SCALARS AND VECTORS

IN PHYSICS, MATHS AND ENGINEERING, WE

ENCOUNTER WITH TWO IMPORTANT QUANTITIES
KNOWN AS SCALARS AND VECTORS.
A PHYSICAL QUANTITY HAVING MAGNITUDE
ONLY IS CALLED SCALAR. IT CAN BE SPECIFIED BY
A NUMBER ALONGWITH UNIT. FOR EXAMPLE
TEMPERATURE, MASS, TIME, DENSITY, LENGTH,
VOLUME, WORK AND SPEED ETC.
A PHYSICAL QUANTITY HAVING DIRECTION
AND MAGNITUDE IS KNOWN AS VECTOR.
EXAMPLES OF VECTORS ARE ACCELERATION,
VELOCITY, DISPLACEMENT, WEIGHT, FORCE,
MOMENTUM, ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS.
GEOMETRICALLY, A VECTOR IS REPRESENTED BY
A DIRECTED LINE SEGMENT ⃗ WITH O ITS INITIAL
POINT AND A AS ITS TERMINAL POINT.
MATHEMATICAL DEFINITION OF VECTOR

A VECTOR IS A TRIPLE OF NUMBERS [a1 , a2 , a3 ] OR

( , , ) SATISFYING THE FOLLOWING AXIOMS:-
a. THE VECTORS [a1 , a2 , a3 ] = [b1 , b2 , b3 ] IF AND ONLY

IF a1  b1, a2  b2 , a3  b3
b. FOR ANY SCALAR NUMBER K,
k[a1, a2 , a3 ]  [ka1, ka2 , ka3 ] . THIS OPERATION IS
CALLED MULTIPLICATION OF A VECTOR BY
A SCALAR.

c. GIVEN TWO VECTORS [a1 , a2 , a3 ] , [b1 , b2 , b3 ] ,

THEIR SUM IS A VECTOR. WE WRITE THIS AS

[ a1 , a 2 , a3 ]  [b1 , b2 , b3 ]  [ a1  b1 , a 2  b2 , a3  b3 ]
COMPONENTS AND MAGNITUDE OF A VECTOR.
IF = [ , , ], THE NUMBERS , AND ARE
CALLED THE COMPONENTS OF A VECTOR . THE
MAGNITUDE (LENGTH OR NORM) OF DENOTED BY
| | IS GIVEN BY:-

| A | a 1
2
 a 2
2
 a 3
2
.

BASIC UNIT VECTORS. TAKE THREE POINTS A(1,0,0),

B(0,1,0) AND C(0,0,1) ALONG X, Y AND Z-AXES
RESPECTIVELY. DENOTE THESE VECTORS OX, OY
AND OZ BY ̂, ̂ AND RESPECTIVELY. THESE
IDENTITIES ARE CALLED THE UNIT VECTORS IN THE
DIRECTIONS OF X, Y AND Z-AXES RESPECTIVELY.

kˆ
O
iˆ Y
ĵ

X
SOME DEFINITIONS
a. UNIT VECTOR OF A VECTOR IS DEFINED AS:

