Vector Derivatives, Applications, and Matrix Algebra

Contents
1 Derivative of a Vector 2
1.1 Worked Examples (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Applications of Vector Derivatives 3

2.1 Worked Examples (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Matrices and Linear Equations 4

3.0.1 Worked Examples (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1 Determinants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.1.1 Lecture Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.1.2 Worked Examples (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Inverse of a Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.1 Lecture Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.2 Worked Examples (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3 Solution of Simultaneous Linear Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3.1 Worked Examples (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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 1 Derivative of a Vector
A vector function r(t) assigns a vector to each scalar t (e.g., time). In components:
r(t) = ⟨x(t), y(t), z(t)⟩ = x(t)i + y(t)j + z(t)k.
The derivative is taken component-wise:
dr
= r′ (t) = ⟨x′ (t), y ′ (t), z ′ (t)⟩.
dt

Basic rules (same as scalar functions):

• Sum: d
dt
(u + v) = u′ + v′

• Constant multiple: d
dt
(cu) = cu′

• Dot product: d
dt
(u · v) = u′ · v + u · v′

• Cross product: d
dt
(u × v) = u′ × v + u × v′

• Chain rule: d
dt
u(f (t)) = f ′ (t) u′ (f (t))

1.1 Worked Examples (10)

Example 1: r(t) = ⟨t2 , sin t, et ⟩. Find r′ (t). Solution: x′ (t) = 2t, y ′ (t) = cos t, z ′ (t) = et .
r′ (t) = ⟨2t, cos t, et ⟩.
√
Example 2: r(t) = (3t − 1)i + ln(t)j + t k. Solution: x′ (t) = 3, y ′ (t) = 1t , z ′ (t) = 2√ 1
t
.
′ 1 1
r (t) = 3i + t j + 2√t k.

Example 3: r(t) = ⟨cos(2t), sin(2t), t2 ⟩. Solution: Chain rule: x′ (t) = −2 sin(2t), y ′ (t) =
2 cos(2t), z ′ (t) = 2t. r′ (t) = ⟨−2 sin(2t), 2 cos(2t), 2t⟩.

Example 4: r(t) = ⟨e−t , tan t, sec t⟩. Solution: x′ (t) = −e−t , y ′ (t) = sec2 t, z ′ (t) = sec t tan t.
r′ (t) = ⟨−e−t , sec2 t, sec t tan t⟩.

Example 5: r(t) = ⟨5, 3t2 , −4t3 ⟩. Find r′ (2). Solution: r′ (t) = ⟨0, 6t, −12t2 ⟩. r′ (2) = ⟨0, 12, −48⟩.

Example 6: u(t) = ⟨t, t2 ⟩, v(t) = ⟨et , ln t⟩. Find dtd (u · v). Solution: u′ = ⟨1, 2t⟩, v′ = ⟨et , 1/t⟩.
u′ · v = et + 2t ln t, u · v′ = tet + t. Sum = et (1 + t) + t(2 ln t + 1).

Example 7: r(t) = ⟨t3 − 2t, cos(3t)⟩. Find r′′ (t). Solution: r′ (t) = ⟨3t2 − 2, −3 sin(3t)⟩, r′′ (t) =
⟨6t, −9 cos(3t)⟩.

Example 8: r(t) = ⟨ln(t2 +1), arctan t⟩. Solution: x′ (t) = 2t

t2 +1
, y ′ (t) = 1
1+t2
. r′ (t) = 2t
, 1
t2 +1 1+t2
.

Example 9: r(t) = ⟨t sin t, t cos t⟩. Solution: Product rule: x′ (t) = sin t + t cos t, y ′ (t) = cos t −
t sin t. r′ (t) = ⟨sin t + t cos t, cos t − t sin t⟩.

Example 10: r(t) = ⟨e2t cos t, e2t sin t⟩. Solution: x′ (t) = 2e2t cos t − e2t sin t = e2t (2 cos t − sin t),
y ′ (t) = 2e2t sin t + e2t cos t = e2t (2 sin t + cos t). r′ (t) = e2t ⟨2 cos t − sin t, 2 sin t +
cos t⟩.

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 2 Applications of Vector Derivatives
If r(t) is the position of a particle:

• Velocity: v(t) = r′ (t)

• Speed: |v(t)|

• Acceleration: a(t) = v′ (t) = r′′ (t)

r′ (t)
• Unit tangent vector: T(t) =
|r′ (t)|
• Tangent line at t0 : L(s) = r(t0 ) + s r′ (t0 )

2.1 Worked Examples (10)

Example 1: r(t) = ⟨2t, 3t2 ⟩. Find velocity and acceleration at t = 1. Solution: v(t) = ⟨2, 6t⟩,
a(t) = ⟨0, 6⟩. At t = 1: v = ⟨2, 6⟩, a = ⟨0, 6⟩.

