Introduction Aplane in 3D coordinate space is determined by a point and a vector that is perpendicular to the plane. Let Py = (2.1.20) be the point given, and 1 the orthogonal vector. Also, let P = (1,y,2) be any pointin the plane, and r and ry the position a,b,c), then since P,P is perpendi vectors of points P and Ph, respectively. Now, if we let 1? arto 7, we have RP. (7 7h) j = (—20,y — yo,z — 20) (a,b,0) a(z ~ ao) + bly — wo) + (2 — 20) =0. a We can also write the above equation of the plane as ax +byt+ez+d=0, “ where d = —(aary + by + e20), os This does not quite work if one of a, b,c is zero, In that case the vector is parallel to one of the coordinate planes. Say ¢ = then the vector is parallel to the xy-plane and the equation of the required plane is a(x — xy) + b(y — yo) = 0 which is of course a straight line in the zy plane and 2 is unrestricted, Similar arguments © y apply if two of a,b, care zero. Another way to think of the equation of the plane is as a flattened parallelepiped. A flattened parallelepiped, made of three vectors G = (2r,, 4,21) 5b = (ary, Ya, Zp) »@ = (5, ys Zs), has volume 0. We can use the scalar triple product to compute this volume: 0=a- (6x a) where (i) x 2) gives the vector that is normal to the plane. Let's say that the endpoints of (B x 2) are (x, y, z) and (:r», yo, Zp) and the components of @ are (a, b,c). Then by taking the dot product, we get the equation of a plane, which is 0 = a(z — 2») + Oy — wo) + (2 - 20)- Here is a problem to try: What s the normal vector ofthe plane represented by oO (6,3,2) O 23,6) O 2,3) O 620Parallel to the Coordinate Planes The equation of a plane which is parallel to each of the zxy-, y2-, and 2-planes and going through a point A = (a, b,¢) Is determined as follows: 1) The equation of the plane which is parallel to the y-plane is = 2) The equation of the plane which is parallel to the yz-plane is 3) The equation of the plane which is parallel to the zr-plane is y = b. a, Here is an example based on the above: ‘What is the equation of the plane which passes through the point B = (4,1,0) ands parallel to the yz-plane? Since the 2-coordinate of B is 4, the equation of the plane passing through B parallel to the y2-plane is 40 Try the following problem: Find the equation of a plane passing through the point (1,0, ~1) parallel to the z-plane. © None ofthe aboveNormal Vector and a Point If we know the normal vector ofa plane and @ point passing through the plane, the equation of the plane is established. Thus, the equation of a plane through a point A = (21, yi, 21) whose normal vector is 77 = (a,b,c) is a(x ay) + bly ~m) +e(z~ 21) =0. Check out the following examples: Ifa plane is passing through the point A — (1, 3,2) and has normal vector 7 = (3, 2,5), then what isthe equation of the plane? The equation of the plane which passes through A = (1,3,2) and has normal vector 7 ~ (3,2,5) is 3(e— 1) + 2(y—3) + 5(2-2) =0 32 —3+2y-6+52-10=0 3a+2y+52-19=0. Ifa plane is passing through the point A = (5,6,2) and has normal vector 7’ = (1, 3, ~7), then what is the equation of the plane? The equation of the plane which passes through the point A = (5,6,2) and has normal vector 7? = (—1,3,—7)is =x -5) +3(y- 6) —1(z-2) =0 a +54 3y-18-72+14=0 —r+3y-T2+1=0.5 Try the following problem: Find the equation ofa plane passing through (4,3, ~2) and has normal vector 7 O 2+2%y+32=-4Passing through Three Points When we know three points on a plane, we can find the equation of the plane by solving simultaneous equations. Let az + by + cz +d = Dbe the equation of a plane on which there are the following three points: A = (1, 0,2), B = (2,1,1), and @ = (—1,2,1). Then the equation of the plane is established as follows: We already have the equation of the plane with 4 unknown constants: artby+ez+d=0. (1) We also get the following 3 equations by substituting the coordinates of A, B, and C into (1) a-1+b-O+e-2+d=0 a-24+b-1+e-1+d=0 as(-l)+b-2+e-14d=0, which gives b = 3a,¢ Substituting (2) into (1), we have ar + 3ay + 4az—9a=0 r+Sy+42-9=0 Hence, the equation of the plane passing through the three points A — (1,0, 2), B = (2,1,1), and =1,2,1) is a+ 3ytde—9 Using this