=| |

b. ZERO OR NULL VECTOR

c. TWO VECTORS ARE SAID TO BE NEGATIVE
OF EACH OTHER IF THEY HAVE SAME
MAGNITUDE BUT OPPOSITE DIRECTION
d. EQUALL VECTORS (Same magnitude, same
direction, so having same components)
e. PARRALLEL VECTORS (non zero scalar multiple of
each other)
f. ADDITION OF TWO VECTORS
 TRIANGLE LAW OF ADDITION
 PARRALELOGRAM LAW
g. SUBTRACTION OF TWO VECTORS
h. POSITION VECTOR
 PROPERTIES
VECTORS BOTH IN PLANE AND IN SPACE HAVE
THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES:
 COMMUTATIVE PROPERTY
 ASSOCIATIVE PROPERTY
 ADDITIVE INVERSE
 DISTRIBUTIVE PROPERTY
 SCALAR MULTIPLICATION
DIRECTION ANGLES AND DIRECTION COSINES
LET = = ̂+ ̂+ BE A NON ZERO VECTOR,
LET ∝, , DENOTE THE ANGLES FORMED B/W
AND UNIT COORDINATE VECTORS , AND
RESPECTIVELY, S.T, ≤∝, , ≤ . THEN
 THE ANGLES ∝, , ARE CALLED THE
DIRECTION ANGLES, AND
 THE NUMBERS = , = AND =
ARE CALLED DIRECTION COSINES OF THE
VECTOR .
DIRECTION RATIOS. IF ,  AND  ARE NUMBERS
PROPORTIONAL TO THE DIRECTION COSINES l, m
AND n OF A LINE THEN ,  AND  ARE CALLED THE
DIRECTION RATIOS OR DIRECTION COMPONENTS
OF THE LINE. IF ,  AND  ARE THE DIRECTION
RATIOS OF A LINE THEN ITS DIRECTION COSINES

ARE: = , = , = .

NOTE. + + = (PROVE AS ASSIGNMENT)

EXAMPLE - 1. GIVEN THE VECTORS ⃗= ̂− ̂+
AND ⃗= ̂+ ̂+ , FIND THE MAGNITUDE AND
DIRECTION COSINES OF THE VECTORS, , and ⃗− ⃗.

SOLUTION. AS ⃗− ⃗ =3( ̂ − ̂+ )–2( ̂+ ̂+ )

= ̂− ̂+ − ̂− ̂−
= ̂− ̂+
 |3a -2 b| = 5 2  (8) 2  6 2  5 5

1 8 6
DIRECTION COSINES OF 3A - 2B ARE , and .
5 5 5 5 5

EXAMPLE – 2. A LINE MAKES AN ANGLE OF EQUAL

MAGNITUDE WITH THE THREE AXES. FIND THESE
ANGLES.
SOLUTION SINCE LINE MAKES ANGLES OF EQUAL
MAGNITUDE, THEREFORE
 =  =   Cos  = cos  = cos  = cos (say)
but we know that, cos2 + cos2 + cos2 = 1
 3 cos2 = 1 or cos  = 1
  = cos-1( 1
) = 54.740
3 3

  =  =  = 54.740
EXAMPLE - 3 A LINE MAKES ANGLES ,  WITH X-AXIS
AND Y-AXIS RESPECTIVELY. FIND THE ANGLE  IT MAKES
WITH Z-AXIS, WHEN :-
(i)  = 450,  = 600
(ii)  = 450,  = 450
(iii)  = 1350,  = 600
SOLUTION We know that l = cos , m = cos  and n = cos 
And l2 + m2 + n2 = cos2 + cos2 + cos2 = 1 -------------- (1)
(i) Using given values of  and  in equation (1) we get
cos245 + cos260 + cos2 = 1
2 2
 1  1
     + cos2 = 1
 2  2
1 1 1
  + cos2 = 1  cos  =    = 600 and 1200
2 4 2

(ii) Using given values of  and  in equation (1) we get

cos245 + cos245 + cos2 = 1
2 2
 1   1 
     + cos2 = 1
 2  2
1 1
  + cos2 = 1  cos  = 0   = 900
2 2

(iii) Using given values of  and  in equation (1) we get

cos2135 + cos260 + cos2 = 1
2 2
 1  1
     + cos2 = 1
 2  2

1 1 1
  + cos2 = 1  cos  =    = 600 and 1200
2 4 2
 DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS. THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN THE POINTS ( , , ) AND ( , , ) IS
GIVEN BY:-

AB  x 2  x1    y 2  y1   z 2  z1 
2 2 2

EXAMPLE -4. Find the distance between the points (-3, 1, 4)

and (5, -1, 6).

