Vectors, Lines and Planes

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1. Let u = (1, 2, 3), v = (− 3, 1, k ), w = (0, 1, − 1). Find
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a) a number “k” such that u ⊥ v
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b) Proj w! (u − w)
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c) a unit vector in the same direction as u
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d) the vector n such that 2w − u + 2n = 0
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e) a vector of length 3 which is oppositely directed to w

2. Let A(1, − 1, 0), B(1, 0, 2), C(− 2, 0, 3) be three points in R 3 . Find

a) the area of the triangle determined by A, B, C
b) the parametric equations of the line passing through A, B
c) an equation for the plane passing through A, B, C
d) the distance from C to the line passing through A and B

⎧ x = 1 + 2t ⎧ x = 2 + 4s ⎧x = −1+ t
⎪ ⎪ ⎪
3. Let L1 : ⎨ y = − 2 − 3t L2 : ⎨ y = 1 + 5s L3 : ⎨ y = − 1 + 2t
⎪ z = 3 + 5t ⎪z = − 2 ⎪z = − 4 + t
⎩ ⎩ ⎩
⎧x = 1 − s ⎧x = 2 − s
⎪ ⎪ P1 : x− y−z = 2
L4 : ⎨ y = 4 + 3s L5 : ⎨ y = 1 + 2s
⎪z = 4 − s ⎪ z = 19 − s P2 : x + y + z = 0
⎩ ⎩

a) Find the line of intersection of P1 and P2

b) Find the shortest distance between L1 and L2
c) Find the closest point on P1 to the point A(1, 0, − 1)
d) Find the closest point on L2 to the point A(0,1, 2)
e) Find an equation for the plane through A(1, − 1,1), B(0, 2, − 1) and perpendicular to P2
f) Determine whether L1 is parallel to L2 , L1 ⊥ L2 , L1 ⊥ P2 , P1 ⊥ P2
g) Find the point of intersection of L2 and P1
h) Find the equation of a plane containing the line L1
i) Find the parametric equations of a line parallel to the plane P1
j) Find the shortest distance between the lines L3 and L4
k) Find the distance from the point A( 2, − 1, 1) to L2
l) Find the point of intersection of L1 and L5

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4. Let u ⋅ (v × w) = 2
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a) Find a scalar triple product of u , v , and w which is equal to − 2
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b) Find a scalar triple product of u , v , and w which is equal to 2

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5. Given 𝑢 ∙ 𝑣× 𝑢×𝑣 = 5. Find the area of the triangle determined by 𝑢 and 𝑣.
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6. Multiply the nonzero vectors u , v , and w in such a way to get
a) a number
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b) a vector in the same plane as v and w
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c) a vector parallel to u
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7. Let b = (1, 1, 0 ), c = (2, − 3, 0) and (1 + x )b − yc = 0 . Find the norm of the vector
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a = (x, y, 0)

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8. Let a = (x,1, − 1), b = (1, 0, 1) and a + 3b = a − 2b . Find x.

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9. For which values of x the vectors u = ( 4x − 1, x − 1, 2 + x ) and v = ( − 1, x , x + 1 )
are parallel?

! ⎛ 7 7 11 ⎞ ! ⎛ 4 17 3 ⎞
10. Let u = ⎜ , , − ⎟ , v = ⎜⎜ , , ⎟⎟ . Find the cosine of the angle between
⎝ 13 13 13 ⎠ ⎝ 13 13 13 ⎠
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2u + 3v and 3u − 2v .
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11. Let u = 13, v = 19, u − v = 22 . Find u + v

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12. Find a vector in the plane determined by u = (1, 2, 0 ) and v = ( 0, 1, 2 ), such that it is
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orthogonal to v .
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13. Given the vectors u = ( 3, − 1, 1 ), v = (− 1, 2, 0), w = (0, 1, 1).
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a) Find all the unit vectors that are orthogonal to both u and v
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b) Find all the unit vectors parallel to the 𝑦𝑧 -plane that are orthogonal to u
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c) Find the sine of the angle between the vectors u and v
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d) Find (v + u )⋅ (2w × u )
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e) Determine if u is perpendicular to the plane containing v and w
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f) Find the perimeter of the triangle made by u , v , and u + v
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g) Find the area of the parallelogram made by u and w
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h) Determine if any line parallel to u intersects any plane parallel to the vectors v and
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w at exactly one point.

