Work (application of the dot product in physics).

Suppose that a constant force F (which is a vector) is applied on an object which is mov-
ing along a straight line. Suppose the displacement (change of position) vector of the
object is D, then the work done by the force on the object is given by W = F · D.
Example 1. A tow truck drags a stalled car along a road. The chain makes an angle of
30◦ with the road and the tension in the chain is 1700 N. How much work is done by the
truck in pulling the car 1 km?

§10.4 The Cross Product

Probably the best way to introduce the cross product is using “determinant”.
• 2 × 2 determinant. ¯ ¯ · ¸
¯a b ¯ a b
¯ c d ¯ = det c d = ad − bc
¯ ¯

• 3 × 3 determinant.
¯ ¯  
¯a 1 a 2 a 3 ¯ a1 a2 a3
¯ ¯
¯b 1 b 2 b 3 ¯ = det b 1 b 2 b 3  =
¯ ¯
¯ c1 c2 c3 ¯ c1 c2 c3

Defintion. For two vectors a = 〈a1 , a2 , a3 〉 and b = 〈b1 , b2 , b3 〉, their cross product a × b is
defined by
¯ ¯
¯i j k ¯¯
¯
a × b = ¯¯a 1 a 2 a 3 ¯¯ =
¯b 1 b 2 b 3 ¯

Example 2. For a = 〈1, −2, 4〉 and b = 〈2, 3, 1〉, find a × b.

Properties of the cross product:

(1) a × a = 0 for any vector a ∈ R3 . (This is easy to check!)
(2) a × b is orthogonal to both a and b. It’s direction is further determined by the
right-hand rule.

1
2

(3) (Geometric meaning) If θ is the angle between a and b (so 0 ≤ θ ≤ π), then
|a × b| =

(4) (another Geometric meaning) The length of a × b is equal to the area of the par-
allelogram determined by a and b.

(5) The list of properties I wrote on the board (Or, on textbook p.562, as Theorem 8).

(6) Cross product involving the special vectors i, j and k.

Triple Product: a · (b × c) =

Geometric meaning of the triple product: The volume V of the parallelepiped deter-
mined by a, b and c is given by V =

Example 3. Show that the vectors a = 〈1, 3, −6〉, b = 〈2, 2, −2〉 and c = 〈−1, 1, −4〉 are copla-
nar.