A REVIEW OF MATHEMATICS

BY
ACHILLES D. SPELIOTOPOULOS
JANUARY 28, 2008

This set of notes is meant to be a review of the mathematics you will need to use in the course, and to
introduce the class to the concept of vectors and their manipulation. It was my intent to include all the
mathematics that you will need, but it may be that I have left something out. We will address any
omissions as they come up during the semester.
In writing these notes, I have tried to be as inclusive as possible . I also wanted to make them as selfcontained as possible. As such, I find that I am forced to introduce concepts that, strictly speaking, we
will not need during the course. When this occurs, I will use this font, instead of the Times
New Roman font.

G EOMETRY AND ALGEBRA:

A two-dimensionalr coordinate system is a collection of paired (2-tuple) numbers p = (x, y ) labeling the
location of points p on the plane.
y
y(x)

Slope

Figure 1

A line y(x) is an unending collection of points that begin at 8 and continues to + 8 (see Fig. 1). In a
Cartesian coordinate system, it is described analytically through the linear equation:

y (x ) = mx + b ,
where m is the slope of the line, and b is the y-intercept. The x-intercept for the line, xint, is the point
where the line crosses the x-axis, and is give by the solution of y(xint) = 0. This is easily done, giving

x int =

b
.
m

Two points determine a line. In other words, given the two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2 ), one can find the line
y(x) = mx + b that passes through these two points using the following:

m=

y2 y1
,
x2 x1

b=

y1 x2 y2 x1
,
x2 x1

and

xint =

y 2 x1 y1 x 2
.
y 2 y1

y
y1 (x)
y2 (x)
m
b
m
x
b

Figure 2

Two lines y1(x)=m1x + b1 and y2(x)=m2x + b2 are parallel if they do not intersect with one another at any
point. Namely, y1(x) and y2(x) are parallel if and only if there is no point xp such that y1(xp) = y2(xp).
Graphically (Fig. 2), it is straightforward to see that this only happens when the two slopes of the two
lines are equal: m1=m2.
y
y1 (x)

y2 (x)

m
m

x
b

Figure 3

Two lines y1(x)=m1 x + b1 and y2(x)=m2 x + b2 are perpendicular to one another if they
intersect one another at 90 degrees. Graphically (Fig. 3), it is straightforward to see
that this only happens when the following is true:

m1 =

1
.
m2

r
p
x

r
p1
r
p2

Figure 4

As shown in Fig. 4, a half-line is a line that starts at a point p on the plane, and goes offrto positive
r or
negative infinity. A line segment, on the other hand, is a line that connects two points, p1 and p 2 , on
the plane.

Figure 5

Let us look now at three lines, two of which are parallel to one another and with the third intersecting the
first two. From planer geometry, we know that out of the eight angles, only two are unique (see Fig. 5).
Moreover, for a line, 180o = + , where is the Greek letter alpha and is the Greek letter beta.

Figure 6
This relation between and is a special case of the sum of three angles that make up a scalene triangle
(Fig. 6):

180o = + +
When = 0 and = 0, you get a line (segment), which has an angle of = 180. What is a particular
properties of the angles that you can increase the lengths of the three sides of the triangles by any amount,
and as long as they are increased by the same factor, the angles that make up the triangle do not change.
You can see this explicitly in the series of nested triangles in Fig. 6 where all that I have done is shrunk
the triangle on the left by the same amount for all three sides.
Because of this relation, only two out of the three angles, , and that make up a triangle are
arbitrary; the third is can be determined once the other two are chosen. In an isosceles triangle, for
example, = , so that = 180 o = 180o ; in this case, only one of the three angles are
arbitrary. For
an equilateral triangle, on the other hand, = = , so that 180o = + + = 3 , so
o
that = 60 .
The last class of triangles
is, for us, the most important. That is the right triangle where = 90 (see Fig.
7). Then = 180 o = 90 o . In particular, this means that once or is chosen, the other
angle can be found. The only freedom we have left to determine any right triangle is its size, and this, we
can do by setting the length of one of its two legs or the hypotenuse (see Fig. 7). This observation lies at
the foundation of trigonometry, and is in fact the reason why trigonometry is used in everything from
surveying, to estimating the heights of trees, to determining the distances to nearby stars. From the series

of nested right triangles in Fig. 7, we can once again scale increase or decrease the size of the two legs of
the right triangle, and the angle will not change.

