Chapter 2: Geometry of

Space and Vector Functions

Lecture 2:
Vector Functions and Space Curves

1
 Space Curves
A parametric curve in space or
space curve is a set of points
(x, y, z), where
x = x(t), y = y(t), z = z(t),
t: real variable

Vector-Valued Function
r(t) = <x(t), y(t), z(t)> = x(t)i + y(t)j + z(t)k
 Fig 1

r(t) = <x(t), y(t)> = x(t)i + y(t)j

Example 1: Circular Helix
Graph the curve by
r(t) = 2cos ti + 2sin tj + tk, t  0 i = <1, 0, 0>
j = <0, 1, 0>
Solution k = <0, 0, 1>
x2 + y2 = (2cos t)2 + (2sin t)2 = 22
See Fig 2. The curve winds upward in spiral or
circular helix.
Fig 2

r(t) = 2cos ti + 2sin tj + tk,

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Example 2
Graph the curve by
r(t) = 2cos ti + 2sin tj + 3k
Solution
x2 + y2 = (2cos t)2 + (2sin t)2 =4, z = 3
 Example 3
Find the vector function that describes the curve C
of the intersection of y = 2x and z = 9 – x2 – y2.
Solution
Let x = t, then y = 2t, z = 9 – t2 – 4t2 = 9 – 5t2
Thus, r(t) = ti + 2tj +(9 – 5t2)k.
Limit of a Vector Function
Vector function r(t) = <f(t), g(t), h(t)>
DEFINITION 1

If limt →a f (t ), limt →a g (t ), limt →a h(t ) exist, then

lim r (t ) = lim f (t ), lim g (t ), lim h(t )

t →a t →a t →a t →a

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Properties of Limits

THEOREM 1

If limt →a r1 (t ) = L1 , limt →a r2 (t ) = L2 , then

(i) lim cr1 (t ) = cL1 , c a scalar

t →a

(ii) lim[r1 (t ) + r2 (t )] = L1 + L 2
t →a

(iii) lim r1 (t )．r2 (t ) = L1．L 2

t →a

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 DEFINITION 2
Continuity
A vector function r is said to be continuous at t = a if
(i) r(a) is defined, (ii) limt→a r(t) exists, and
(iii) limt→a r(t) = r(a).

DEFINITION 3
Derivative of Vector Function
The derivative of a vector function r is
1 (2)
r ' (t ) = lim [r (t + t ) − r(t )]
t →0 t

for all t which the limits exists.

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 THEOREM 2
Differentiation of a Vector Function
If r(t ) =  f (t ), g (t ), h(t )  , where f, g, and h are
differentiable, then
r' (t ) =  f ' (t ), g ' (t ), h' (t ) 

Proof
1
r(t ) = lim [ f (t + t ), g (t + t ), h(t + t )  −  f (t ), g (t ), h(t ) ]
t →0 t

f (t + t ) − f (t ) g (t + t ) − g (t ) h(t + t ) − h(t )
= lim , ,
t →0 t t t

r' (t ) =  f ' (t ), g ' (t ), h' (t ) 

Smooth Curve
• When the component functions of r have
continuous first derivatives and r’(t)  0 for t in the
interval (a, b), then r is said to be a smooth
function, and the corresponding curve is called a
smooth curve.
Geometric Interpretation of r’(t)

r 1
r = r(t + t ) − r(t ) = [r (t + t ) − r (t )]
t t
r
r '(t ) = lim r’(t) // Tangent line at r(t)
 t →0  t
Example 4
a) Graph the curve by r(t) = cos 2t i + sin t j, 0  t  2.
b) Graph r’(0) and r’(/6).

Solution
a) x = cos 2t, y = sin t, then
x = 1 – 2y2, −1  x  1

b) r’(t) = −2sin 2ti + cos tj,

r’(0) = < 0,1 > = PQ

P 1,0 , Q(1,1)

   3
r   = − 3, = AB
6 2
1 1 1 3 1
A( , ), B(− 3 + , + )
2 2 2 2 2
Example 5
Find the tangent line to
x = t2, y = t2 – t, z = −7t at t = 3
Solution
x’ = 2t, y’ = 2t – 1, z’ = −7

r(3) = 9i + 6j – 21k. So, tangent point: P(9, 6, –21)

r’(3) = 6i + 5j – 7k = <6, 5, -7>
Then
x = 9 + 6t, y = 6 + 5t, z = –21 – 7t
Higher Derivatives
• Second derivative: r”(t) = (r’(t))’
• nth derivative: r(n)(t) = (r(n-1) (t))’

• Example 6: If r(t) = (t3 – 2t2)i + 4tj + e-tk, then

r’(t) = (3t2 – 4t)i + 4j − e-tk, and

r”(t) = (6t – 4)i + e-tk.

