College Pre-Calc

Section 12.4: Parallel and Perpendicular Vectors:

Dot Product
Definition of the Dot Product:
a b = ( a1 , a2 ) ( b1 , b2 ) = a1b1 + a2b2
also known as the scalar product or inner product
a b is a one "number" answer

College Textbook - "Chapter 7"

College Pre-Calc

Section 12.4: Parallel and Perpendicular Vectors: Dot Product

Properties of the Dot Product: If a , b , and

c are vectors and m is a real number then:
1) a a = | a |2
2) a b = b a
3) a ( b + c ) = a b + a c
4) m(a b ) = (ma) b = a (mb)

College Textbook - "Chapter 7"

College Pre-Calc

Section 12.4: Parallel and Perpendicular Vectors: Dot Product

The Angle Between Two Vectors:

If is the angle between two nonzero vectors a

and b, then:
cos =

a b
|a |*|b |

in other words...

cos =

College Textbook - "Chapter 7"

a1b1 + a2b2
a12+a22 *b12+b22

College Pre-Calc

Section 12.4: Parallel and Perpendicular Vectors: Dot Product

Orthogonal Vectors:

Two vectors are orthogonal (perpendicular) if and

only if a b = 0
in other words...

two vectors are perpendicular if their

DOT PRODUCT is ZERO
Parallel Vectors:

Two vectors are parallel if they are "multiples" of

each other

College Textbook - "Chapter 7"

College Pre-Calc
Section 12.4: Parallel and Perpendicular Vectors: Dot Product

Example: Let a = ( 8 , -4 ) and b = ( 2 , 1 ).

a) Show that a b = b a

b) Find the angle between a and b to the nearest

tenth of a degree.

c) Find a vector that is parallel to a.

d) Find a vector that is perpendicular to a.

College Textbook - "Chapter 7"

College Pre-Calc

College Textbook - "Chapter 7"