x
Figure 7
Figure 8 shows two of the most common right triangles.
sin 60 = cos 30 =
o

2
1
cos 60o = sin 30o =
2
1
o
tan60 =
= 3
tan 30o

30

sin 45 = cos 45 =
o

1
2

tan 45 = 1
o

45

60

2
o

45

Figure 8

Another property of right triangle that we will constantly use is the Pythagorean theorem:

x2 + y2 = r2 ,
Like the three angles that make up a right triangle, the three sides that make up a right triangle are also not
arbitrary; once two of the three sides are chosen, the third can be found by solving this equation. We have
freedom to choose which of the three we specify. We can, for example, choose to specify a right triangle
by its legs x and y; its hypotenuse, r, and, as we shall see, its angle , can be determined. Equivalently,
we can choose to specify a right triangle by its angle and hypotenuse (size) r; the length of its legs x and
y can then be determine. As we will see, these two different and yet equivalent ways of specifying a right
triangle is something we will use all the time in the course when we work with vectors.
Next, we have the solution to quadratic equations. If the line is determine by the most general linear
equation y(x)=mx + b in x, then the curve determined by the most general quadratic equation is
y (x ) = ax 2 + bx + c (where a, b, and c are arbitrary constants) is a parabola. The parameter c gives the
y-intercept; it shifts the whole parabola upwards or downwards. The parameter a determines how wide or

narrow the opening of the parabola is; if a > 0, the parabola opens upward, while if a < 0, it opens
downward. The parameter b shifts the location of the minimum (for a > 0) or the maximum (for a < 0) to
the right or to the left. The x-intercept, xint, is the point the curve crosses the x-axis. Its solution, if there
is one, is given by y(xint) = 0, or:
2
ax int
+ bxint + c = 0.

Its solution is found by noting that:

2

b
b2
ax + bxint + c = a xint +

+ c.
2 a 4a

2
int

Consequently,

b
a x int +
2 a

b2
=
c,
4a

so that

x int =

1
b b 2 4ac .
2a

This is the quadratic formula. If the discriminate b 2 4ac > 0, then there are two real solutions to y(xint)
= 0, and there are two distinct points where the curve crosses the x-axis. If the discriminate
b 2 4ac = 0, then there is only one solution to y(xint) = 0, and the curve just kisses the x-axis at one
point. If the discriminate b 2 4ac < 0, then there are no real solutions to y(xint) = 0, and the curve does
not cross the x-axis at all. The curve lies either above the x-axis, or below it.
Traditionally, angles are represented by Greek letters. A table of Greek letters and their roman spelling is
given in the Tables below (from http://people.msoe.edu/~tritt/greek.html).

AREAS AND VOLUMES :

Aside from the surface area of the sphere, these are the formulas for the perimeter, area and volume I will
assume that you know in this course. The surface of the sphere will included just for completeness sake.
Perimeter= 2(h + w)

Area = hw

Volume= hwl

h
w

1
Area = hw
2

h
w

Surface Area = 4 R 2

4
Volume= R3
3

Circumference = 2 r

Area = r 2

TRIGONOMETRY:
As we mentioned above, either we can specify a right triangle by giving the lengths of two of its sides, or
we can specify it by giving the length of one side, and one of the angles (that is not the 90 angle). We
also mentioned that this last observation lies at the heart of trigonometry. To see why we would say, lets
choose to specify a right triangle by using the angle and the hypotenuse r, both of which we assume are
given (see Fig. 7). As the size of the triangle is supposed to be set by r, we can measure the lengths of the
two legs by comparing them to r. Consequently, lets consider the ratio = x/r. Intuitively, this tells us
how long the length x of the leg is compared to the length of the hypotenuse r. We can then solve for y,
using the Pythagorean Theorem,

r 2 = x 2 + y 2 = ( r ) + y 2 , so that, y = r 1 2
2

where because y is the length of one of the legs of a triangle, and we take the positive root. There are a
few observations that we can immediately make. First, the equation for y immediately shows that
1 1 . This makes sense; the leg of any right triangle cannot be longer than its hypotenuse.
Second, like the length x, we have ended up comparing the length y of the other leg of the triangle with
the hypotenuse r. This goes back to the observation that we can determine any right triangle by
determining its size (through the length of one of its sides) and an angle; in this case, we have chosen the
hypotenuse to use to set the size of the triangle. Third, , being the ratio of the two lengths x and r, is
simply a number. In fact, if we take the ratio of x to y,

