Lecture 5
VECTORS
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Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Physical quantities can be divided into two main groups, scalar
quantities and vector quantities.
(a) A scalar quantity is defined completely by a single number with
appropriate units
(b) A vector quantity is defined completely when we know not only its
magnitude (with units) but also the direction in which it operates
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector representation
A vector quantity can be represented graphically by a line, drawn so
that:
(a) The length of the line denotes the magnitude of the quantity
(b) The direction of the line (indicated by an arrowhead) denotes the
direction in which the vector quantity acts.
The vector quantity
____ AB
is referred to asAB or
a
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector representation
Two equal vectors
Types of vectors
Addition of vectors
The sum of a number of vectors
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector representation
Two equal vectors
If two vectors, a and b, are said to be equal, they have the same
magnitude and the same direction
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector representation
If two vectors, a and b, have the same magnitude but opposite
direction then a = −b
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector representation
Addition of vectors
____ ____ ____
The sum of two vectors AB and BCis defined as the single vector
AC
____ ____ ____
AB + BC = AC
or a + b = c
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector representation
The sum of a number of vectors
Draw the vectors as a chain.
____ ____ ____ ____ ____
AB + BC + CD+ DE = AE
____
or a + b + c + d = AE
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector representation
The sum of a number of vectors
If the ends of the chain coincide the sum is 0.
a+b +c+d = 0
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Components of a given vector
____
____ ____ ____ ____
Just as AB + BC + CD+ DE can be replaced byAE so any single ____
PT
vector can be replaced by any number of component vectors so long
as the form a chain beginning at P and ending at T.
____
PT = a + b + c + d
Lecture 5: Vectors
Components of a given vector
Components of a vector in terms of unit vectors
____
The position vectorOP , denoted by r can be defined by its two
components in the Ox and Oy directions as:
r = a (along Ox) + b (along Oy)
If we now define i and j to be
unit vectors in the Ox and Oy
directions respectively so that
a = ai and b = bj
then:
r = ai + bj
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vectors in space
In three dimensions a vector can be defined in terms of its
components in the three spatial direction Ox, Oy and Oz as:
r = ai + bj + ck
where k is a unit vector in the Oz direction
The magnitude of r can then be
found from Pythagoras’
theorem to be:
r = a 2 +b 2 + c 2
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Direction cosines
The direction of a vector in three dimensions is determined by the
angles which the vector makes with the three axes of reference:
r = ai + bj + ck so that
a
= cosα therefore a = r cosα
r
b
= cos β therefore b = r cos β
r
c
= cos γ therefore c = r cos γ
r
Lecture 5: Vectors
Direction cosines
Since:
a2 + b2 + c2 =r 2 then
r 2 cos2 α + r 2 cos2 β + r 2 cos2 γ = r 2
then
cos2 α + cos2 β + cos2 γ = 1
Lecture 5: Vectors
Direction cosines
Defining: l = cosα
m = cos β
n = cos γ
then:
l 2 + m2 + n 2 = 1
where [l, m, n] are called the
direction cosines.
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Scalar product of two vectors
If a and b are two vectors, the scalar
product of a and b is defined to be the
scalar (number):
ab cosθ
where a and b are the magnitudes of
the vectors and θ is the angle
between them.
The scalar product (dot product) is
a.b = ab cosθ
denoted by:
Lecture 5: Vectors
Scalar product of two vectors
If a and b are two parallel vectors, the scalar product of a and b is
then:
a.b = ab cos0 = ab
Therefore, given:
a = a1i + a2 j + a3k and b = b1i + b2 j + b3k
then:
a.b = a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector product of two vectors
The vector product (cross product) of
a and b, denoted by:
a×b
is a vector with magnitude:
ab sinθ
a×b
and a direction such that a, b and
form a right-handed set.
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector product of two vectors
If n̂ is a unit vector in the direction
of:
a×b
then:
a × b = ab sinθ nˆ
Notice that:
b × a = −a × b
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Since the coordinate vectors are mutually perpendicular:
i× j = k
j× k = i
k ×i = j
and
i × i = j× j = k × k = 0
Lecture 5: Vectors
Vector product of two vectors
So, given:
a = a1i + a2 j + a3k and b = b1i + b2 j + b3k
then:
a × b = (a2b3 − a3b2 )i − (a1b3 − a3b1) j + (a1b2 − a2b1)k
That is:
i j k
a × b = a1 a2 a3
b1 b2 b3
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Angle between two vectors
Let a have direction cosines [l, m,
n] and b have direction cosines [l′,
m′, n′]
____ ____
Let OP and OP′ be unit vectors
parallel to a and b respectively.
( PP′)2 = (l − l ′)2 + (m − m′)2 + (n − n′)2
= 2 − 2(ll ′ + mm′ + nn′)
= 2 − 2cosθ by the cosine rule
therefore cosθ =ll ′ + mm′ + nn′
Lecture 5: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities
Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios
Lecture 5: Vectors
Direction ratios
Since
r = ai + bj + ck and
a b c
l = , m= , n=
r r r
the components a, b and c are proportional to the direction cosines
they are sometimes referred to as the direction ratios of the vector.
Learning outcomes
Define a vector
Represent a vector by a directed straight line
Add vectors
Write a vector in terms of component vectors
Write a vector in terms of component unit vectors
Set up a system for representing vectors
Obtain the direction cosines of a vector
Calculate the scalar product of two vectors
Calculate the vector product of two vectors
Determine the angle between two vectors
Evaluate the direction ratios of a vector