Department of Mathematics University of Moratuwa

MA1013 Problems Sheet August 2013

P 1.1. Sum and Scalar Product of Vectors

P 1.1.1.

Given that 𝒂 = 𝟐 𝒊 + 𝟑 𝒋 − 𝒌 , 𝒃 = 𝟓 𝒊 − 𝟐 𝒋 + 𝟑 𝒌 and 𝒄 = 𝟑 𝒊 − 𝟕𝒌 , Calculate the

modulus and the unit vector along each of the following:

(a) 𝒂 + 𝒃 + 𝒄 (b) 𝟐 𝒂 + 𝟑 𝒃 − 𝟒 𝒄

P 1.1.2.

𝑨𝑩𝑪 is a right-angled triangle such that 𝑨𝑩 = 𝟑, 𝑩𝑪 = 𝟒 and 𝑪𝑨 = 𝟓. A particle is subjected to forces

7 , 5 and 4 kg wt respectively acting in directions parallel to the edges 𝑨𝑩, 𝑩𝑪 and 𝑪𝑨 of the above
triangle. Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant force acting on the particle.

P 1.1.3.

Electric point charges of magnitude 𝟑, 𝟓 and 𝟕 are placed at the points 𝑷 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑 , 𝑸 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒 and 𝑹 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟓
respectively. What is the magnitude and direction of the resultant force on a unit point charge placed at the
point (𝟏, 𝟏, 𝟏)?. ( You may assume a single constant k to include electrical properties)

P 1.1.4. Ratio Formula

Suppose 𝑨 and 𝑩 are two points having position vectors 𝒂 and 𝒃 respectively. Prove that if 𝑷 is the
point which divides the line joining 𝑨 and 𝑩 in the ratio 𝝀 ∶ 𝝁 , then the position vector of 𝑷 is given by
𝝁𝒂+𝝀𝒃
𝒑= 𝝁+𝝀
.

Suppose 𝑷, 𝑸 and 𝑹 are three points having position vectors 𝒑, 𝒒 and 𝒓 respectively. Show that the
(𝒑+𝒒+𝒓)
position vector of the centroid of the triangle 𝑷𝑸𝑹 is 𝟑
.

P 1.1.5. Examples:

Prove that the diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each other. Conversely, prove by vector methods, that if
the diagonals of a quadrilateral bisect each other, then that quadrilateral is a parallelogram.

P 1.1.6.

Prove that the lines joining the mid-points of the opposite edges of a tetrahedron bisect each other.

P 1.1.7.

𝑨𝑩𝑪𝑫 is a parallelogram . 𝑬 is the mid-point of 𝑨𝑩. Show that the line segments 𝑫𝑬 and 𝑨𝑪 trisect
each other.
P 1.1. The Dot Product of Vectors

P 1.1.1.

The points 𝑨 −𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑 , 𝑩 𝟏, −𝟐, 𝟑 and 𝑪 𝟏, 𝟐, −𝟑 form the vertices of a triangle. Determine

(a) The lengths of the sides 𝑨𝑩, 𝑩𝑪 and 𝑪𝑨

(b) The angles 𝑨𝑩𝑪, 𝑩𝑪𝑨 and 𝑪𝑨𝑩 .

(c) The area of the triangle 𝑨𝑩𝑪.

P 1.1.2.

Three points 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪 are said to be collinear if and only if they lie on a same straight line.

Let 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪 be three distinct points with position vectors 𝒂 = (𝒂𝟏 , 𝒂𝟐, 𝒂𝟑 ), 𝒃 = (𝒃𝟏 , 𝒃𝟐, 𝒃𝟑 ) and 𝒄 =
(𝒄𝟏 , 𝒄𝟐, 𝒄𝟑 ) respectively. Show that a necessary and sufficient condition for 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪 to be collinear is
that there exist constants 𝜶, 𝜷 and 𝜸 , not all zero, such that 𝜶+𝜷+𝜸 = 𝟎 and 𝜶𝒂+𝜷𝒃+𝜸𝒄 = 𝟎.

P 1.1.3.

Given that 𝑨 = 𝟐, 𝟏, −𝟑 , 𝑩 = 𝟑, 𝒑, 𝟏 and 𝑪 = −𝟏, 𝟑, 𝟐 , find constants 𝒑 such that

(a) The points 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪 are collinear.