Solution. The distance formula is ( x2  x1)2  ( y2  y1)2  ( z2  z1)2

Here (x1, y1, z1) = (-3, 1, 4) and (x2, y2, z2) = (5, -1, 6)

2 2 2
Therefore distance  (5  3)  (1  1)  (6  4)

 72  6 2
 SPHERE
A sphere is defined as the locus of a moving point such that its
distance from a fixed point is constant. The constant distance and
the fixed point are called the radius and the centre respectively.

The standard equation of a sphere with centre (x1, y1, z1) and radius
‘a’ will be :-

(x - x 1 ) 2  (y - y 1 ) 2  (z - z 1 ) 2  a 2
If the centre is at the origin, then equation is :-
EXAMPLE – 5

Find the centre and radius of the sphere

3x 2
 3y 2
 3z 2
- x  2y  4z - 2  0

SOLUTION
Completing the square in x, y and z we get
2 2 2
 1   1   2  5
 x     y     z   
 6   3   3  4

This shows that centre and the radius of the sphere are
 1 1 2 
 , ,  5
 6 3 3  and 2
respectively.
EXAMPLE – 6
Find the equation of the sphere which passes through
(2,1,3), (3,2,1), (1,-2,-3) and ( , , ).

SOLUTION
The standard form of the equation of sphere is written as:

x  y z GxHyLzK0
2 2 2

known as general form

Substituting the given points in this equation we get following four

linear equations in four unknown G, H, L and K :-

2G  H  3L  K  14  0
3G  2H  L  K  14  0
G - 2H - 3L  K  14  0
and G  H  2L  K  6  0
Solving these simultaneously we get
 48 32 -8 - 179
G  ,H  ,L  and K 
19 19 19 19
Then the desired equation is

19(xy z )48x32y8z1780
2 2 2
EXAMPLE –7
Find the centre and radius of the sphere
2 13
x 2
 y 2
 z 2
- 2x - y - z  
3 36

SOLUTION

Completing the square in x, y and z we get

1 2 1 13 1 1
x 2 - 2x  1  y 2 - y   z2 - z    1 
4 3 9 36 4 9

 13  36  9  4 36
2 2
 1  1
 x  1 2
y  z    1
 2   3  36 36

 1 1 
This shows that centre of the sphere is  1 , 2 , 3  and radius 1.
 

EXAMPLE –8 Find the equation of sphere having radius 4 and

centre at (1,1,1).

SOLUTION
The required equation is
(x - 1) 2  (y - 1) 2  (z - 1) 2  4 2

x22x1y22y1z22z116

 x 2
 y 2  z 2  2 x  2 y  2 z- 13  0
EXAMPLE –9

Find the equation of sphere whose centre lies on the line x = y = z and it passes through the points (5,
3, 0) and (-1, 4, 1).

SOLUTION
We know the standard equation of the sphere with centre at (x1, y1, z1) and radius ‘a’ is :-

(x - x 1 ) 2  (y - y 1 ) 2  (z - z 1 ) 2  a 2
Here x1= y1= z1=x1 (say), then above equation becomes

(x-x1 )2 (y-x1 )2 (z-x1 )2 a2 (1)

Since the points (5, 3, 0) and (-1, 4, 1) lie on the sphere, they must satisfy equation (1), i.e.

(5 - x1 )2  (3 - x1 )2  (0 - x1 )2  a 2

 3x12 16x1  a2  34    (2)

and

(-1- x1)2 (4- x1)2 (1- x1)2  a2

 3x12  8x1  a2 18    (3)

Solving equations (2) and (3) simultaneously we get x1=2 and a = 14

Therefore required equation of sphere is

(x - 2) 2
 (y - 2) 2
 (z - 2) 2
 14

 x2  y2  z2  4x  4y  4z  2  0
EXAMPLE –10

Find the equation of the sphere passing through the points

(-3, 6, 0), (-2, - 5, - 1), (1, 4, 2) and centre lies on the hypotenuse

thus formed.