method, we can find the equation of a plane if we know three points. Here are a couple of examples: Ifa plane is passing through the three points A = (0,0,2), B = (1,0,1), and C = (3, 1,1), then what is equation of the plane? Let the equation of the plane be az + by +cz +d =0. @) Then since this plane includes the three points 4 = (0, 0,2), B = (1,0,1), and © = (3,1,1), we have a-04b-04+e-24+d=0 a-1+b-0+e-14d=0 a-3+b-1te-1+d=0, which gives Substituting (2) into (1), we have az + ~2ay + az ~ % 2 Qyt2— Hence, the equation of the plane passing through the three points A = (0, 0,2),.B = (1,0,1) and C (8,1,1)is Yy+z-2=0.9Ifa planeis passing through the three points A — (3,1,2), B = (6,1,2), and C = (0,2,0), then what is the equation of the plane? Letthe equation of the plane be ar + by +ez+d=0. (1) Then since this plane includes the three points A ~ (0, 0,2),.B = (1,0,1), and C= (3,1,1), we have a-34b-1+e-2+d=0 a6+b1te2+d a-0+b-2+e-04+d which givesa=0,c=0,d=—26. (2) Substituting (2) into (1), we have Oe + by + Boe —2=0 ryt a —2=0 Qe —Qy+2z—-4=0. Hence, the equation of the plane passing through the three points A — (0, 0,2), B = (1,0,1),and € = (3,1,1)is Qe Qy + Oo Try the following problem: Find the equation of the plane passing through (1,2, 3) and (1, ~3,2) and parallel to the = © Neneofite aboveProblem Solving This section is dedicated to improve your problem-solving skills through several problems to try. Whats the shortest distance ofthe plane 4 — Sy + 122 = 78 from the origin in 8 [submtyoursnmer | y True or False? Oo The four points (0, ~1, 0), (2,1, —1), (1,1, 1), and (3,3, 0) are coplanar. Ifthe plane Gx + 4y + 32 = 12 cuts the x-axis, yaxis and z-axis at A,B and C respectively, find the area of ABC. 3) OO0O0O°0 s {An infinite column is centered along the z-axis. thas a square cross-section of side length 10 tis cut by the plane dar — Ty + 42 = 2, Whats the area of the surface cut?3D Coordinate Geometry - Parallel Planes Summary Paral planes are planes inthe same ttee-cimensional space that never meet. Fe let two planes a and bea: follows saa thy + cre + dh Brae + bay tore + de then the normal vectors ofthe planes i and i respectively, are a= (a1, b1,¢1) id = (a, ba, 2). Since the two planes a and # are parallel their normal vectors are also parallel This implies, mh || mf ay tb) se =a be sen, 4 However, when & = 4, the two planes coincide. Hence, the condition forthe two planes to be parallel to each other is a bla ald be GaExample Problems If the following two planes a and f are parallel, what is a + 6? asar+2y+b2+5=0 B: 2x4 3y—4z41=0 IF two planes are parallel, their normal vectors are also parallel. So, if we let n? and m7} be the normal vectors of the planes, respectively, then we have ni = (a,2,b), nf = (2,3,-4). Then since the two vectors are parallel, we have Hence, If the following two planes a and 9 are parallel, what is a? de + Oy baz+5 B:8r+12y—42+1=0 Since the two planes are parallel, their normal vectors are also parallel. if we let ay and iz} be the normal vectors of the planes, respectively, then we have ni =(4,6,a), m3 = (8,12, -4) Then since the two vectors are parallel, it follows that sa=-23D Coordinate Geometry - Perpendicular Planes Summary Let tio planes a and 3 be defined as follows: a:me+hy+e +d =0 Braye +biy +e. +d =0, then the normal vectors of the planes 77] and 7p, respectively, are at =(ai,b,c1) 3 = (a2,br, 0). 2. When the two planes a and i are perpendicular, their normal vectors are also perpendicular and their dot product is 0. That is, nin it a = ment=o. Hence, the condition for the two planes to be perpendicular to each other is 402 + bby + 1¢2 = 0.Example Problem Iftwo planes a and 3 are arbetytet3 Br-e+2yte+5 then are the two planes « and f! perpendicular? The normal vectors of the planes are it = (3,1,1) nt = (-1,2,1), respectively. Since their dot product is, mt 7 = (31,1) -(-1,2,1) =-34241 the two planes are perpendicular. There are two planes a and J defined as a:ar+ytar—4=0 §:32—2y+247=0 IF the two planes are perpendicular, then what is a? The normal vectors of the planes are nt = (a,1,4) 7} = (8,-2,1), respectively. Dot product of the normal vectors is at nd = (a,1,a) + (3,-2,1) =3a-2+40 =4-2 When two planes are perpendicular, the dot product of their normal vectors is 0. Hence, 1 0 a=- 2What is the equation of the plane which passes through point A = (2, 1,3) and is perpendicular to line segment BC, where B = (3, ~2,3) and C= (0,1,3)? The direction vector which passes through points B = (3, ~2,3) and C= (0,1,3) is BC =( , 3,0), which isthe same as the normal vector of the plane. Thus, the equation of the plane which passes through point A = (2,1,3) is ~3{a— 2) + 3(y—1) + 02-3) so2tyt What is the equation of the plane which is perpendicular to line segment AB and passes through point A, where A = (2,0,3) and B = (3,2,1)? The direction vector which passes through points A ~ (2,0, 3) and B = (3,2, 1) is AB = (1,2,-4) which isthe same asthe normal vector of the plane, Since the plane passes through point A = (2,0,3), the equation of the plane is 1(z 2) +2(y-0) -4(z-3) = Set dy—424+10=0.53D Coordinate Geometry - Intersection of Planes Summary ‘There are three possible relationships between two planes in a three-dimensional space; they can be parallel, identical, or they can be intersecting. Comparing the normal vectors of the planes gives us much information on the relationship between the two planes. ifthe normal vectors are parallel, the two planes are elther identical or parallel. f the normal vectors, are not parallel, then the two planes meet and make aline of intersection, whichis the set of points that are on both planes. ‘The figure below depicts two intersecting planes. ngleisecto ‘The way to obtain the equation of the line of intersection between two planes isto find the set of points that satisfies the ‘equations of both planes. Since the equation of a plane consists of three variables and we are given two equations (since we have two planes), solving the simultaneous equations will give a relation between the three variables, which is equivalent to the equation of the intersection line, The example below demonstrates how this process is done, Find the equation of the intersection line ofthe following two planes: Eliminating = gives, e=-y-1, (1) and eliminating y gives Qe=22-4, (2) Hence, from (1) and (2), the equation ofthe intersection line between the two planes avand 8 is x= -y-1= 22-4 > c=Example Problems Do the following two planes a and f meet? a:tety—2=6 Bs 4x — 2y + 2z The normal vectors of the planes are wi, = (2,1, ~1) and 1s 4, —2,2), respectively. Since ~2rf, =, the normal vectors of the two planes are parallel, which implies that the two planes a and 8 are either parallel or identical. The point (3,0,0) is on plane a but not , which implies that the two planes are not identical. Therefore the two planes are parallel and do not meet each other. What is the condition in which the following two planes a and § meet each other? @:3r+ay—22=5 8: 6x + by —4z The normal vectors of the two planes a and (i are 1, = (3,0, 2) and v3 = (6, , -4), respectively, Notice that when Identical but parallel. 2a, the two normal vectors are parallel. In this case, since 2 x 5 4 3, the two planes are not Since two planes in a three-dimensional space always meet if they are not parallel, the condition for a and to meet is. oA 20.0 What is equation of the line of intersection between the following two planes a and 5? aia—yt4z=2 Brat2y-22—4 Eliminating 2 by subtracting the two equations gives 62=3y-2 (1) Eliminating y by multiplying the first equation by 2 and adding the second equation gives 6z2=-32+8, (2) Hence, from (1) and (2) the equation of the line of intersection is Br + 8 = By — 2 = Gz.