√ = ⟨42cos t, 4 sin t⟩. Find speed. Solution: v(t) = ⟨−4 sin t, 4 cos t⟩. Speed
Example 2: r(t)
= 16 sin t + 16 cos2 t = 4.
′ ′
Example 3: r(t) = ⟨t2 , t3 ⟩. Find unit tangent at t =D 2. Solution: 2
E r D(t) = ⟨2t,E3t ⟩, r (2) = ⟨4, 12⟩,
√ √
|r′ (2)| = 16 + 144 = 4 10. T(2) = 4√410 , 4√1210 = √110 , √310 .

Example 4: r(t) = ⟨t, ln t⟩. Find velocity and acceleration at t = e. Solution: v(t) = ⟨1, 1/t⟩,
a(t) = ⟨0, −1/t2 ⟩. At t = e: v = ⟨1, 1/e⟩, a = ⟨0, −1/e2 ⟩.

Example 5: r(t) = ⟨3t−1, t2 +2⟩. Tangent line at t = 0. Solution: r(0) = ⟨−1, 2⟩, r′ (t) = ⟨3, 2t⟩,
r′ (0) = ⟨3, 0⟩. Tangent: L(s) = ⟨−1 + 3s, 2⟩.
t −t t −t
√= ⟨e , e ⟩. Speed at t = 0. Solution: v(t) = ⟨e , −e ⟩, v(0) = ⟨1, −1⟩, speed
Example 6: r(t)
= 2.

Example 7: r(t) = ⟨t2 − 4, 3t⟩. When is velocity parallel to ⟨1, 1⟩? Solution: v(t) = ⟨2t, 3⟩ =
k⟨1, 1⟩ ⇒ 2t = k, 3 = k ⇒ t = 1.5.

Example 8: r(t) = ⟨cos t, sin t, t⟩. Acceleration at t = π/2. Solution: v(t) = ⟨− sin t, cos t, 1⟩,
a(t) = ⟨− cos t, − sin t, 0⟩. At t = π/2: a = ⟨0, −1, 0⟩.
3 2
Example 9: r(t) = ⟨t√ , t , t⟩. Speed at√t = 2. Solution: v(t) = ⟨3t2 , 2t, 1⟩, v(2) = ⟨12, 4, 1⟩,
speed = 144 + 16 + 1 = 161.
√ √
Example 10: r(t) = ⟨ln t, t⟩. Unit tangent at t = 1. Solution: D r′ (t) = ⟨1/t, 1/(2 t)⟩, r′ (1) =
√ √ √ E
⟨1, 0.5⟩, |r′ (1)| = 1 + 0.25 = 1.25 = 25 . T(1) = √25 , √15 .

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 3 Matrices and Linear Equations
Three elementary row operations:

1. Swap two rows: Ri ↔ Rj

2. Multiply a row by a nonzero constant: Ri ← kRi

3. Add a multiple of one row to another: Ri ← Ri + kRj

These operations are used to solve systems and find inverses.

3.0.1 Worked Examples (10)

   
1 2 3 4
Example 1: A= . Swap R1 and R2 . Result: .
3 4 1 2
   
2 −1 0 6 −3 0
Example 2: A= . Multiply R1 by 3. Result: .
1 3 4 1 3 4
 
1 0 2
Example 3: A = 0 1 −1. Do R3 ← R3 − 2R1 . New R3 = [2 − 2(1), 1 − 2(0), 0 − 2(2)] =
2 1 0  
1 0 2
[0, 1, −4]. Result: 0 1 −1.
0 1 −4
   
0 2 1 3 1 4
Example 4: A= . Swap R1 and R2 . Result: .
3 1 4 0 2 1
   
1 1 1 1
Example 5: A= . R2 ← R2 − 2R1 . Result: .
2 2 0 0
   
3 6 1 1 2
Example 6: A= . Multiply R1 by 3 . Result: .
2 5 2 5
 
1 −1 2
Example 7: A = 2 1 3. R2 ← R2 − 2R1 . New R2 = [2 − 2(1), 1 − 2(−1), 3 − 2(2)] =
0 1 1  
1 −1 2
[0, 3, −1]. Result: 0 3 −1.
0 1 1
   
0 1 1 0
Example 8: A= . Swap rows. Result: .
1 0 0 1
   
2 4 0 0
Example 9: A= . R1 ← R1 − 2R2 . R1 = [2 − 2(1), 4 − 2(2)] = [0, 0]. Result: .
1 2 1 2
   
1 0 0 1 0 0
Example 10: A = 0 1 0. Multiply R2 by 5. Result: 0 5 0.
0 0 1 0 0 1

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 3.1 Determinants
3.1.1 Lecture Notes
 
a b
For a 2 × 2 matrix A = : det(A) = ad − bc.
c d
For a 3 × 3 matrix:
 
a b c
det d e f  = a(ei − f h) − b(di − f g) + c(dh − eg).
g h i

Sarrus rule: repeat first two columns, sum products of three diagonals down minus up.