(b) The lines 𝑨𝑩 and 𝑩𝑪 are orthogonal

(c) The triangle 𝑨𝑩𝑪 has area 10.

P 1.1.4.

Find a vector 𝒖 whose length is 𝟓 and which is perpendicular to the vectors 𝟐𝒊 + 𝟑𝒋 + 𝒌 and 𝒊 + 𝟐𝒋 + 𝟑𝒌

P 1.1.5.

𝑶(𝟎, 𝟎, 𝟎), 𝑨(𝟒, 𝟎, 𝟎), 𝑩(𝟏, 𝟑, 𝟎) and 𝑪(𝟏, 𝟏, 𝟐) are vertices of a parallelepiped having 𝑶𝑨, 𝑶𝑩 and 𝑶𝑪 as
concurrent edges. Forces of magnitudes 7, 2 and 4 act on a particle at 𝑶 in the directions pointing
towards 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪 respectively. Determine the resultant force on the particle. What is the component of
the resultant, along the diagonal of the parallelepiped.

P 1.1.6.

Forces of magnitude 5, 1 and 3 kg acting in the directions of 𝟐𝒊 + 𝟓𝒋 − 𝒌, 𝟑𝒊 − 𝟒𝒌 and – 𝒊 + 𝟐𝒋 + 𝟑𝒌

respectively act on a particle which is displaced from the point (𝟐, −𝟏, 𝟎) to (−𝟏, 𝟓, 𝟏). Assuming that the
unit of lengths is meters, find the work done by the forces,
P 1.2. The Cross Product of Vectors

P 1.2.1.

Prove that for every 𝒂, 𝒃, 𝒄,

(i) 𝒂 × 𝒃 × 𝒄 = 𝒂 ∙ 𝒄 𝒃 − 𝒂 ∙ 𝒃 𝒄

(ii) (𝒂 × 𝒃) × 𝒄 = 𝒂 ∙ 𝒄 𝒃 − 𝒃 ∙ 𝒄 𝒂

P 1.2.2.

Show that each of the following is a necessary and sufficient condition for three points 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪 with position
vectors 𝒂, 𝒃, and 𝒄 to be collinear.

(i) 𝒃 − 𝒂 × 𝒄 − 𝒂 = 𝟎.

(ii) 𝒂 × 𝒃 + 𝒃 × 𝒄 + 𝒄 × 𝒂 = 𝟎.

P 1.2.3.

The vertices 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪 of a triangle have position vectors 𝒂, 𝒃 and 𝒄 respectively. Prove that

𝟏
(a) The area of the triangle is 𝟐
𝒂×𝒃+𝒃×𝒄+𝒄×𝒂

𝒂×𝒃+𝒃×𝒄+𝒄×𝒂
(b) The perpendicular distance of the vertex 𝑨 from the side 𝑩𝑪 is 𝒃−𝒄

𝒂−𝒄 ∙ 𝒃−𝒄 𝒃+ 𝒂−𝒃 ∙ 𝒄−𝒃 𝒄

(c) The foot of the perpendicular from the vertex 𝑨 to the side 𝑩𝑪 is
𝒃−𝒄 𝟐

A triangle has its vertices at 𝑨(𝟓, 𝟏, 𝟒), 𝑩 𝟐, 𝟎, 𝟑 and 𝑪(𝟑, 𝟓, 𝟐) . Find

(i) The area of the triangle 𝑨𝑩𝑪.

(ii) The perpendicular distance of each vertex from the opposite side .

(iii) The foot of the perpendicular from each of the vertex to the opposite side .

P 1.2.4.

Prove that if 𝒂, 𝒃, 𝒄, 𝒅 are vectors and 𝜶, 𝜷 , 𝜸 are constants such that 𝜶𝒂+𝜷𝒃+𝜸𝒄 = 𝒅 and [𝒂, 𝒃, 𝒄] ≠ 𝟎, then

[𝒅,𝒃,𝒄] [𝒂,𝒅,𝒄] [𝒂,𝒃,𝒅]

𝜶 = [𝒂,𝒃,𝒄] , 𝜷 = [𝒂,𝒃,𝒄] , 𝜸 = [𝒂,𝒃,𝒄]

P 1.2.5.

A tetrahedron has its vertices at 𝑨(𝟓, 𝟏, 𝟒), 𝑩 𝟐, 𝟎, 𝟑 , 𝑪(𝟑, 𝟓, 𝟐) and 𝑫(𝟒, 𝟑, 𝟓) .

