F6 Mathematics T 1/5

Revision Notes on Chapter 6 : Vectors (Term 1)

Name : ______________________________ Date : __________________
6.1 : VECTORS IN 2 & 3-D
(A) : Unit Vectors & Position Vectors
 x
1). Position vector of a point A( x, y , z )  r  OA  xi  yj  zk   y 
z
 

2). Length of OA  r  x2  y2  z2
OA r
3). Unit vector in the direction of OA (with length of 1 unit)  
OA r
(B) : Algebraic Properties of Vectors
 x2  x1 
1). If point A  ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) and B  ( x2 , y2 , z2 ) , AB  OB  OA   y2  y1 
z z 
 2 1

 x1  x2    y1  y2    z1  z2 
2 2 2
2). Distance between point A( x1 , y1 , z1 ) and B( x2 , y2 , z2 ) =
A λ C μ B
a  b
3). OC  a b
 

O
4). At x-axis, y = 0, z = 0 ; At y-axis, x = 0, z = 0 ; At z-axis, x = 0, y = 0
(C) : Scalar Product ( Dot Product ) of 2 Vectors
a.b
1). a.b  a b cos ;  cos  
a b

+ve or –ve scalar a Ө b

 a1   b1 
2). a.b   a2  .  b2   a1b1  a2b2  a3b3
a  b 
 3  3

3). i .i  j. j  k.k  1 ; i . j  j.k  k.i  0 ; if a .b  0  a  b and vice versa

4). a.b  b.a

5). a.(b  c)  a.b  a.c
b 1
6). If k is a constant, then a . k b  k ( a . b ) , for example : a . b  a .  (a.b)
b b
(D) : Vector Product ( Cross Product ) of 2 Vectors a b 2/5

1). a  b = ( a b sin  ) nˆ b

The direction can be determined by Right-hand-rule. Ө a

i j k
2). a  b  a1 a2 a3  ( a2b3  a3b2 ) i  ( a1b3  a3b1 ) j  (a1b2  a2b1 )k
b1 b2 b3

3). z
i  i  j  j  k  k  0 ; k
i  j  k , j  k  i , k  i  j ; i
j
j  i  - k , k  j  - i , i  k  - j y
i x i
If a  b  0 , then a // b and vice versa x x x
4). a  b  - b  a
5). a  (b  c)  a  b  a  c
6). If k is a constant, then a  k b  k ( a  b )
1
7). Area of triangle ABC  AB  AC
2

8). Area of parallelogram ABCD  AB  AD

(E) : Application of Dot & Cross Product of Vectors

1). Volume of a cuboid
 a b c
 ( a b sin 90) c
a  b c cos 0 c
 a  b ( )
a  b b
 a  b.c
a
2). Projections :
C

AC
AC  bˆ


A E D
b
AC . bˆ
6.2 : Vector Geometry 3/5
(A) : Line (a point A ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) on the line and a direction vector b  ai  bj  ck are needed)

1). Vector Equation of a line, l : r  a  t b ( for example : r  ( 3i  2 j  k )  t ( 3i - j  8k ) )

 x   x1   a 
 y    y   t  b 
   1 
 z   z   c 
   1   
Vector from the origin Position vector Direction vector of the line
pointing to the line of a point on the line (e.g. AB  OB - OA , simplified by factorization,
where t is just a constant )
2). Cartesian Equation of a line :
x - x1 y - y1 z - z1 x 1 y 2 z 3
  ( for example :   )
a b c 1 1 3
Must know :
i ). interchange both vector & Cartesian equations of a line.
ii ). given 2 points, form equation.
iii). show a given point is on a given line.
iv). direction vector of x-axis or parallel to x-axis = i ,
direction vector of y-axis or parallel to y-axis = j ,
direction vector of z-axis or parallel to z-axis = k
3).Shortest distance (perpendicular distance) from a point C to a line = p  AC  bˆ
Must know :
i ). given 1 point & 1 line, find p. (hint: using p  AC  bˆ )
b1  b2
ii ). given 2 skewed lines, find p. (hint: using p  AC . nˆ , where nˆ  )
b1  b2
iii). given 2 parallel lines, find p. (hint: using p  AC  bˆ )
iv). always use modulus sign when finding distance using dot product of vectors.

