24/01/2024, 16:03 Vector Operations

Math 21a Handouts

Janet Chen

6 Vector Operations
Now that you have the basic idea of what a vector is, we'll look at operations
that can be done with vectors. As you learn these operations, one thing to
pay careful attention to is what types of objects (vector or scalar) each
operation applies to and what type of object each operation produces.

6.1 Scalar multiplication

The first key operation is scalar multiplication, multiplying a scalar and a
vector. If k is a scalar and v→ is a vector, their product kv→ is defined as follows:

If k > 0, then kv→ is the vector pointing in the same direction as v→ that's
k times as long as v →.
If k = 0, then kv→ is →
0.

If k < 0, then kv→ is the vector pointing in the opposite direction from v→
that's |k| times as long as v→.

For example, if v→ is the vector shown at left below, here's how you'd picture
→ and −0.6v→:
2v

Note that the picture above could be happening in R or R . 1

2 3

From the pictures above, it shouldn't surprise you that we say that two
vectors are parallel if one of them is a scalar multiple of the other. So, the
three vectors above are all parallel to each other.

6.2 Vector addition

The second key operation is vector addition, adding one vector to another.
Here's how this is defined: if we have two vectors v→ and w → in R , 2 draw v→
n

(with its tail anywhere), and then draw w→ with its tail at the head of v→. Then,
→+w
v → is defined to be the vector that goes from the tail of v→ to the head of
→.
w

6.3 The dot product

Imagine that you've installed a solar panel. As the sun moves through the
sky, the angle between the sun's rays and the solar panel changes. It's ideal

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if the sunlight hits the solar panel at a 90 angle; the solar panel can capture
∘

the most energy this way. On the other hand, if the sunlight happens to be
parallel to the panel, the panel can't get any energy from the sunlight. In this
example (and many others), the angle between two objects is important.
The dot product is an operation on vectors that enables us to easily find
the angle between two vectors.

First, it's important to understand that, when we talk about the angle
between two vectors, we're picturing the vectors with their tails at the same
→ and →b in the left picture below, the angle is the
point. So, for the vectors a
one shown in the right picture:

Here's the algebraic definition of the dot product; it's rather surprising that
this simple definition has anything to do with angles!

Definition 6.1. For two vectors a→ = ⟨a 1

, . . . , an ⟩ and →b = ⟨b 1
, . . . , bn ⟩ in R ,
n

3 → ⋅ →b is the scalar a
the dot product a 1
b 1 + ⋯ + an b n .

Example 6.2. If v→ = ⟨1, 2, 3⟩ and w→ = ⟨4, 5, 6⟩, then

→ →
v ⋅ w = (1)(4) + (2)(5) + (3)(6) = 32 .

Notice that the dot product is an operation between two vectors in R that n

produces a scalar. The key property of the dot product is this one:

Fact 6.3. If θ is the angle between a→ and →b , then a→ ⋅ →b = ∥a→∥∥→b∥ cos θ.

→∥ denotes the length of a
(Remember that ∥a →.)

(If you're interested in why this is true, see the worksheet on the dot
product.)

Example 6.4. Using this key fact, we can find the angle between
→
v = ⟨1, 2, 3⟩ → = ⟨4, 5, 6⟩. We already calculated in Example 6.2 that
and w
→ → . By the Pythagorean Theorem, ∥v
v ⋅ w = 32 →∥ = √1 + 2 + 3 = √14 and 2 2 2

→ = √4 + 5 + 6 = √77. So, the key fact says that, if θ is the angle

∥w∥
2 2 2

between v→ and w→, then 32 = (√14)(√77) cos θ. Therefore,

, so θ .
32 32 32
cos θ = = = arccos( )
(√14)(√77) 7√22 7√22

There's an important special case of Fact 6.3 that we use frequently: if the
angle between two vectors a→ and →b is 90 , then a
→ ⋅ →b = ∥a
→∥∥→b∥ cos 90 = 0. So,
∘ ∘

a simple way to test whether two vectors are perpendicular (also called
“orthogonal”) is to see whether their dot product is 0. 4

6.4 The scalar component

When we write a vector like →b = ⟨2, −3⟩, we call 2 the x-component and −3
the y-component of →b . Similarly, for a vector like →b = ⟨1, −4, 5⟩ in R , the 3

numbers 1, −4, and 5 are the x-, y-, and z-components of →b . These scalars
tell us how far (and in which direction) along each coordinate axis the vector

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goes. This idea can be generalized to directions other than the coordinate
axes.

Why might this be useful? Think about the solar panel example from earlier;
if you've installed a solar panel, there's an ideal direction for the light to be
going: perpendicularly toward the solar panel. So, you might wonder how
much the sunlight is really going in that particular direction.

To describe this mathematically, imagine that we have a vector →b , and we

want to know how far →b goes along some “axis” (by which we mean a line
through the origin). We can describe the positive direction of that “axis” by
→ that points in the positive direction of the axis. For
giving a vector a
example, if →b and a
→ are the vectors in the left picture below, then we can
picture an axis indicated by the direction of a →, as in the right picture. (Notice
→ isn't really important; it's just the direction of a
that the length of a → that tells
us how to draw the axis.)