=
,
y
1 2
and you can explicitly see that the size of the triangle disappears; the only thing that is left is . As such,
must describe properties of the triangle that is independent of its size, and this is precisely the property
that the angles and have. There must therefore be a relation between , and and . This
relationship is precisely the trigonometric functions.
We define the sine of the angle as:

sin

length of leg opposite to the angle y

= ,
hypotenuse
r

where the last equality comes from using Fig. 7. Next,

cos

length of leg adjacent to the angle x

= ,
hypotenuse
r

from Fig. 7 as well, and

tan

sin y
= .
cos x

Since y = 0 and x = r if = 0, we conclude that sin(0) = 0, cos(0) = 1, and tan(0) = 0. Similarly, since
x = 0 and y = r if = 90, we conclude that sin(90) = 1, cos(90) = 0, and tan(90) 8.
We can immediately see that = cos . We can also see from the Pythagorean Theorem that

1 = sin 2 + cos 2 .
What about ? Let us calculate its sine, cosine, and tangent using the definition of each, and Fig. 7. We
get the following:

x
,
r
y
cos = , and
r
x
tan = .
y
sin =

Now, because + = 90 o for a right triangle, = 90 o . Using this relation in the definition of sine,
cosine, and tangent of , and comparing the resultant equations with the sine, cosine, and tangent of , we
find the following relationships:

(
cos = sin (90

)
),

sin = cos 90 o ,
tan =

and

1
.
tan 90 o

We know that angles can range from 0 to 360 before repeating itself, and yet the angles would seem to
be limited to be between 0 to 90. How, then, can we understand the sine or cosine of angles larger than
90? We do so by looking the at right triangles circumscribed inside the unit circle (see Fig. 9). As usual,
angles are measured from the x-axis. We first draw a line from the center of the circle to the
circumference of the circle at an angle 0 < 1 < 90 in the First Quadrant of the x-y plane. At the
intersection of this line at the circumference, we draw a vertical line downward until we reach the x-axis.
This, then, forms a right triangle with legs xI > 0 and yI > 0 that is similar to the Fig. 7, and as such, the
results for the sine, cosine, and tangent of 1 still holds. (Interestingly, the length of the legs of the

triangle xI ,yI is precisely the location of the point where the radial line intercepts the circle.) Clearly, in
the this quadrant, sin ( ) 0 and cos ( ) 0 .
First Quadrant

Second Quadrant

sin (x ) 0,
cos( x ) 0

sin (x ) 0,
cos( x ) 0

II

yI > 0

yII > 0

180 II
o

xII < 0

xI > 0

xIII < 0,
yIII < 0 ,

x IV > 0,

180o < III < 270o

270o < IV < 360 o

yIV < 0,

sin(x) 0,
cos( x) 0

sin(x) 0,
cos( x) 0
Fourth Quadrant

Third Quadrant

Figure 9

Let us now do exactly the same thing, but now for an angle in the Second Quadrant (see red triangle in
Fig. 9). Here, 90 < 1I < 180, while xII < 0 and yII > 0. While the formulas for sine and cosine above
were originally defined for lengthswhich are necessarily positive numberswe relax this condition,
and let x and y now to be negative as well. They need no longer be lengths, but can instead be positions
along a number line. Consequently, in this quadrant we have sin ( ) 0 and cos ( ) 0 . Moreover,

since sin = sin 180o , and cos = cos 180 o , we conclude that sin(180) = 0, cos(180) = 1, and tan(180) = 0.
The Trigometric Functions

tan(x)

sin(x)

cos(x)
-360

-270

-180

-90

Angle in Degrees

Figure 10

90

180

270

360

Doing the same thing for angles 180 < 1I < 360, we see that sin ( ) 0 and cos ( ) 0 in the Third
Quadrant, while sin ( ) 0 and cos ( ) 0 in the Fourth Quadrant. In this way, we have extended the
definition of the trigonometric functions from 0 < < 90 to the full circle. Moreover, as we will start
repeating ourselves after we go around the circle once, we find that the sine and the cosine functions are
period with a period of 360. The tangent function is periodic, but with period of only 180. We can see
these periodicities in Fig. 10 where the three trigonometric functions we have been dealing with have
been plotted.
Inverse Sine and Cosine Functions