Write down the equations, in vector and scalar form for the six edges of the tetrahedron. Find an outward, normal,
unit vector to each of the four faces.
P 1.3. Vector equations of straight lines

P 1.3.1.

Suppose 𝑨 and 𝑩 are two points having position vectors 𝒂 and 𝒃 respectively. Show that the equation of the
straight line through 𝑨 and 𝑩 can be written as 𝒓 = 𝒕 𝒂 + 𝟏 − 𝒕 𝒃, where 𝒕 is a parameter. If 𝑷 is a point on
this line, with parameter 𝒕, what can you say about the position of 𝑷 with respect to 𝑨 and 𝑩 in each of the
following cases:
(a) 𝒕 < 𝟎 (b) 𝒕 = 𝟎 (c) 𝟎<𝒕<𝟏 (d) 𝒕 = 𝟏 (e) 𝟏<𝒕

P 1.3.2.

Let 𝒓 = 𝒖𝟏 + 𝒔𝒗𝟏 and 𝒓 = 𝒖𝟐 + 𝒕𝒗𝟐 are vector equations of two straight lines 𝒍𝟏 and 𝒍𝟐 . ( Here, 𝒔 and 𝒕 are
independent parameters. Show that

𝒗𝟏 ∙𝒗𝟐
(a) The angle between 𝒍𝟏 and 𝒍𝟐 is 𝒄𝒐𝒔−𝟏
𝒗𝟏 𝒗𝟐

(b) If 𝒍𝟏 and 𝒍𝟐 intersect , then 𝒖𝟏 , 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 = 𝒖𝟐 , 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and the point of intersection is given by

𝒖𝟏 ,𝒖𝟐 ,𝒗𝟐 𝒖𝟐 ,𝒖𝟏 ,𝒗𝟏

𝒓 = 𝒖𝟏 − 𝒗𝟏 = 𝒖𝟐 − 𝒗𝟐
𝒗𝟏 ,𝒖𝟐 ,𝒗𝟐 𝒗𝟐 ,𝒖𝟏 ,𝒗𝟏

𝒖𝟏 ,𝒗𝟏 ,𝒗𝟐 − 𝒖𝟐 ,𝒗𝟏 ,𝒗𝟐

(c) If 𝒍𝟏 and 𝒍𝟐 do not intersect, the distance between 𝒍𝟏 and 𝒍𝟐 is 𝒗𝟏 ×𝒗𝟐

P 1.3.3.

Given that 𝑨 = 𝟐, −𝟑, −𝟏 , 𝑩 = −𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟗 , 𝑪 = 𝟑, −𝟐, 𝟒 , 𝑫 = −𝟏, −𝟏, −𝟏 and 𝑬 = 𝟏, 𝟏, 𝟏 .

Show that the line segments
(i) 𝑨𝑩 and 𝑪𝑫 intersect
(ii) 𝑨𝑩 and 𝑪𝑬 do not intersect

Find the distance between 𝑨𝑩 and 𝑪𝑬 .

P 1.3.4.

𝑨 = 𝟐, 𝟏, −𝟑 , 𝑩 = 𝟑, −𝟐, 𝟏 , 𝑪 = −𝟏, 𝟑, 𝟐 and 𝑫 = −𝟑, −𝟑, −𝟑 are vertices of a given tetrahedron.

𝑷, 𝑸, 𝑹 and 𝑺 are the centroids of the faces opposite to 𝑨, 𝑩, 𝑪 and 𝑫 respectively. Show that 𝑨𝑷, 𝑩𝑸, 𝑪𝑹 and
𝑫𝑆 meet at one point 𝑰.

P 1.3.5.

𝑨 = 𝟐, 𝟏, −𝟑 , 𝑩 = 𝟑, −𝟐, 𝟏 , 𝑪 = −𝟏, 𝟑, 𝟐 and 𝑫 = −𝟑, −𝟑, −𝟑 are vertices of a given tetrahedron.

𝑱, 𝑲, 𝑳 and 𝑴 are the feet of the perpendiculars from 𝑨, 𝑩, 𝑪 and 𝑫 respectively, to the opposite faces. Show that
𝑨𝑱, 𝑩𝑲, 𝑪𝑳 and 𝑫𝑴 meet at one point 𝑯.
P 1.4. Vector equations of planes

P 1.4.1.