From the picture, we can see that the component of →b in the direction of the
axis above is 4. We call this the scalar component of →
b in the direction of

→ and write it comp→ →b .

a
a

Here's a second example for you to try.

Example 6.5. Can you estimate the scalar component of →b in the

→ for the vectors shown below? Imagine that a
direction of a → has length 4 and
→b has length 2.

▼ Solution

→ (shown in
First, we draw in the axis indicated by the direction of a
blue below). Then, by dropping a perpendicular from the vector to the
axis, we can see that the scalar component of →b in the direction of a
→ is
about −0.5.

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In general, how do we calculate the scalar component of →b in the direction a →?

If you look back at the first example, you should see that, if we know the
angle θ between a → and →b , then the scalar component of →b in the direction a
→ is
→
∥ b∥ cos θ :

The same formula ∥→b∥ cos θ also works when the angle between a
→ and →b is
greater than 90 . (Do you see why?)
∘

Let's see if we can simplify this formula. As we've seen, the way to find the
angle θ is to use the dot product. We can rewrite the formula
→ →
→ → → . Therefore, the scalar component of →
a ⋅ b
→
a ⋅ b = ∥a∥∥ b∥ cos θ as cos θ = b
→∥∥→b∥
∥a

→ is
in the direction of a

→ → → →
a ⋅ b → →
a ⋅ b
∥ b∥ cos θ = ∥ b∥ = .
→∥∥→b∥
∥a
→∥
∥a

→
Since a

→
is a unit vector that points in the same direction as a
→, we often
∥ a∥

write this as:

The scalar component of →b in the direction of a

→ is
→b ⋅ (the unit vector in the direction a
→ ).

→ is irrelevant when
Notice that this formula says that the length of a
calculating the scalar component, which agrees with our geometric
understanding.

6.5 The cross product (R only) 3

If you haven't already, first watch this video on calculating cross products.
Now, let's describe what the cross product tells us. Since the cross product
is a vector, we can describe it by saying what its magnitude and direction
are.

Example 6.6. For a→ = ⟨a 1, a2 , a3 ⟩ and →b = ⟨b 1, b2 , b3 ⟩ , what's the angle

→ × →b and a
between a → × →b and →b ?
→? How about between a

▼ Solution

To find the angle between two vectors, we use the dot product
formula. So, to find the angle between
→ → and a→, we first calculate
a × b = ⟨a2 b3 − a3 b2 , a3 b1 − a1 b3 , a1 b2 − a2 b1 ⟩

→ × →b) ⋅ a
their dot product. If you do this, you find that (a → × →b
→ = 0, so a
is perpendicular to a→.

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→ × →b) ⋅ →b = 0, so a
Similarly, we can calculate that (a → × →b is
perpendicular to →b .

As we see from the previous example, a → × →b is perpendicular to both a

→ and
→b . If a
→ and →b aren't parallel to each other, this means that a
→ × →b has only two
possible directions. (Do you see why?) Which of these two directions does
→ × →b point in? It turns out that there's a handy way to describe this, known
a

as the right-hand rule. Orient your right hand so that your index finger is
pointing in the direction of a → and your middle finger is pointing in the
direction of →b . (This may require some contortions!) If you then move your
thumb to be perpendicular to your index and middle fingers, it will be
→ × →b , as in the picture below:
pointing in the direction of a

Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Right_hand_rule_cross_product.svg

There's another way to visualize the right-hand rule, which you can take a
look at in \S 2.4 of OpenStax Calculus Volume 3; it's Figure 2.54.

Now that we understand the direction of a → × →b , how about its magnitude? If

you do a lot of algebra with the formula for a → × →b , you find that
→
→ × b∥ = ∥a
∥a
→
→∥∥ b∥ sin θ, where θ is the angle between a → and →b . This fact has a
nice geometric interpretation: if you draw a parallelogram with a → and →b
being two of its sides (like in the picture below), then ∥a → × →b∥ is the area of
this parallelogram.

So, we can now summarize the meaning of the cross product:

→ and →b are two vectors in R , then a

If a 3
→ × →b is the vector whose:

direction is given by the right-hand rule.

→ and →b .
length is the area of the parallelogram determined by a

You might wonder why the cross product is a useful operation. Imagine
you're planning to install a parallelogram-shaped solar panel. There are two
key factors that will affect how much sunlight the panel will collect: the area
of the panel and the direction that the panel is facing. For example, if the
panel is facing the ground, it won't collect any sunlight, even if its area is
→ and →b , the cross product
large! If the parallelogram is described by vectors a
→
→ × b gives information both about the direction the parallelogram is facing
a

(using the right-hand rule) and the area of the parallelogram (the length of
→
a × b
→). So, the cross product is a useful tool for calculating how much

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sunlight the panel can gather. We'll follow up on this idea much later this
semester when we study an idea called flux.

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