The Inverse Tangent Function

180
90
150

Arccos(x
)

120

90

70
50
30

60

10
30

-13

-11

-10

-9

-8

-6

-5

-4

-3

-1

0
-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

10

11

13

-50
-70

-60

-90

-30

-30

Arcsin(x
)

-10 0

-90

Figure 11

What can also be seen from this graph is the fact that the trigonometric functions are not invertable in
general. Rather, we have to restrict the domain of these functions to define their inverses. Once this is
done, we can define arcsin (x ) or sin 1 (x ) as the inverse of sin(x); they are just two ways of expressing
the same
function. We also define arccos ( x ) or cos 1 ( x ) as the inverse of cos(x), and arctan ( x ) or
1
tan (x ) as the inverse of tan(x). For the arcsine and arctan functions, calculators usually return angles
between -90 and 90, while for the arccosine function, calculators usually return angles between 0 and
180. Graphs of the arcsin(x), arcos(x), and arctan(x) functions are given in Fig. 11.
Finally, we will state the following trigonometric identities:

sin( + ) = sin cos + sin cos ,

cos ( + ) = cos cos sin sin
y

r
p1

r
V

r
p2

Figure 12

VECTORS :

A vector V is a directed line segment that connects a point p1 to a point p 2 in the plane. In other words,

I have told you to draw a line that starts at point p1 and ends at a point p 2 , and to represent that this is a
r
directed line segment, we draw an arrow on the line where it ends at point p 2 . See, for example, Fig. 12,

where we have drawn the vector V , and you can compare it to Fig. 4 where we drew a line segment
r
between the two points; the only difference is the arrow that ends at p 2 .
A vector, therefore, is a mathematical object that conveys two pieces of information: its length , and its
direction. And because it conveys only these two pieces of information, it does not matter where we
move a vector in the plane. As long as we do not change its length or its direction, it will be the same
vector (see Fig. 13)

r
V
r
V
r
V

r
V

Figure 13

This result may seem strange, and this is because we usually associate the starting point and the ending
point of a vector as being meaningful. (The starting point of a hike, say, and its ending point.) This
r
r
definition will, however, allow us to compare two vectors V1 and V2 and see if they are the same length
and the same direction. We do so by carefully moving one of the vectorstaking care that we do not
change its directionso that one lies on top of the other. If they coincide, then they have the same length
and direction; mathematically, they are the same vector. If they do not, then either they have different
lengths, or different directions.
r
V1

r
V2

r r
V1 + V2

r r
V2 + V1
r
V2

r
V1

Figure 14

10

This ability to move vectors allow us to add vectors as well. To add two vectors V1 and V2 , place
connect the two head-to-toe (see Fig. 17). Then by moving one of the vectors, connect the starting point
of one vector with the ending point of the second; the resultant is their sum. Moreover, you can tell from

the figure that it does not matter the order that we add the two vectors in the order V1 + V2 or in the order

r r
V2 + V1 .
We can also subtract vectors, but to do so, we have to talk about the negative of a vector. Remember that
r
r
we got the vector V from a line segment by specifying that we would start at the point p1 and end at the
r
r
r
point p 2 . We could have just as well said that we start at the point p 2 and end at the point p1 ; we would
r
have gotten a vector as well, but with its direction reversed. We define this vector as V , the negative of
r
r
r
V . Because the direction is now reversed, graphically you get V from V by simply flipping the arrow
on the vector so that it is pointing in the opposite direction. Graphically, we would follow the procedure
r
shown in Fig. 15, where 0 is the zero vector, a vector that starts and ends at the same point.

r
V

r
V

r
0

Figure 15

The process of how to subtract vectors can now be defined. To subtract V2 from V1 , we first flip the

direction of V2 ; this changes V2 into V2 (see Fig. 16).