 THEOREM 3
Chain Rule
If r(s) is a differentiable vector function and s = u(t) is a
differentiable scalar function, then the derivative of
r(s) with respect to t is
d r d r ds
= = r ' ( s )u ' (t )
d t ds d t

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Example 7
If r(s) = cos2si + sin2sj + e–3sk, s = t4, then
dr
= [−2 sin 2si + 2 cos 2sj − 3e −3sk ]4t 3
dt
3 −3t 4
= −8t sin(2t )i + 8t cos( 2t ) j − 12t e
3 4 3 4
k
 THEOREM 4
Differentiation Rule
Let r1 and r2 be differentiable vector functions and u(t)
be a differentiable scalar function.
d
(i) [r1 (t ) + r2 (t )] = r1(t ) + r2 (t )
dt
d
(ii) [u (t )r1 (t )] = u (t )r1(t ) + u(t )r1 (t )
dt
d
(iii) d t [r1 (t )．r2 (t )] = r1 (t )．r2 (t ) + r1(t )．r2 (t )
d
[r1 (t )  r2 (t )] = r1 (t )  r2 (t ) + r1(t )  r2 (t )
(iv) d t
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 Integrals of Vector Functions
Vector function r(t ) = f (t )i + g (t ) j + h(t )k

Define integral of vector function r(t) by

 f (t ) dt  i +  g (t ) dt  j +  h(t ) dt  k
 r (t ) dt =
        
b
 f (t ) dt  i +  g (t ) dt  j +  h(t ) dt  k
b b b
a r (t ) dt =
  a    a    a 
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Example 8
If r(t) = 6t2i + 4e–2t j + 8cos 4t k, then

 r (t ) dt=  6t 2
 
dt i +  4e −2t
  
dt j +  8 cos 4t dt k

= [2t 3 + c1 ] i + [−2e −2t + c2 ] j + [2 sin 4t + c3 ] k

= 2t 3i − 2e −2t j + 2 sin 4tk + c
where c = c1i + c2j + c3k.
Length of a Space Curve
• If r(t) = f(t)i + g(t)j + h(t)k, a≤t≤b, then the length
of this smooth curve is
b b
s =  [ f (t )] + [ g (t )] + [h(t )] dt =  || r(t ) || dt
2 2 2
a a

(3)
 r(t) = 2cos ti + 2sin tj + tk
Example 9

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 r(t) = 2cos ti + 2sin tj + tk
Example 9
r’(t) = -2sin ti + 2cos tj + k

Since || r ' (t ) || = 5, from (3) the length from r(0) to

t
r(t) is s= 5 du = 5t
0

Using t = s/ 5 then
s s s (4)
r ( s ) = 2 cos i + 2 sin j+ k
5 5 5
Thus
s s s
f ( s) = 2 cos , g ( s) = 2 sin , h( s) =
5 5 5
Fundamental Theorem of
Calculus for vector functions
We can extend the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
to continuous vector functions:

b
 r(t ) dt = R(t ) a = R(b) − R(a) where R '(t ) = r(t )
b
a

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QUIZ 2
1. Let r(t) = (1+cos t)i + (2+sin t) j
a) Find parametric equations for tangent line to the
curve r(t) at t = π/3
b) Graph the curve r(t) for t in [0, 2π], the position
vector r(π/6) and tangent vector r’(π/6)

2. Let r (t ) = t ,3cos t ,3sin t 

 /2  /2
Find  0
r (t ) dt and the length s = 
0
|| r(t ) || dt
 QUIZ 2
1. Decide if the two lines are parallel, intersecting, or skew. If
they are skew, find the distance between them
L1 : x = 1 − 3t , y = −2 + t , z = −1 − 5t
L2 : x = 2 − s, y = 1 − 2 s, z = 2 + 3s
2. Let r(t) = (1+3cos t)i +(2-sin t) j
a) Find parametric equations for tangent line to the curve r(t)
at t = π/6
b) Graph the curve r(t) for t in [0, π/2], the position vector
r(π/3) and tangent vector r’(π/3)

3. Let r (t ) = − cos 2t ,sin 2t , 6t 3/2 

 /4
Find the length s =  || r(t ) || dt
0
 QUIZ
1. Let r(t) = (1+3cos t)i +(2-sin t) j
a) Find parametric equations for tangent line to the curve r(t)
at t = π/4
b) Graph the curve r(t) for t in [0, 2π], the position vector
r(π/3) and tangent vector r’(π/3)

2. Let r (t ) = − cos t ,sin t , 6t 3/2


 /4
Find the length s =  || r(t ) || dt
0