SOLUTION

Let the given points be named as A, B and C respectively.

Then direction ratios of AB  [1, - 11, - 1] , Direction ratios of
BC  3,9,3 and direction ratios of CA  - 4, 2, - 2  . So,

AB.BC=0. Therefore AC is  BC with C  90 .



 1  121  1  9  81  9  16  4  16  BC  CA
2 2 2
AB

 AB is hypotenuse. Since centre lies on the hypotenuse AB

of the right triangle ABC, therefore mid point of AB is centre
of the required sphere. Hence the centre is
  3  2 6  5 0 1   5 1 1
 , ,  , , 
 2 2 2   2 2 2 

and the radius of the sphere is

AB 123

2 2

Therefore required equation of sphere is

 2 2 2
 5   1   1  123
x    y   z   
 2  2  2 2
123 25 1 1 96
x  y  z 5x  y  z 
2 2 2
- - - 
4 4 4 4 4

x2 y2 z2 5xyz240

THE POINTS DIVIDING THE JOIN OF TWO GIVEN
POINTS IN A GIVEN RATIO
LET ( , , ) AND ( , , ) BE TWO GIVEN
POINTS AND LET THE POINT ( , , ) DIVIDES THE
m
JOIN OF P1P2 INTERNALLY IN THE RATIO : n, i.e,
n

THEN:-
nx  mx ny  m y2 nz  mz
x  1 2
, y  1
and z  1 2
m  n m  n m  n

IF P DIVIDES EXTERNALLY THEN

nx  mx ny  my nz  mz
x  1 2
, y  1 2
and z  1 2
m  n m  n m  n

IF = = , THEN IT BECOMES THE MID POINT

FORMULA.
EXAMPLE -5. Find the coordinates of the mid point dividing
the join of (-3, 1, 4) and (5, -1, 6).

  3  5 11 4  6 
Solution. Mid point = (x, y, z) =  , ,  = (1, 0, 5)
 2 2 2 

EXAMPLE -6. Find the coordinates of the point dividing the

join of (-3, 1, 4) and (5, -1, 6) in the ratio 3 : 5 (i) Internally (ii)
Externally

Solution

(i) Let (x1, y1, z1) be the required point, then

  3 ( 5 )  5 ( 3 ) 5 (1 )  3 (  1 ) 5 ( 4 )  3 ( 6 )   1 19 
( x1 , y1 , z1 )   , ,    0, , 
 35 53 53   4 4 

(ii) Let (x2, y2, z2) be the required point, then

  3 ( 5 )  5 ( 3 ) 5 (1)  3 (  1) 5 ( 4 )  3 ( 6 ) 
( x 2 , y 21 , z 21 )   , ,     15 , 4 ,1 
 35 35 35 
ANGLE BETWEEN TWO LINES. LET TWO STRAIGHT
LINES, HAVING DIRECTION COSINES l1, m1, n1 AND l2,
m2, n2, MAKE AN ANGLE WITH EACH OTHER. IF
AND ARE UNIT VECTORS ALONG THE LINES, THEN

aˆ  l 1 iˆ  m 1
ˆj  n 1 kˆ
bˆ  l 2 iˆ  m 2
ˆj  n 2 kˆ
AND aˆ  bˆ  cos   l 1 l 2  m 1 m 2  n1n 2 GIVES THE
ANGLE BETWEEN TWO LINES.