r
V1

r
V2

r
V1

=
Figure 16

r
r
As seen in Fig. 17, we can then add V1 to V2 using the rules given above.
+

r
V1

r
V2

r
V2

r
V2

r
V1

Figure 17

11

r
V2

r
V1

r r
V1 V2

r r
V 2 V1

r
V1

r
V2

What we also have done is to draw in what it mean to subtract V1 from V2 , and it is readily apparent that

r r
r r
V1 V2 = V2 V1 .
This agrees with what we know about adding and subtracting numbers.
Finally, we can scale a vector by multiplying it by a number. The resultant, shown in Fig. 18, is just to
lengthen or shrink a vector, but not change its direction.

=
r
V

r
aV

a
Figure 18

VECTOR D ECOMPOSITION:
What you may or may not find strange is that we never used a coordinate system when we talked about
vectors and adding and subtracting vectors. That is because geometrically, a vector is a fundamental
object that does not require a coordinate system to be chosen. In physics, however, it is always best to
work with an x- and y-axis in place. The graphical method of adding vectors, while useful in
demonstrating what it means to add two vectors, is not really useful when you come right down to it. It is
much more useful if you draw in the axis. The reason for this is three-fold. First, you can then talk about
its length and its directionas an angle up or down from one of the two axisseparately. Second, you
immediately have two vectors on hand that you can use to reference everything to: the vector i with unit
length along the x-axis, the vector j with unit length along the y-axis, and the vector k with unit length
along
the y-axis. (To remind ourselves that they have unit length, we use the caret instead of the arrow
r
on top of them.) Third, because the x-, y-, and z-axis are at right angles to one another, we can use what
we know from trigonometry.

Consider, for example, the vector V in Fig. 19. From what we know about adding vectors,

r r r r
V = Vx + V y + Vz .
r
r
r
Moreover, because Vx is in the direction of i , Vy is in the direction of j , and Vz is in the direction of k ,
from what we know about multiplying the vectors by numbers,

r
Vx = Vx i,

r
Vy = Vy j ,

12

r
Vx = Vz k.

Thus,

r
V = V xi + Vy j + Vz k .

z
r
Vz

r
V
r
Vy

r
Vx

x
Figure 19

This is the decomposition of a vector into its components. In particular, given the following two vectors,

r
V1 = V1x i + V1y j + V1z k ,

and

r
V2 = V2 x i + V2 y j + V2 z k,

from Fig. 20 we see that their sum is

r r
V1 + V2 = (V1x + V2x )i + (V1 y + V2 y ) j + (V1z + V2 z )k,
just the sum of their individual components, while if you scale the length of a vector by a,

r
aV = aVxi + aVy j + aVz k,
we end up simply scaling the components of the vector. This is the power of using a set of reference
vectors that are perpendicular to each other as a basis to do calculations. It also underscores the fact that
the two components are along two different directions that are perpendicular to one another! That way,
anything that happens along one component does not affect what happens along the other. This is a very,
very, very important concept.

The magnitude, V , of a vector V is

r
V = Vx 2 + V y 2 + Vz 2 ,

13

as can be seen from Fig. 20. If V lies in the x-y plane, then its direction, , relative to the x-axis is:

V
= arctan y .
Vx
Notice that while we defined the components of a vector in terms of a vector lying in three dimensions,
we defined its direction only for vectors this lie in the plane. We do so because for the great majority of
this course we need only concern ourselves with vectors in two dimensions. We do not consider vectors
in three dimensions. While we could define the directions of a vector in three dimensions, doing so
would be complicated, and it is a complication that is not needed. We thus only talk about vectors in two
dimensions, and for most of this semester, we will not worry about vectors that have components in the
third dimension.

r
V2z

r
V1z
r
V2

r
V2 x

r
V1x

r
V1

r
V1y

r
V2 y

x
Figure 20

COORDINATE S YSTEMS :
The two ways of writing a vectorin terms of its components or in terms of its magnitude and
directiondemonstrates the use of two different coordinate systems. The first is the usual Cartesian
coordinate system. A vector, r = xi + yj , can be written in terms of its Cartesian coordinates,

r
r = xi + yj ,

Or in terms of its magnitude and direction, (r , ) , which is the location of the point p in Fig. 21 given in
terms of polar coordinates. Given the Cartesian coordinates, (x, y), of a point p in the plane shown in Fig.
21, we can always find its polar coordinates using:

14

y
2
2
r = x + y , and = arctan .
x
Similarly, given the polar coordinates, (r, ), of a point p in the plane, we can always find its Cartesian
coordinates using:

x = r cos , and

y = r sin .