14. Find the point of intersection of the plane 3x − y − z = 1 and the line
x = t + 1, y = t − 1, z = t

15. Find the parametric equations of the line through the point A(2, 0, − 1) and parallel
to the line of intersection of the planes x + y + 3z + 1 = 0 and x − y − 2 z − 2 = 0 .

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16. Find the equation of the plane through the point A(0,1, − 2) and perpendicular to the
line x = 1 + t , y = 1 − t , z = 1 − 2t

17. Find the point of intersection of xy − plane and the line, which is passing through the
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point A(1, 0, − 1) and parallel to the vector v = (− 1, 0, 2).

18. Find the equation of the plane through the point A(−1, 2, − 2) and parallel to the plane
− 2x − y + z = 3

19. Prove using Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, where 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐 are real positive numbers.
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𝑎) 2𝑎 + 2𝑏 + 2𝑐 ≤6 𝑎+𝑏+𝑐

1 1 1 9
𝑏) + + ≥
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐 𝑎+𝑏+𝑐

20. Prove using triangle inequality, where 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐 are real numbers.
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𝑎+𝑏 + 𝑏+𝑐 + 𝑎+𝑐 ≤ 4 𝑎! + 𝑏! + 𝑐 !

21. The following planes are given in their general forms. Find parametric equations of each
plane and then check your answer by going back from parametric equations to general
equations.

a) 2𝑥 − 𝑦 + 𝑧 = 1 d) – 𝑥 − 3𝑦 + 3𝑧 = 4
b) 3𝑥 + 2𝑦 − 𝑧 = −1 e) 3𝑥 − 2𝑦 + 2𝑧 = 9
c) −2𝑥 + 𝑦 − 3𝑧 = 2 f) 5𝑥 + 2𝑦 − 3𝑧 = 8

22. Simplify 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑗! 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑗! 𝑢 Answer: 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑗! 𝑢

23. Let 𝑒 = 1 , 1 , 1 be a unit vector in the same direction as 𝑎. Find 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑗! 𝑢

3 3 3
if 𝑢 = 1 , 1, −1 . Answer: 1 3 , 1 3 , 1 3

24. Find the values of 𝑥 and 𝑦 such that 3𝑥 + 5𝑦 − 2 𝑢 = 4𝑥 + 9𝑦 − 5 𝑣, where 𝑢 and 𝑣

are nonzero perpendicular vectors.

25. Find the angle between the diagonals of the parallelogram made by the vectors
𝑢 = 1 , −1, 2 and 𝑣 = 2 , 1, 0 Answer: 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑠 1
117

26. Find the vector 𝑢 = 𝑥 , 𝑦, 𝑧 that is parallel to 𝑣 = 2 , 1, −1 and 𝑢 ∙ 𝑣 = −1.

Answer: −1 3 , −1 6 , 1 6

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 Answers

1 ⎛ 3 3⎞ ⎛ 1 2 3 ⎞ ⎛1 5⎞ ⎛ ⎞
1) a ) , b) ⎜ 0 , − , ⎟ , c ) ⎜ , , ⎟ , d ) ⎜ , 0 , ⎟ , e) ⎜ 0 , − 3 , 3 ⎟
3 ⎝ 2 2⎠ ⎝ 14 14 14 ⎠ ⎝2 2⎠ ⎝ 2 2⎠
1 46
2) a) 46 , b) x = 1, y = −1 + t , z = 2t , c) x − 6 y + 3z = 7 , d )
2 5
75 ⎛ 50 1 ⎞
3) a) x = 1 , y = −1 − t , z = t , b) , c) (1, 0 , − 1 ), d ) ⎜ , , − 2 ⎟
1509 ⎝ 41 41 ⎠
e) − 5 x + y + 4 z = −2 , f ) not parallel , not perpendicular , not perpendicular ,
not perpendicular, g ) ( 6 , 6 , − 2), h) one possible answer is 3x + 2 y + 1 = 0
i) x = t , y = t , z = 1 is one possible answer . j) 3 2 , k) 13
l) (11, − 17, 28 )
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4) a) v.(u × w) b) v ⋅ (w × u )
5) 5
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6) a) u . (v × w), b) u × (v × w), c) (v ⋅ w)u
7) 1 8) 0 9) −1 10) 0
2
11) 24 12) ( 5, 8, − 4 )