Demonstrate application of differential equations to solve a given

problem (example, population increase or decrease, bacteria count in

a culture, etc.).

Name: Vinith Gomez . V

Class: XII

Section: Emerald

Unique ID:

The Vikasa School , Tuticorin.

Mathematics Project – I

2022-2023
Scalar Triple Product
Scalar triple product is the dot product of a vector with the cross product of
two other vectors, i.e., if a, b, c are three vectors, then their scalar triple
product is a · (b × c). It is also commonly known as the triple scalar product,
box product, and mixed product. The scalar triple product gives the volume
of a parallelepiped, where the three vectors represent the adjacent sides of
the parallelepiped.

In this article, we will explore the concept of the scalar triple product, its
formula, proof, and properties. We will also study the geometric
interpretation of the scalar triple product and solve a few examples based
on the concept to understand its application.
What is Scalar Triple Product?
The scalar triple product of three vectors a, b, c is the scalar product of
vector a with the cross product of the vectors b and c, i.e., a · (b × c).
Symbolically, it is also written as [a b c] = [a, b, c] = a · (b × c). The scalar
triple product [a b c] gives the volume of a parallelepiped with adjacent
sides a, b, and c. If we are given three vectors a, b, c, then their scalar
triple products [a b c] are:

 a · (b × c)
 a · (c × b)
 b · (a × c)
 b · (c × a)
 c · (b × a)
 c · (a × b)

Now, before moving to the formula of the scalar triple product, we need to
note that:

 [a, b, c] = a · (b × c) = b · (c × a) = c · (a × b)
 a · (b × c) = - a · (c × b)
 b · (c × a) = - b · (a × c)
 c · (a × b) = - c · (b × a)
 a · (b × c) = (a × b) · c
Scalar Triple Product Formula
If we are given three vectors a = a1 i + a2 j + a3 k, b = b1 i + b2 j + b3 k, and c
= c1 i + c2 j + c3 k, then their scalar triple product is given by the determinant
of the components of the three vectors. The formula for the scalar triple
product of vectors a, b, c is given by,

For a given set of three vectors  ,   , and   , the scalar ( ×   ) ⋅   is

called a scalar triple product of   ,  ,  .

Remark

Note
Given any three vectors  ,  ,   and c the following are scalar triple
products:

Scalar Triple Product Proof

Now, we will prove the formula for the scalar triple product of three vectors
a, b, c. Using the definition of the cross product and dot product, we have

a · (b × c) = →a⋅∣∣
∣
∣∣^i^j^kb1b2b3c1c2c3∣∣
∣

∣∣a→⋅|i^j^k^b1b2b3c1c2c3|

= [(b2c3−c2b3)^i−(b1c3−c1b3)^j+(b1c2−c1b2)^k]⋅(a1^i+a2^j+a3^k)[(b2c3−c2b3)i^−
(b1c3−c1b3)j^+(b1c2−c1b2)k^]⋅(a1i^+a2j^+a3k^)

= (b2c3 - c2b3)a1 + (c1b3 - b1c3)a2 + (b1c2 - c1b2)a3

= ∣∣
∣∣a1a2a3b1b2b3c1c2c3∣∣

∣∣|a1a2a3b1b2b3c1c2c3|

Hence, we have proved the formula of scalar triple product of three vectors
a, b, c.
Geometrical Interpretation of Scalar Triple Product
Now, we know that given any three vectors a, b, c, the scalar triple product
is given by a · (b × c) which is equal to the determinant of the components
of the three vectors. Let us now understand the geometrical interpretation
of the scalar triple product. The absolute value of the scalar triple product a
· (b × c) gives the volume of a parallelepiped, where a, b, c form the
adjacent sides of the parallelopiped. The cross product (b × c) gives the
area of the parallelogram formed by the vectors b and c. Using the
definition cross product, b × c is perpendicular to the plane containing
vectors b and c.
Geometrically, the absolute value of the scalar triple product (  ×  ). . is

the volume of the parallelepiped formed by using the three vectors  ,   

and   as co-terminus edges. Indeed, the magnitude of the vector (  ×  ) is

the area of the parallelogram formed by using   and   ; and the direction of

the vector (  ×  ) is perpendicular to the plane parallel to both   and  .