Cartesian Coordinates

Polar Coordinates

Figure 21

SCALAR (D OT) AND VECTOR (CROSS) PRODUCTS :

Given the following two vectors

r
V1 = V1x i + V1y j + V1z k ,

r
V2 = V2 x i + V2 y j + V2 z k,

and

there are two operations that we can do on it that have geometrical meaning. The first is the scalar (or dot)

product. Namely, the scalar product of two vectors, V1 and V2 is the following:

r r
V1 V2 V1xV2x + V1yV2 y + V1zV2 z .
r r

It is clearly a scalar, and hence its name. Notice that V1 V2 V2 V1 , so that it does not matter which
order we do the scalar product. Notice also that if the two vectors are equal,

r r
r2
V V Vx 2 + Vy 2 + Vz 2 = V ,

15

is simply the square of the length of the vector. Its geometrical meaning goes beyond measuring the
length of a vector, however. To see this, consider two vectors in the x-y plane, one with magnitude

r
r
V1 and angle 1 from the x-axis, and one with magnitude V2 and angle 2 from the x-axis. Then, we

can decompose them as

r
r
r
V1 = V1 cos 1 i + V1 sin 1 j ,

r
r
r
V2 = V2 cos 2 i + V2 sin 2 j ,

and

Their scalar product is:

r r
r r
r r
r r
V1 V2 V1 V2 cos 1 cos 2 + V1 V2 sin 1 sin 2 = V1 V2 cos(1 2 ).

r
V1

r
V2

Figure 22
From Fig. 22, we see that . 1 2 is simply the angle between the two vectors. This holds in general, and

r r
r r
V1 V2 V1 V2 cos ,
where is the angle subtended by the two vectors. If the two vectors are equal, then = 0, and we just
have our observation about lengths above. If the two vectors are antiparallel, then = 180, and

r r
r r
r r
V1 V2 = V1 V2 . . Finally, if two vectors are perpendicular to one another, then V1 V2 = 0. It is then

clear that for the unit vectors:

i i = j j = k k = 1,
i j = j k = k i = 0 .

16

r r
r
V
V
There is one more important geometrical fact. From Fig. 23, we see that 1 2 r gives the length of V1
V2
r r
r
r
r
V V
along the direction of V2 . Similarly, 1 2 r gives the length of V2 along the direction of V1 .
V1
r
V1

r
V2 cos

r
V1 cos

r
V2

r
V1
r
V2

Figure 23
We have seen that from two vectors, we can always make a scalar. Can we make a vector as well? The
answer is yes, but there is more freedom to do so than with the scalar product.
The basic idea is that any two vectors that are not in the same direction form a plane. Given this plane,
we can always define two vectors that point out of the plane, and that are perpendicular to the two
original vectors (see Fig. 24).

r
V2

r
V1

r
V3

Figure 24

We represent this operation of forming the third vector as V3 = V1 V2 , which is call the vector product
of two vectors. (It is also called the cross product, for reasons that will be clear soon). In terms of
components,

17

r r r
V3 = V1 V2 = (V1 yV2 z V2 yV1z )i + (V1zV2x V2 zV1x ) j + (V1xV2 y V2xV1 y )k.

It is tedious, but straightforward, to see that V3 is perpendicular to V1 and V2 ,

r r r
V1 V1 V2 = V1x (V1 yV2 z V2 yV1z ) + V1y (V1zV2 x V2 zV1x ) + V1z (V1xV2 y V2xV1 y ) = 0, and
r r r
V2 V1 V2 = V2 x (V1yV2z V2 yV1z ) + V2 y (V1zV2 x V2 zV1x ) + V2z (V1xV2 y V2 xV1 y ) = 0.
r