3.1.2 Worked Examples (10)

 
2 3
Example 1: det = 2 · 5 − 3 · 4 = 10 − 12 = −2.
4 5
 
−1 2
Example 2: det = (−1) · 0 − 2 · 3 = −6.
3 0
 
1 2 3
Example 3: det 4 5 6 = 1(5 · 9 − 6 · 8) − 2(4 · 9 − 6 · 7) + 3(4 · 8 − 5 · 7) = 1(45 − 48) − 2(36 −
7 8 9
42) + 3(32 − 35) = −3 − 2(−6) + 3(−3) = −3 + 12 − 9 = 0.
 
2 0 1
Example 4: det −1 3 0 = 2(3·2−0·1)−0(−1·2−0·4)+1(−1·1−3·4) = 2(6)−0+1(−1−12) =
4 1 2
12 − 13 = −1.
 
1 0
Example 5: det = 1 · 1 − 0 · 0 = 1.
0 1
 
3 1
Example 6: det = 3 · 4 − 1 · 2 = 12 − 2 = 10.
2 4
 
0 2 0      
1 4 3 4 3 1
Example 7: det 3 1 4 = 0 · det
  − 2 · det + 0 · det = −2(3 · 6 − 4 · 5) =
0 6 5 6 5 0
5 0 6
−2(18 − 20) = −2(−2) = 4.
 
1 2
Example 8: det = 1 · 6 − 2 · 3 = 6 − 6 = 0.
3 6
 
2 −1
Example 9: det = 2 · 2 − (−1)(−4) = 4 − 4 = 0.
−4 2
 
1 0 2  
1 2
Example 10: det  0 3 0 = 0·(...)+3·det −0·(...) = 3(1·4−2·(−1)) = 3(4+2) = 18.
−1 4
−1 0 4

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 3.2 Inverse of a Matrix
3.2.1 Lecture Notes
   
a b −1 1 d −b
For 2 × 2: if A = and det A ̸= 0, then A = ad−bc .
c d −c a
For larger matrices: use row reduction [A|I] → [I|A−1 ].

3.2.2 Worked Examples (10)

     
2 3 −1 1 4 −3 0.8 −0.6
Example 1: A= , det = 8 − 3 = 5. A = 5 = .
1 4 −1 2 −0.2 0.4
   
1 2 −1 7 −2
Example 2: A= , det = 7 − 6 = 1. A = .
3 7 −3 1
     
0 1 −1 1 0 −1 0 1
Example 3: A= , det = −1. A = −1 = .
1 0 −1 0 1 0
   
1 1 −1 3 −1
Example 4: A= , det = 3 − 2 = 1. A = .
2 3 −2 1
     
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 0 0 1 2 3 1 0 0
R2 ←R2 −4R3
Example 5: A = 0 1 4. Row reduce:  0 1 4 0 1 0  −− −−−−−→  0 1 0 0 1 −4 
0 0  1 0 0 1 0 0 1  0 0 1 0 0 1
1 2 0 1 0 −3 1 0 0 1 −2 5
R1 ←R1 −3R3 R1 ←R1 −2R2
−−−−−−−→  0 1 0 0 1 −4  −−−−−−−→  0 1 0 0 1 −4 . Thus
 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
1 −2 5
−1
A = 0 1 −4.

0 0 1
     
4 7 −1 1 6 −7 0.6 −0.7
Example 6: A= , det = 24 − 14 = 10. A = 10 = .
2 6 −2 4 −0.2 0.4
   
1 0 0 1 0 0
Example 7: A = 0 2 0 (diagonal). A−1 = 0 1/2 0 .
0 0 3 0 0 1/3
   
2 5 −1 3 −5
Example 8: A= , det = 6 − 5 = 1. A = .
1 3 −1 2
   
1 2 −1 5 −2
Example 9: A= , det = 5 − 4 = 1. A = .
2 5 −2 1
     
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
R ←R −R3
Example 10: A = 0 1 1. Reduce:  0 1 1 0 1 0  −−2−−−2−−→  0 1 0 0 1 −1 
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1  0 0 1 0 0 1
1 1 0 1 0 −1 1 0 0 1 −1 0
R ←R −R3 R1 ←R1 −R2
−−1−−−1−−→  0 1 0 0 1 −1  − −−−−−−→  0 1 0 0 1 −1 . A−1 =
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1

