel to a using
scalar multiplication, i.e. using the formula
a =
1
|a|
a.
To see how this works, consider the vector a = (1, 2, 2) which has length 3 units. The
vector
1
3
a is a vector parallel to a having length one third that of a. Hence
1
3
a is a unit
vector parallel to a.
Magnitude and Direction
The formula for calculating a unit vector may be rearranged to obtain
a = |a| a.
This shows that not only do vectors have magnitude and direction, any vector may be
created by multiplying the vectors magnitude by its direction.
Worked Example 5
Find a vector of length 5 units which is parallel to a = (4, 7, 4).
The magnitude of a is
4
2
+ 7
2
+ 4
2
= 9.
A unit vector parallel to a is thus
a =
a
|a|
=
1
9
(4, 7, 4).
The required vector v has magnitude 5 and direction
1
9
(4, 7, 4). Thus
v =
5
9
(4, 7, 4) = (
20
9
,
35
9
,
20
9
).
Alternative Vector Notation
The vectors i = (1, 0, 0), j = (0, 1, 0) and k = (0, 0, 1) are special unit vectors which
point along the x, y and z axes respectively. Any vector in 3D can be written as a
combination of these three vectors.
`
x
y
z
I
v
2i
5j
3k
E
T
As shown geometrically in the sketch above, the vector v = (2, 5, 3) can be written as
v = 2(1, 0, 0) + 5(0, 1, 0) + 3(0, 0, 1) = 2i + 5j + 3k.
Worked Example 6
Express the following vectors in an alternative form:
(a) (4, 5, 2)
(b) 3i + 7k
(c) 5j + 6k.
(a) 4i 5j + 2k (b) (3, 0, 7) (c) (0, 5, 6).
Activities
You should read pages 3 to 9 of the text and attempt problems 1, 4 before moving on to
the next topic.

Vectors - Definition, Properties and Algebra: Topic B1.1

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AB between two points A and B

BA. Algebraically, we have,

OA from the origin

OA= (a, b, c).

AB, i.e. the vector from A to B,

OA= (4, 7, 9) (1, 2, 3) = (3, 5, 6).

AB from A(1, 4, 7) to B(2, 5, 8).

AB = end point starting point

AB can be found by vector addition. Clearly,

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