Section 17.

5: Divergence and Curl

Recall: For a vector field F = ⟨f, g⟩ on R ⊆ R2 , the divergence of F is

and the divergence of F is

MATH 233 Fall 2020 17.5: Divergence and Curl

Definition: For a vector field F = ⟨f, g, h⟩ on R ⊆ R3 , the divergence of F is

Definition: For a vector field F = ⟨f, g, h⟩ on R ⊆ R3 , the curl of F is

MATH 233 Fall 2020 17.5: Divergence and Curl

1. For F(x, y, z) = ⟨y, z 2 − y 2 , −yz⟩, find div F and curl F. Interpret these values at the origin.
MATH 233 Fall 2020 17.5: Divergence and Curl

2. The vector field F(x, y, z) = ⟨2xy, y 2 , 0⟩ is shown on each horizontal plane.

(a) Determine the points at which div F is positive, negative, and zero.

(b) Determine the points at which F is irrotational, rotating clockwise, and rotating counter clockwise.
MATH 233 Fall 2020 17.5: Divergence and Curl

3. Show that the curl of a conservative vector field is 0, provided the potential function has continuous second partial derivatives.
That is, a conservative vector field is irrotational.

4. Show that the divergence of the curl of a vector field is 0, provided the component functions have continuous second partial
derivatives.
MATH 233 Fall 2020 17.5: Divergence and Curl

5. Learning Catalyics Determine which of the following quantities are defined, where F is a vector field on R ⊆ R3 .
(a) ∇ × (∇ × F)
(b) ∇ · (∇ · F)
(c) ∇ · (∇ × F)
(d) ∇ × (∇ · F)
(e) ∇(∇ · F)