EXAMPLE -7. FIND THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE

LINES 5x = y + 3 = 1 – 2z AND
x + 3 = 1 – 2y = 1 + z.
SOLUTION. WRITING THE EQUATIONS IN
SYMMETRIC FORM WE GET,
1 1
z y
x y3 2 x3 2  z 1
  and 
2 10 5 2 1 2
THESE EQUATIONS SHOW THAT 2, 10, -5 AND 2, -1, 2
ARE THE DIRECTION RATIOS OF THE TWO LINES.
LET l1, m1, n1 AND l2, m2, n2 BE THE DIRECTION COSINES
OF THE TWO LINES, THEN
2 2
l1  
2 2  10 2
 (5) 2 129
 10 10
m1  
2 2  10 2  (5) 2 129

5 5
n1  
2 2  10 2  (5) 2 129

2 2 2
l2   
2 2  2 2  (1) 2 9 3

1 1 1
m2   
2 2  2 2  (1) 2 9 3

2 2 2
n2   
2 2  2 2  (1) 2 9 3

WE KNOW THAT IF IS THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE

TWO LINES THEN
Cos   l1l 2  m1 m 2  n1 n 2
2 2 10  1 5 2  16
Cos  .  .  . 
THUS HERE 129 3 129 3 129 3 3 129

  16 
  Cos 1  .
 3 129 
VECTOR PERPENDICULAR TO TWO GIVEN VECTORS.
GIVEN TWO VECTORS IN TERMS OF THEIR
DIRECTION RATIOS i.e. LET
 
a  a1iˆ  b1 ˆj  c1k and b  a2iˆ  b2 ˆj  c2 kˆ
ˆ

THEN A VECTOR PERPENDICULAR TO BOTH THE

VECTORS IS GIVEN BY:-
= ×
̂ ̂
=
SCALAR PRODUCT. GIVEN TWO VECTORS
 
u  [ x1 , y1 , z1 ], v  [ x2 , y2 , z2 ] THE SCALAR PRODUCT
IS A SCALAR QUANTITY AND IS DEFINED AS

u.v  x1x2  y1 y2  z1z2 . IT HAS FOLLOWING
PROPERTIES.
a. THE SCALAR PRODUCT IS COMMUTATIVE,
I.E. ⃗ . ⃗ = ⃗ . ⃗
b. THE SCALAR PRODUCT IS DISTRIBUTIVE,
I.E. ⃗. ( ⃗ + ⃗) = ⃗ . ⃗ + ⃗ . ⃗

c. u.v  vu cos , WHERE  IS THE ANGLE
 
BETWEEN u AND v .
  
d. IF u and v ARE NONZERO VECTORS AND u.v  0
 
THEN u and v ARE SAID TO BE ORTHOGONAL.
THE VECTOR PRODUCT. GIVEN TWO VECTORS
 
a  [ x1, y1, z1 ], b  [ x2 , y2 , z2 ] THE VECTOR PRODUCT IS
A VECTOR QUANTITY AND IS DEFINED AS
 
a  b  ( y 1 z 2  y 2 z 1 ) iˆ  ( z 1 x 2  z 2 x1 ) ˆj  ( x1 y 2  x 2 y 1 ) kˆ . IN

DETERMINANT FORM IT CAN BE WRITTEN AS

iˆ ˆj kˆ
 
a  b  x1 y1 z1
.
x2 y2 z2

IT HAS FOLLOWING PROPERTIES.

a. THE VECTOR PRODUCT IS NOT COMMUTATIVE,
BUT ⃗ × ⃗ = − ⃗ × ⃗
b. THE VECTOR PRODUCT WITH ITSELF YIELDS
ZERO VECTOR, i.e. ⃗ × ⃗ = 0
 
c. THE VECTOR a  b IS ORTHOGONAL TO BOTH
THE VECTORS ⃗ AND ⃗.
      
d. THE DISTRIBUTIVE LAWS  (b  c )  a  b  a  c AND
a
      
(a  b)  c  a  c  b  c , HOLD.

e. a  b  AREA OF PARALLELOGRAM WITH a,b AS
ADJACENT SIDES.