𝑨 = 𝟐, 𝟏, −𝟑 , 𝑩 = 𝟑, −𝟐, 𝟏 , 𝑪 = −𝟏, 𝟑, 𝟐 and 𝑫 = −𝟑, −𝟑, −𝟑 are vertices of a given tetrahedron. Find

(a) the equations of the four faces, 𝑨𝑩𝑪, 𝑨𝑪𝑫, 𝑨𝑫𝑩 and , 𝑩𝑪𝑫 in vector form.
(b) the equations of the four faces, 𝑨𝑩𝑪, 𝑨𝑪𝑫, 𝑨𝑫𝑩 and , 𝑩𝑪𝑫 in scalar form.
(c) the angle between the six pairs of faces [𝑨𝑩𝑪, 𝑨𝑪𝑫], [𝑨𝑪𝑫, 𝑨𝑫𝑩] , [𝑨𝑫𝑩, 𝑨𝑩𝑪], [𝑩𝑪𝑫, 𝑪𝑫𝑩},
[𝑪𝑫𝑩, 𝑫𝑩𝑪] and [𝑫𝑩𝑪, 𝑩𝑪𝑫].

P 1.4.2.

Find the equation for the line along which the two planes 𝑷𝟏 : 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟑𝒚 + 𝟒𝒛 = 𝟓 and 𝑷𝟐 : 𝟓𝒙 + 𝟒𝒚 + 𝟑𝒛 = 𝟐
intersect.

P 1.4.3.

Find the point of intersection of the planes 𝑷𝟏 : 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟑𝒚 + 𝟒𝒛 = 𝟓, 𝑷𝟐 : 𝟓𝒙 + 𝟒𝒚 + 𝟑𝒛 = 𝟐 and 𝑷𝟑 : 𝒙 + 𝒚 + 𝒛 = 𝟏.

(Hint: Use P 1.2.4)

P 1.4.4.

Find the constant 𝒒 such that the planes 𝑷𝟏 : 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟑𝒚 + 𝟒𝒛 = 𝟓, 𝑷𝟐 : 𝟓𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚 + 𝟑𝒛 = 𝟐 ,𝑷𝟑 : 𝒙 − 𝒚 + 𝒛 = 𝟏 and

𝑷𝟒 : 𝒙 + 𝒚 + 𝒛 = 𝒒 meet at one point.

P 1.4.5.

Four points 𝑨, 𝑩, 𝑪 and 𝑫 are said to be coplanar if and only if they lie on a same plane. Let 𝑨, 𝑩, 𝑪 and 𝑫 be four
distinct points with position vectors 𝒂 = (𝒂𝟏 , 𝒂𝟐, 𝒂𝟑 ), 𝒃 = (𝒃𝟏 , 𝒃𝟐, 𝒃𝟑 ), 𝒄 = (𝒄𝟏 , 𝒄𝟐, 𝒄𝟑 ) and 𝒅 = (𝒅𝟏 , 𝒅𝟐, 𝒅𝟑 )
respectively. Show that a necessary and sufficient condition for 𝑨, 𝑩, 𝑪 and 𝑫 to be coplanar is that there exist
constants 𝜶, 𝜷, 𝜸 and 𝜹 , not all zero, such that 𝜶 + 𝜷 + 𝜸 + 𝜹 = 𝟎 and 𝜶𝒂 + 𝜷𝒃 + 𝜸𝒄 + 𝜹𝒅 = 𝟎.

P 1.4.6.

Show that each of the following is a necessary and sufficient condition for four points 𝑨, 𝑩, 𝑪 and 𝑫 with position
vectors 𝒂, 𝒃, 𝒄 and 𝒅 to be coplanar.

(i) 𝒃 − 𝒂 × 𝒄 − 𝒂 ∙ (𝒅 − 𝒂) = 𝟎.

(ii) 𝒃, 𝒄, 𝒅 = 𝒂, 𝒄, 𝒅 + 𝒃, 𝒂, 𝒅 + [𝒃, 𝒄, 𝒂]

P 1.4.7.

Find a constant 𝒒 such that 𝑨 = 𝟐, 𝟏, −𝟑 , 𝑩 = 𝟑, −𝟐, 𝟏 , 𝑪 = −𝟏, 𝟑, 𝟐 and 𝑫 = −𝟑, −𝟑, 𝒒 , are coplanar.