(B) : Plane (a point A ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) on the plane and a normal vector n  ai  bj  ck are needed)
1). Vector Equation of a plane,  : r . n  d ( for example : r . ( 2 i - 2 j  k )  - 3 )

 x   a 
 y  .  b   x1a  y1b  z1c
   
 z   c 
   
Vector from the origin Normal vector to unique scalar for a specific plane
Pointing to the plane the plane

2). Cartesian Equation of a plane :

ax  by  cz  d where d  OA . n
 4/5

Must know :
i ). interchange both vector & Cartesian equations of a plane.
ii ). given 1 point on a plane & the normal vector, find the equation of plane.
iii). find the intersection point between a plane and x, y or z axis.
(e.g. for x-axis, y=0,z=0; substitute these into the plane’s Cartesian eq. to find x, i.e. (x,0,0))
iv). given 3 points on a plane,find the equation of the plane.
v ). given 2 points on a plane & a vector on the plane or a parallel line equation, find the equation of the
plane.
vi). given 1 point on a plane & 1 line equation on the plane, find the equation of plane.
vii).show a given point is on a given plane.
viii).show a given line is on a given plane.(hint: substitute the r of the line into the r of the plane and if the
dot product is equal to the value of d, then the line is on the plane)
ix). given 1 point, A above plane & 1 plane, find the perpendicular intersecting point, B from A to the plane.
(hint: find OB  OA  t n , then substitute the co-ordinates of B into the plane equation to find t)
x ). Given a line, l1 on a plane,  1 which is perpendicular to another plane  2 , find  1 .
(hint: n1 of  1  n2  b1 & obtain a point from l1)
3). Shortest distance (perpendicular distance) from the origin to a plane = p  r . nˆ

ax1  by1  cz1  d

4). Shortest distance from a point ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) to the plane ( ax  by  cz  d  0 ) 
a 2  b2  c 2

(note: this formula is derived from p  p2  p1 and can be used directly)

(C) : Angles (All formulae in this part are derived using the dot product of 2 vectors)
(if cos  is –ve, find also the acute angle of  )

1). Angle between 2 lines =  , (can be acute or obtuse), where

b .b
cos   1 2
b1 b2 n
2). Angle between a line & a plane =  , where
b
cos   sin  and sin  
b.n  plane
b n 
3). Angle between 2 planes =  , where
n2 n1
n1 . n2
cos  
n1 n2
plane 1
 plane 2


 5/5

(D) : Intersection
1). To find the intersecting point between lines l1: r1  a1   b1 & l2 : r2  a2   b2 ,
Steps: i ). Start with a1   b1 = a2  b2
ii ). Then equating the 3 coefficient of i , j , k respectively to find the values of  and  .
(note: the values of  and  must satisfy the 3 equations or otherwise the 2 lines not intersecting)
iii). Substitute the values of  and  back into l1 or l2 to find the intersecting point.

2). To find the intersecting point between a line l, r  a  tb and a plane  , r . n  d ,

Steps: i ). Substitute the r of the line into the r of the plane to find the value of t.
ii ). Substitute the value of t back into the line equation to find the intersecting point.

3). To find the intersecting line between the plane  1 and  2 ,

Steps: i ). The direction vector of the intersecting line = n1  n2
ii ). Find a point on the intersecting line by using Cartesian equations of  1 and  2 :
a). eliminate the variable z to obtain 1 equation with only x and y variables.
b). let x = any number which will cause y to be an integer.
c). substitute the values of x and y into one of the planes’ Cartesian equation to find z value.
d). write the intersecting line equation as r  a  tb

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