It is also clear by looking at the components that V1 V2 = V2 V1. This means that V1 V1 = 0, and in

fact if V2 = aV1, for any number a, V1 V2 = 0. Looking at the definition of the vector product, we see
that:

i i = j j = k k = 0,
i j = k , j k = i , and k i = j.
There is a further geometrical meaning about the magnitude of the vector product. As before, let us take

the special case where the two vectors are in the x-y plane. One has a magnitude V1 and is at an angle 1

from the x-axis, and one has a magnitude V2 and us at an angle 2 from the x-axis. Then, we can
decompose them as

r
r
r
V1 = V1 cos 1 i + V1 sin 1 j,

and

r
r
r
V2 = V2 cos 2 i + V2 sin 2 j ,

Their vector product is:

r r
r r
r r
r r
V1 V2 V1 V2 cos 1 sin 2 V1 V2 sin 1 cos 2 k = V1 V2 sin ( 2 1 )k.
r r

From basic geometry, V1 V2 sin ( 2 1 ) is the area of the parallelogram spanned by the two vectors.
This result holds in general. Namely,

r r
r r
V1 V2 V1 V2 sin ,
r

where is the angle between the two vectors. It also means that if V1 and V2 are perpendicular to one

r r

another, V1 V2 V1 V2 .

DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS :
The basics of what we will go over here you have already learned in your calculus class. It is when we
apply this knowledge and extend it to vectors and functions on the plan that you will be introduced to new

18

concepts. We will try to make the presentation here intuitive enough that you will be able to understand
the essential ideas that underlie the these concepts. We start with the derivative.

f (x )

f ( p )

Figure 25
Let f ( x ) be a continuous function of a single variable x. The derivative , f ( x ), at a point p is

f ( p ) = lim

h 0

f ( p + h) f ( p)
,
h

if the limit exists. If this limit exists for all p on the real line, then we say that f ( x ) is a differentiable
function of x. At times, we will also write the derivative of f ( x ) at p as

df
.
dx p
The two are equivalent, and we will use them interchangeably. Intuitively, f ( p ) is the slope of the line
that is tangent to the function f ( x ) at the point p.

The derivative a product of two functions f ( x ) and g ( x ) is

f ( p + h) g ( p + h ) f ( p )g ( p )
( f ( p )g ( p )) lim
= f ( p )g ( p ) + f ( p )g ( p ).
h 0
h

19

This is the product rule. The derivative of the composition, f (g ( x )) , of two functions is

f (g ( p + h )) f ( g ( p ))
( f ( g ( p ))) lim
= f ( g ( p )) g ( p ).
h 0
h

This is the chain rule for derivatives. With these two rules, we can calculate the derivative of any
function. The following table lists the derivative of common functions.

df (x )
dx
nx n1
ex
1
x
cos x
sin x
sec 2 x

f (x)
xn
ex
log x

sin x
cos x
tan x

We will often deal with functions, x (t ) , of time, t, and because time in classical mechanics plays a role
that is distinctly different from the spatial location, we represent the derivative of x (t ) at time t as:

x& (t ) = lim

t 0

x(t + t ) x (t )
.
t

We will often deal with two other derivatives in this course. The first is the partial derivative. In the
calculus you have learned so far, all the functions are functions of a single variable x. We will at times
r
r
deal with a function, f (x ) f ( x, y , z ) , of a vector x in three spatial dimensions. Mathematically, we

would say that the function f : x 3 , where 3 is the three dimensional Euclidean space, and

r
is the real line. We define the partial derivative of f ( x ) with respect to the x component in the

following way:

f
f ( x + h, y, z ) f ( x, y , z )
= lim
,
h

0
r
x x
h
which is a straightforward generalization of the derivative for a single variable. Similarly, the partial
derivative with respect to y is

f
y

r
x

= lim

h 0

f ( x, y + h, z ) f ( x, y , z )
,
h

while the derivative with respect to z is:

20

f
z

r
x

= lim

h 0

f ( x, y, z + h) f ( x, y, z )
.
h

r
x& (t )

r
x (t )

x
Figure 27

r
There are three partial derivatives of f ( x ) in three dimensions. They for a vector
r r f
f f
f (x ) = i +
j + k,
x
y
z

called the gradient of f ( x ) ; clearly, if we are in two dimensions, there are only two components to the
gradient. It, like the derivative of f ( x ) for a single function, has a well-defined geometrical meaning.