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  
1 −1 0
0 1 −1.
0 0 1

3.3 Solution of Simultaneous Linear Equations

Methods:
• Gaussian elimination (row reduction to row-echelon form then back substitution)

• Inverse method: AX = B ⇒ X = A−1 B

det(Ai )
• Cramer’s rule: xi = , where Ai replaces column i with B.
det(A)

3.3.1 Worked Examples (10)

 
1 2 5
Example 1: Solve x+2y = 5, 3x+y = 5 by elimination. Augmented: . R2 ← R2 −3R1 :
  3 1 5
1 2 5
. −5y = −10 ⇒ y = 2, then x + 4 = 5 ⇒ x = 1. Solution: (1, 2).
0 −5 −10
   
1 2 −1 1 1 −2
Example 2: Same system by inverse method. A = , det = −5, A = −5 =
     3
  1 −3 1
−0.2 0.4 −1 5 −1 + 2 1
. X=A = = .
0.6 −0.2 5 3−1 2

5 2
Example 3: Same system by Cramer’s rule. det(A) = −5, det(Ax ) = = 5 − 10 = −5 ⇒
5 1
1 5
x = 1, det(Ay ) = = 5 − 15 = −10 ⇒ y = 2.
3 5
Example 4: Solve x + y + z = 6, y + z = 4, z = 2. Back substitute: z = 2, y + 2 = 4 ⇒ y = 2,
x + 2 + 2 = 6 ⇒ x = 2. Solution: (2, 2, 2).
 
2 −1 0 1
Example 5: Solve 2x − y = 1, x + y + z = 4, y − z = 1. Augmented: 1 1 1 4. Swap
   0 1 −1 1
1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4
R1 , R2 : 2 −1 0 1 . R2 ← R2 − 2R1 : 0 −3 −2 −7. Swap R2 , R3 :
  
 0 1 −1 1  0 1  −1 1
1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4
0 1 −1 1 . R3 ← R3 + 3R2 : 0 1 −1 1 . −5z = −4 ⇒ z = 0.8,
0 −3 −2 −7 0 0 −5 −4
y − 0.8 = 1 ⇒ y = 1.8, x + 1.8 + 0.8 = 4 ⇒ x = 1.4. Solution: (1.4, 1.8, 0.8).
 
1 1 0
Example 6: Solve x+y = 2, y+z = 3, x+z = 4 by inverse method. A = 0 1 1, det(A) = 2.
    1 0 1 
1 −1 1 2 2−3+4
One finds A−1 = 21  1 1 −1. Then X = A−1 3 = 12  2 + 3 − 4  =
−1 1 1 4 −2 + 3 + 4

7
  
3
1  
2
1 = (1.5, 0.5, 2.5).
5
 
3 −2 4
Example 7: Solve 3x − 2y = 4, 6x − 4y = 8. Augmented: . R2 ← R2 − 2R1 :
  6 −4 8
3 −2 4 3x−4
. Infinitely many solutions: 3x − 2y = 4 ⇒ y = 2
. Let x = t,
0 0 0
y = 3t−4
2
.

Example 8: Solve by Cramer’s rule: x + y + z = 6, x − y + z = 2, 2x + y − z = 1. det(A) =

1 1 1
1 −1 1 = 1(1 − 1) − 1(−1 − 2) + 1(1 + 2) = 0 + 3 + 3 = 6. det(Ax ) =
2 1 −1
6 1 1
2 −1 1 = 6(1 − 1) − 1(−2 − 1) + 1(2 + 1) = 0 + 3 + 3 = 6 ⇒ x = 1.
1 1 −1
1 6 1
det(Ay ) = 1 2 1 = 1(−2−1)−6(−1−2)+1(1−4) = −3+18−3 = 12 ⇒ y = 2.
2 1 −1
1 1 6
det(Az ) = 1 −1 2 = 1(−1 − 2) − 1(1 − 4) + 6(1 + 2) = −3 + 3 + 18 = 18 ⇒ z = 3.
2 1 1
Solution: (1, 2, 3).

Example 9: Solve 0.5x+0.2y = 1.3, 0.3x−0.1y = 0.4 by elimination. Multiply by 10: 5x+2y =
13, 3x − y = 4. From second: y = 3x − 4. Substitute: 5x + 2(3x − 4) = 13 ⇒
11x = 21 ⇒ x = 21/11, y = 3(21/11) − 4 = 63/11 − 44/11 = 19/11.

Example 10: Solve 2x + 3y = 5, 4x + 7y = 11 by inverse

   det = 2 · 7 − 3 · 4 =
method.  2.
7 −3 3.5 −1.5 3.5 −1.5 5 17.5 − 16.5 1
A−1 = 21 = . X= = = .
−4 2 −2 1 −2 1 11 −10 + 11 1
Solution: x = 1, y = 1.