Therefore, | (  ×  ) ⋅   | is |   ×   ||   || cosθ | , where θ is the angle

between   ×   and . From  Fig. 6.17, we observe that |   | | cosθ | is

the height of the parallelepiped formed by using the three vectors as adjacent

vectors. Thus, | (  ×   ) ⋅   | is the volume of the parallelepiped.

The following theorem is useful for computing scalar triple products.

Theorem 6.1

Proof

By definition, we have
which completes the proof of the theorem.

Properties of Scalar Triple Product

We have explored the concept of the scalar triple product along with its
geometrical interpretation and formula. Let us now go through some of its
important properties for a better understanding of the concept:

 The scalar triple product of three vectors is zero if any two of them are parallel, i.e., [a a
b] = 0
 [(a + b) c d] = [a c d] + [b c d]
LHS = [(a + b) c d]
= (a + b) · (c × d)
= a · (c × d) + b · (c × d)
= [a c d] + [b c d]
= RHS
 [λa b c] = λ [a b c], where λ is a real number.
 The scalar triple product of three non-zero vectors is zero if and only if they are coplanar.
 Since the scalar product is commutative, therefore we have
 a · (b × c) = (b × c) · a
 b · (c × a) = (c × a) · b
 c · (a × b) = (a × b) · c
Theorem 1

For any three vectors  ,   and  ,(  ×   ) ⋅   =   ⋅ (  ×  ).

Proof

Hence the theorem is proved.

Note

By Theorem 6.2, it follows that, in a scalar triple product, dot and cross can
be interchanged without altering the order of occurrences of the vectors, by
placing the parentheses in such a way that dot lies outside the parentheses, and
cross lies between the vectors inside the parentheses. For instance, we have

Notation
For any three vectors   ,   and     , the scalar triple product (  ×  ) ⋅   

 is denoted by [  ×   ,  ] . [  ×   ,   ] is read as box a, b, c . For this
reason and also because the absolute value of a scalar triple product represents
the volume of a box (rectangular parallelepiped),a scalar triple product is also
called a box product.

Note

(1) 

In other words, [ ,  ,   ] = [ ,  ,  ] = [ ,  ,   ] ; that is, if the three

vectors are permuted in the same cyclic order, the value of the scalar triple
product remains the same.

(2) If any two vectors are interchanged in their position in a scalar triple
product, then the value of the scalar triple product is (-1) times the original
value. More explicitly,

Theorem 2

The scalar triple product preserves addition and scalar multiplication. That is,

Proof

Using the properties of scalar product and vector product, we get

Using the first statement of this result, we get the following.

Similarly, the remaining equalities are proved.

We have studied about coplanar vectors in XI standard as three nonzero vectors

of which, one can be expressed as a linear combination of the other two. Now
we use scalar triple product for the characterisation of coplanar vectors.

Theorem 3

The scalar triple product of three non-zero vectors is zero if, and only if, the
three vectors are coplanar.

Proof

Let  ,  ,   be any three non-zero vectors. Then,

  ×   ⋅   = 0 ⇔   is perpendicular to   × 

 ⇔   lies in the plane which is parallel to both   and 

 ,  ,   are coplanar.

 
Theorem 4

Three vectors  ,  ,   are coplanar if, and only if, there exist

scalars r, s, t ∈ R such that atleast one of them is non-zero and r + s  + t  

=   .

Proof

Theorem 5
Proof

Applying the distributive law of cross product and using

Note

By theorem 6.6, if  , ,   are non-coplanar and

Then the three vectors  are also non-coplanar.

Important Notes on Scalar Triple Product

 [a, b, c] = [b, c, a] = [c, a, b]

 [a (b+c) d] = [a b d] + [a c d], [a b (c+d)] = [a b c] + [a b d]
 [λa b c] = [a λb c] = [a b λc] = λ [a b c], where λ is a real number.
 The scalar triple product of three non-zero vectors is zero if and only if they are coplanar.