f. a  b  ab sin  , WHERE  IS THE ANGLE BETWEEN

 
a AND b .
 SCALAR TRIPLE PRODUCT
IT IS DEFINED AS THE SCALAR PRODUCT OF TWO
VECTORS OUT OF WHICH ONE IS A VECTOR
PRODUCT OF TWO VECTORS.
 VECTOR TRIPLE PRODUCT
IT IS DEFINED AS THE VECTOR PRODUCT OF TWO
VECTORS OUT OF WHICH ONE IS A VECTOR
PRODUCT OF TWO VECTORS. THE IMPORTANT
RESULT FOR VECTOR TRIPLE PRODUCT
      
a  (b  c)  (a.c)b  (a.b)c WILL BE PROVED AND THE
LAGRANGE IDENTITY
        
     a .c a.d
(a  b ).(c  d )  (a.c )(b .d )  (a.d )(b .c )      WILL ALSO BE
b .c b .d

PROVED.
 SCALAR FIELD
IF TO EACH POINT (X, Y, Z) OF A REGION R IN SPACE
THERE CORRESPONDS A NUMBER OR A SCALAR
( , , ), THEN F IS CALLED A SCALAR FUNCTION
OF POSITION OR SCALAR POINT FUNCTION AND WE
SAY THAT A SCALAR FIELD F HAS BEEN DEFINED IN
R.
EXAMPLES
a. THE TEMPERATURE AT ANY POINT WITHIN
OR ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE AT A
CERTAIN TIME DEFINES A SCALAR FIELD.
b. f ( x, y, z)  x3 y  z 2 DEFINES A SCALAR FIELD.
c. A SCALAR FIELD WHICH IS INDEPENDENT OF
TIME IS CALLED A STATIONARY OR STEADY-
STATE SCALAR FIELD.
 THE VECTOR DIFFERENTIAL OPERATOR DEL
THE VECTOR DIFFERENTIAL OPERATOR DEL OR
NABLA, WRITTEN AS , IS DEFINED BY
ˆ  ˆ  ˆ ˆ ˆ ˆ
 i  j  k i  j k
x y z x y z
THIS VECTOR OPERATOR POSSESSES PROPERTIES
ANALOGOUS TO THOSE OF ORDINARY VECTORS. IT
IS USEFUL IN DEFINING THREE QUANTITIES WHICH
ARISE IN PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS AND ARE
KNOWN AS THE GRADIENT, THE DIVERGENCE AND
THE CURL.
 DIRECTIONAL DERIVATIVE - THE GRADIENT
LET f (x, y, z) BE DEFINED AND DIFFERENTIABLE AT
EACH POINT ( , , ) IN A CERTAIN REGION OF
SPACE i.e. f DEFINES A DIFFERENTIABLE SCALAR
FIELD. THEN THE GRADIENT OF f, WRITTEN AS 
OR grad f IS DEFINED BY:-
 ˆ  ˆ  ˆ f ˆj f  kˆ f
f  ( i j  k ) f  iˆ 
x y z x y z
NOTE THAT  DEFINES A VECTOR FIELD.
THE COMPONENT OF  IN THE DIRECTION OF A
UNIT VECTOR A IS GIVEN BY  . AND IS CALLED
THE DIRECTIONAL DERIVATIVE OF f IN THE
DIRECTION OF VECTOR a. PHYSICALLY, THIS IS
THE RATE OF CHANGE OF f AT (x, y, z) IN THE
DIRECTION OF VECTOR a.
EXAMPLE
FIND THE DIRECTIONAL DERIVATIVE OF

= + IN THE DIRECTION OF iˆ  2 ˆj  kˆ AT THE

POINT P(3, 1, -5).
 ˆ  ˆ  ˆ 2
SOLUTION. grad f =  f  ( i j  k )( x  yz )
x y z
( x2  yz ) ˆ ( x2  yz ) ˆ ( x2  yz )
i
ˆ j k
x y z

