Homework 2

MATH 210
Homework 2
Due: Wednesday 02/03/2020 11:59 PM
The present assignment is based on equations of lines and planes
1. Consider the planes 2x + y − 2z = 2 and x − y + z = 2. They in-

tersect along a straight line. Determine a vector equation for their
intersection.
Solution: If we set, for example, z = 0, then we get the system:
2x + y = 2 x − y = 2
which can be easily solved to yield x = 4/3 and y = −2/3. Thus the
point (4/3, −2/3, 0) belongs to both planes.
We will now find a vector which is parallel to the intersection of the
two planes. Such a vector can be found by taking the cross product
of the vectors that are normal to the two planes. In particular the
vector h2, 1, −2i is normal to the first plane, while the vector h1, −1, 1i
is normal to the second plane. Their cross product is:

i j k

h2, 1, −2i × h1, −1, 1i = 2 1 −2 = h−1, −4, −3i

1 −1 1
Since we know a point belonging to the intersection and we also have

a vector parallel to it, the equation of the line is:
r(t) = h4/3, −2/3, 0i + th−1, −4, −3i
or
r(t) = h4/3 − t, −2 − 4t, −3ti
2. Consider the plane x − y + z = 3 and the straight line with equation

r(t) = ht + 3, 2t + 5, 1 − 2ti.
1
a. Determine whether the line and the plane intersect. If they do,
then find their point of intersection
b. Determine whether the point (1, 4, 6) belongs to the plane or not.
c. Determine whether the point (1, 4, 6) belongs to the line or not.
d. Determine whether the given line intersects with the line with equa-
tion l(t) = ht + 4, 2t + 7, t − 1i.
Solution: a. To determine the intersection (if any) we set the compo-

nents of the vector equation of the line equal to x, y and z respectively
in the equation of the plane:
(t + 3) − (2t + 5) + (1 − 2t) = 3
which gives:
−3t − 1 = 3
or t=-4/3. For t = −4/3 into the equation of the line, we obtain the
point (5/3, 7/3, 11/3), which is the intersection of the line with the
plane.
b. If we plug the coordinates of the given point into the equation of the
plane, we see that they satisfy it. Therefore the given point belongs
to the plane.
c. To see whether the point belongs to the line or not, we need to
determine whether a t exists such that:
t+3=1 2t + 5 = 4 1 − 2t = 6
We can see that the three equations are not satisfied by a common
value of t. This means that the given point does not belong to the
line.
d. To check this we need to see whether the system:
t+3=s+4 2t + 5 = 2s + 7 1 − 2t = s − 1
has a solution or not. Note that the two lines may meet but they
don’t have to meet for the same value of t. This is why we used a
different variable (s) for the second equation. We can easily see that
2
the first and second equations are satisfied by t = 1 and s = 0. These
two values not satisfy the third equation and thus the system has a
solution. Therefore the two lines do meet.
3. Consider the line with vector equation r(t) = ht, 2t + 1, t + 1i and the
point (1, −3, 2).
a. Find the equation of the plane that contains both the given line
and the given point.
b. Find the equation of the plane that contains the given point and is
perpendicular to the given line.
Solution: a. We can find as many points as we like on the given line
(and thus in the sought-for plane) by setting t equal to different values.
If we set t = 0, we obtain the point (0, 1, 1) and if we set t = 1, we get
the point (1, 3, 2). This means that we have three points that belong
to the sought-for plane and for convenience, let’s name them:
A(1, −3, 2) B(0, 1, 1) C(1, 3, 2)

We find the cross product:

i j k
−−→ −→
AB × AC = h−1, 4, −1i × h0, 6, 0i = −1 4 −1 = h6, 0, −6i
0 6 0
which is a normal vector to the plane. Therefore an equation for the

plane can be given as:
6(x − 1) + 0(y − 3) − 6 · (z − 2) = 0
or
x−z+1=0
b. The vector h1, 2, 1i is parallel to the given line - it is found by taking
the coefficients of t in the three components of the vector equation.
This vector is normal to the given plane. Therefore the equation of
the plane is:
1 · (x − 1) + 2(y + 3) + 1(z − 2) = 0

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MATH 210

The present assignment is based on equations of lines and planes

1. Consider the planes 2x + y − 2z = 2 and x − y + z = 2. They in-

Since we know a point belonging to the intersection and we also have

r(t) = h4/3, −2/3, 0i + th−1, −4, −3i

r(t) = h4/3 − t, −2 − 4t, −3ti

2. Consider the plane x − y + z = 3 and the straight line with equation

Solution: a. To determine the intersection (if any) we set the compo-

A(1, −3, 2) B(0, 1, 1) C(1, 3, 2)

which is a normal vector to the plane. Therefore an equation for the

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