Second Set of Slides Notes PDF
Second Set of Slides Notes PDF
Dr Albert Shikongo
University of Namibia
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
Department of Mechanical & Mettalorgical Engineering
Email: ashikongo@unam.na
Phone: +264652324238
Limits.
Continuity.
Differentiation.
Partial differentiation.
Space curves.
Tangent to curves.
OR
Definition
A vector valued function is a function where the domain is a subset of the
set of real numbers and its range is a vector.
Example
r(t) = (t − 1)î + t 2 ĵ.
r(t) = 3î + t ĵ + (sin t)k̂.
Example
The real-valued function y (x) = x 3 + 1 can be converted to a
vector-valued function, by setting t ≡ x, to yields r(t) = ti + (t 3 + 1)j or
r(t) = ti + (t 3 + 1)j + 0k.
Example
The function (t) = ⟨cos(t), sin(t), t⟩ can be converted to a scalar function
by setting x = cos(t), y = sin(t), & z = t, to yield z 2 = 1.
lim r(t) = L,
t→c
r1 (t) ± r2 (t) = [< f1 (t), g1 (t) >] ± [< f2 (t), g2 (t) >],
= [< f1 (t), f2 (t) >] ± [< g1 (t), g2 (t) >],
1 1 1
cr(t) = < cf1 (t), cg1 (t) > & r(t) =< f1 (t), g1 (t) >,(1)
c c c
where, c ≠ 0. Thus, the operations in equation (1) enable us to establish
the limit for a plane and space as:
Limit of a space:
h i h i h i
lim r(t) = lim f (t) i + lim g (t) j + lim h(t) k, (2)
t→c t→c t→c t→c
Example
Evaluate the following limits.
−4 12
(i) limt→2 < t, tt2 −2t , t >.
(ii) limt→0 < t 2 , sin(t)
t ,e
−t >.
Answers: (i) < 2, 2, 21 >; (ii) < 0, 1, 1 >; (iii) < 0, 0, 0 >.
Hint:
sin(θ)
= 1, as θ → 0.
θ
1– cos(θ)
lim = 0, as θ → 0.
θ→0 θ
Example
The vector-valued function r(t) =< sin(t) 2
t , t − 3t + 3, cos(t) > is not
sin(t) 2
continuous at t = 0. However, r(t) =< t , t − 3t + 3, cos(t) > is
continuous at t = 1.
Dr Albert Shikongo (UNAM) I3611IM March 11, 2023 10 / 23
Derivative of a vector-valued function
More examples:
Example
Establish the interval I on which the given r(t) is continuous.
(i) r(t) =< t, 1t >.
(ii) r(t) =< 2e −t , e −t , ln |t − 1| >.
√ √
(iii) r(t) =< 8, t, 3 t >.
Example
Assume that the vector-valued function r(t) denotes a plane. Then
Remark: Similarly, the derivative for the space can be easily deduced from
(3).
Dr Albert Shikongo (UNAM) I3611IM March 11, 2023 12 / 23
Derivative of a vector-valued function
Theorem (Properties of the derivative)
Let r, u and f denote differentiable vector-valued and real-valued
functions, respectively, of t, and c denotes a scalar. Then
d
(i) dt [cr(t)] = cr′ (t).
(ii) dt [r(t) ± u(t)] = r′ (t) ± u′ (t).
d
d
(iii) dt [f (t)u(t)] = f ′ (t)u(t) + f (t)u′ (t).
d
(iv) dt [r(t) · u(t)] = r′ (t) · u(t) + r(t) · u′ (t).
(v) dt [r(t) × u(t)] = r′ (t) × u(t) + r(t) × u′ (t).
d
d
(vi) dt [u(f (t))] = u′ (f (t))f ′ (t).
(vii) r(t) · r(t) = constant, then r(t) · r′ (t) = 0.
d
Proofs: Left as homework as well as the prove for dt [u(t) × u(t)] = 0.
Example
If r(t) =< 6t + 8, 4t 2 + 2t − 3, 5t >, u(t) =< t 2 − 3, 2t + 4, t 3 − 3t >,
then find (a) Dt [r(t) · u(t)] (b) Dt [u(t) × u′ (t)].
Dr Albert Shikongo (UNAM) I3611IM March 11, 2023 13 / 23
Derivative of a vector-valued function
Answers: (a) Since r′ (t) =< 6, 8t + 2, 5 >, u′ (t) =< 2t, 2, 3t 2 − 3 >,
then it follows easily that
d
[u(t) × u′ (t)] = u′ (t) × u′ (t) + u(t) × u′′ (t)
dt
= 0 + (t 2 − 3)i + (2t + 4)j + (t 3 − 3t)k × 2i + 6tk,
2i j k
3
= t − 3 2t + 4 t − 3t
2 0 6t
= 6t(2t + 4)i − (6t(t 2 − 3) − 2(t 3 − 3t))j − 2(2t + 4)k,
= (12t 2 + 24t)i + (12t − 4t 3 )j − (4t + 8)k.
Example
Suppose a student tosses a paper airplane. The paper airplane’s flight
lasts for 2.5 seconds and can be approximated by
r(t) = ⟨1.2 sin(t), 1.2 cos(t), 0.4t⟩. Then, deduce the total distance the
airplane has traveled. Hint: Units are in feet.
s(t)
⇒ √ = t.
40
s(t) s(t) s(t)
⇒ r(t) = 3 cos 2 √ , 3 sin 2 √ ,2 √ ,
40 40 40
2s 2s 2s
∴ r(s) = 3 cos √ , 3 sin √ ,√
40 40 40
√
Then, at s = π 40units, we have.
* √ ! √ ! √ +
√ 2(π 40) 2(π 40) 2(π 40)
r(π 40) = 3 cos √ , 3 sin √ , √ ,
40 40 40
√
r(π 40) = ⟨3 cos(2π), 3 sin(2π), 2π⟩,
√
r(π 40) = ⟨3, 0, 2π⟩.
Since,
ds
= |v (t)| ,
dt
is same as the rate at which something moves along the path of the curve
is equal to its speed, then and v is always tangent to the curve r(t), then
one can determine the a unit vector T that is also tangent to r(t) from
what one already know. That is,
v
T = .
|v |
But then,
dr dt 1 v dr
=v = =T = .
dt ds |v | |v | ds