= 2xiˆ  zjˆ  ykˆ

SO ( ) = 6iˆ  5 ˆj  kˆ

= iˆ  2 ˆj  k
ˆ
GIVEN
1 ˆ
 aˆ  (i  2 ˆj  kˆ)
6
THEREFORE, THE DIRECTIONAL DERIVATIVE OF f
IN THE DIRECTION OF VECTOR a IS
5
=
1 ˆ
( ) . â = 6iˆ  5 ˆj  kˆ . 6
(i  2 ˆj  kˆ)
6
 VECTOR FIELD
IF TO EACH POINT ( , , ) OF A REGION IN SPACE
THERE CORRESPONDS A VECTOR
( , , ), THEN IS CALLED A VECTOR FUNCTION
OF POSITION OR VECTOR POINT FUNCTION AND WE
SAY THAT A VECTOR FIELD f HAS BEEN DEFINED IN
.
EXAMPLES
a. IF THE VELOCITY AT ANY POINT (x, y, z)
WITHIN A MOVING FLUID IS KNOWN AT A
CERTAIN TIME, THEN A VECTOR FIELD IS
DEFINED.

b. f ( x, y , z )  xy 2iˆ  2 yz 3 ˆj  x 2 zkˆ DEFINES A VECTOR

FIELD.
 THE DIVERGENCE

LET

f (x, y, z)= f1iˆ  f2 ˆj  f3kˆ BE DEFINED AND
DIFFERENTIABLE AT EACH POINT ( x, y , z ) IN A

CERTAIN REGION OF SPACE (I.E. f DEFINES A
DIFFERENTIABLE VECTOR FIELD). THEN THE
 
DIVERGENCE OF f , WRITTEN AS  f OR DIV f IS
DEFINED BY:-
   ˆ  ˆ
  f  ( iˆ  j  k )  ( f1iˆ  f 2 ˆj  f 3 kˆ)
x y z

f1 ˆ f 2 ˆ f 3
 iˆ j k
x y z
 
WE NOTE THAT   f  f  
EXAMPLE -9. CALCULATE div f IF

f ( x, y, z)  e xy cos ziˆ  e yz cos xjˆ  e xz cos ykˆ

 ˆ  ˆ  ˆ xy
 f  ( i  j  k)  (e cos ziˆ  eyz cos xjˆ  exz cos ykˆ)
x y z
 (e xy
cos z)  ( e yz c o s x )  (e xz
cos y)
  
x y z

= ye
xy
cos z  ze yz cos x  xe xz cos y
 THE CURL

LET f (x, y, z)  f1iˆ  f2 ˆj  f3kˆ BE DEFINED AND

DIFFERENTIABLE AT EACH POINT ( x, y , z ) IN A

CERTAIN REGION OF SPACE ( i.e. f DEFINES A
DIFFERENTIABLE VECTOR FIELD). THEN THE CURL
 
OF f , WRITTEN AS   f , CURL F IS DEFINED
BY:-
iˆ ˆj kˆ
 ˆ  ˆ  ˆ   
 f  ( i j k )  ( f1iˆ  f 2 ˆj  f 3 kˆ ) 
x y z  x  y  z
f1 f 2 f 3
EXAMPLE
CALCULATE, curl f AT (1, 1, 1) IF

f ( x, y, z)  x2 yiˆ  (4 xz  y 2 ) ˆj  (5z 2  xy 2 )kˆ

LET P = (1, 1, 1), THEN
 ˆ  ˆ  ˆ
curl f =   f  ( i j  k )  [ x 2 yiˆ  (4 xz  y 2 ) ˆj  (5 z 2  xy 2 )kˆ]
x y z

iˆ ˆj kˆ
  

x y z
x2 y 4 xz  y 2 5 z 2  xy 2

 (2 xy  4 x )iˆ  y 2 ˆj  (4 z  x 2 ) kˆ

THEREFORE, (curlf ) P  2iˆ  ˆj  3kˆ

CONCLUSION