Let us for simplicity consider a function of two dimensions, f (x , y ). While f ( x ) defines a curve,

r r
r
f (x , y ). defines a surface, and f ( p ) are the two vectors that are tangent to the surface at a point, p , on

it (see Fig. 26).

Finally, we will be interested in vectors, x (t ) , in three dimensions that are functions of a single variable, t.

Mathematically, x (t ) defines a path or trajectory in 3 , and is the mapping: x : 3 . All that we

care about is that it points to the position of a particle at any time, t. Its derivative is straightforward:

r
r
r
x (t + t ) x (t )
x& (t ) = lim
,
t 0
t
r
or in terms of components, x& (t ) = x& (t )i + y& (t ) j + z& (t )k ,

21

x (t + t ) x(t )
,
t 0
t
y (t + t ) y(t )
y (t ) = lim
,
t 0
t
z (t + t ) z (t )
z (t ) = lim
.
t 0
t
x (t ) = lim

r
r
r
The geometrical meaning of both x (t ) and x& (t ) is shown in Fig. 27; it is clear that x& (t ) is the tangent
r

vector to x (t ) at time t.

f (x , y )

f
x

f
y

r
p

r
p

r
p

y
x
Figure 26
Finally, we take derivatives of the scalar and vector products.
From the product rule,

r r
d V1 V2
dt

)
t

r
r
r
dV1 r
dV 2
,

V2 (t ) + V1 (t )
dt t
dt t

and similarly,

r r
d V1 V2
dt

)
t

r
r
r
r
dV1
dV 2
.

V2 (t ) + V1 (t )
dt t
dt t

22

VECTORS TIMED Q UIZ

SPRING, 2008

SAMPLE
1. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the
figure below:

2. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the

figure below:

y
r
A
r
A =5

36

r
A =7

x
40

r
A

r
A = _________ x + _________ y

r
A = _________ x + _________ y

3. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the

figure below:

4. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the

figure below:

r
A

r
A =9

140

r -31
A =8

r
A = _________ x + _________ y

x
r
A

r
A = _________ x + _________ y

23

5. Fill in the blanks for the following vector, and

draw its magnitude and direction on the graph
provided
.

r
A = 2 x + 4 y

r
A = _________,

6. Fill in the blanks for the following vector, and

draw its magnitude and direction on the graph
provided
.

r
A = 4 x + 2 y

r
A = _________,

= _________

= _________

7. Find the sum of the following three

vectors:

8. For the following two vectors:

r
r
r
A = 4x + 9y,
r r
r
B = x 4y,

r
r
r
A = 3x + 5 y ,
r
r
r
B = 2 x + 7 y,
r
r
r
C = 7x 2 y,

Find:
r r
A B = _________ x + _________ y

and
r r
B A = _________ x + _________ y

24

VECTORS TIMED Q UIZ

SPRING, 2008

SAMPLE ANSWERS
9. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the
figure below:

10. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the

figure below:

y
r
A
r
A =5

36

r
A =7

x
40

r
A

r
A = 4.04 x + 2.94 y

r
A = 4.50 x 5.36 y

11. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the

figure below:

12. Fill in the blanks for the vector drawn in the

figure below:

r
A

r
A =9

140

r -31
A =8

r
A = 6.89 x + 5.79 y

r
A = 6.86 x - 4.12 y

25

x
r
A

13. Fill in the blanks for the following vector, and

draw its magnitude and direction on the graph
provided
.

r
A = 2 x + 4 y

r
A = 4.47,

14. Fill in the blanks for the following vector, and

draw its magnitude and direction on the graph
provided
.

r
A = 4 x + 2 y

r
A = 4.47,

= 63.4 o

= 153o

y
r
A = 4.47

r
A = 4.47

63.4

153

15. Find the sum of the following three

vectors:

16. For the following two vectors:

r
r
r
A = 4x + 9y,
r r
r
B = x 4y,

r
r
r
A = 3x + 5 y,
r
r
r
B = 2 x + 7 y ,
r
r
r
C = 7 x + 2 y,

Find:

r r r
r
r
A + B + C = 8 x + 10 y,

r r
A B = 3 x + 13 y

and
r r
B A = -3 x - 13 y

26