‘What isthe volume surrounded by the 2y-plane, y2-plane, x2-plane, and the plane x +y-+2=4? (004) AG4.0,0) ‘The four planes make a tetrahedron, as shown in the figure above. The z-, y-,and z-intercepts of the plane 2 +9 + = dare A = (4,0,0), B= (0,4,0), and C = (0,0,4), respectively Hence, the volume V of the tetrahedron is 1 V = (area of base) x (height) x 53D Coordinate Geometry - Skew Lines Summary ‘hore ae three possible types of relations that two diferent lines can have ina three- dimensional space. They can be 1. parallel, when their direction vectors are parallel and the two lines never meet; 2. meeting at a single point, when their direction vectors are not parallel and the two lines intersect; 3. skew, which means that they never meet and are not parallel, All three of these relations can be found in a cuboid. In the cuboid shown in the diagram below, edges AB and CD are parallel, Edges AB and BC intersect at a single point B. Edges AB and EH are skew, since they are not parallel and never Imgur Example Problems Find all edges that are skew to AB in the cuboid shown below. Imgue We should ind all the lines that do net meet with AE’ and are not parallel to AB, which are edges FG. Observe that any edge in a cuboid is skew to four other edges.Determine the relation between the following two lines: The direction vectors of the two lines are d, = (2,3, ~5) and dy = (1,1, 3). Since their direction vectors are not parallel, the two lines either intersect at a single point or are skew to each other. Now let's find out ifthe two lines meet. Equating the first equation to t gives zal 242 y 3° 5 Observe that there is no such real number that satisfies this equation. Then the two lines do not meet, so they are skew (because they are not parallel, ether, as proved earlier). Distance between Skew Lines The (shortest) distance between a par of skew ines can be found by obtaining the length ofthe line segment that meets perpendicularly with both lines, whichis din the figure below.Find the distance between the following pair of skew lines: -24+2 and r-2=-y+1 Letz = —y+2=-2+2beh andz—2=—y+1=z+1be le, We should find the length of AB, which is the line segment that meets perpendicularly with both I; and /2. Equating the equation of with # gives ute Hence point can be expressed as (¢, 2) for some real number t. Applying the same method for J; gives =rtl=s rast? ya-e41 o-1. Thus point can be expressed as (s +2, aB +1, 81) for some real number s. Then we have (6+2,-6+1s—1)—(t-t+2, (s—t+2,-e+t-1e+t—3), t+2) (1,1, -1) and di AB di Now, let di denote the direction vector of, and di be that of la. Then we have di Since AB should be perpendicular to both dj and dj, must be true that AB dy 1,-1.0), Hence we have AB. di, (0-t42,-94t— 141-8). (1,-1,-1) (9-t+2)—(-a+t-1)—(9+¢-a) 5-346 a) AB-d, =0 (s-£42,-84t-1Le+t—8)-(1,-1,1) =0 (9-42) -(-s+t-1) + (s+t-3)=0 = 8s-t=0. (2) Solvina the simultaneous equations (1) and (2) aives Therefore AB = (}, },0) , and the distance between the two skew lines is a= (AB)Bu dersimizde bir noktanin bir dogruya olan uzakligint hesaplayacagiz. Burada uzakliktan kasit en kisa uzaklik olacaktir, RR® te sekildeki gibi bir d dogrusu ve diginda bir P noktasi verilsin. P noktasindan d.do§rusuna gizilen dik dogru pargasi dogruyu HT noktasinda kessin. Bu durumda noktanin dogruya olan uzakligi | PZT| olacaktir = Dogru izerinde bir A noktas! alalim ve AP ni gizelim. Dogrunun dogrultu vektori > = w@ ile AP nan yaptigi aginin élgsd 4 olsun. Bu durumda a \|PH|| = ||AP||. sind (1) olur. Dig garpim konusu hatirlanirsa |AP x wl = \|AP||. ||]. sind oldugundan sind = LAB x Zh WAPI. | 21] olacaktir. Bunu (1) de yerine yazarsak, P noktasinin d dofrusuna olan uzakliginin ee WAP x Wil \PH|| = = el) formilliyle bulunabilecegini gériraz.Bu dersimizde bir noktanin bir diizleme olan uzakligin' ifade edecegjz. Tabit dodruda oldugu gibi burada da uzakliktan kasit en kisa uzaklik olacaktr. R P(E %or0) R® te sekildeki gibi bir E : Ax + By + Cz + D = 0 duzlemive P(ao, yo, 20) noktasi verilsin, Dazlem Uzerinde rastgele bir A(1, yi, 21) noktast alalim ve normal N’ = (A,B, ©) ni A noktasina tagiyalim. Bu durumda P noktasinin = diizieme olan uzakiigi |AR| olacaktir. Dikkat ederseniz aslinda bu uzaklik AP niin a JN’ azerine izdugum vektorantn uzunlududur. 0 halde P noktasinin E duzlemine olan uzakhgin d(P, E) ile gdsterirsek olur. Simdi bu esitisi biraz agalim. Fakat éncelikle A(=r,, 1,21) noktasi dzleme alt oldugundan, duziem denklemini sailamalidr. Yani Aare y er Cate D = es (Ante yee s) olur, te yandan AP = (20 — 21,00 ~ 420 — 21) oldugundan < AP, >= Azo + Byo + Czo ~ (Ari + By, + C1) = Ato + Bw + Cz0 + D (© halde bu esitlikleri (1) de yerine yazarsak [Azo + Bun + Oza + D| Vat + B+ C7 a(P, BE) = bulunur.