Chapter 3: Euclidean Space 1

Chapter 3: Euclidean Space

SECTION A Vector Representation
By the end of this section you will be able to
understand what is meant by ectors and scalars
apply ector addition and scalar multiplication in
!

understand what is meant by a ector in

3

"eneralise ectors to
n

carry out ector addition and scalar multiplication in

n

A1 Vectors and Scalars

A ector is a #uantity that has size $ma"nitude% and direction& E'amples of ectors
are elocity( acceleration( force( displacement and moment& A force )*N upwards is a
ector&
So what are scalars?
A scalar is a #uantity that has si+e but no direction& E'amples of scalars are mass(
len"th( time( olume( speed and temperature&
How do we write down vectors and scalars and how can we distinguish between
them?
A ector from O to A is denoted by
OA
uuur
or written in bold typeface a and can be
represented "eometrically as:
,i" )
A scalar is denoted by
a
( not in bold( so that we can distin"uish between ectors and
scalars&
Two ectors are e#uialent if they hae the same direction and ma"nitude& ,or
e'ample the ectors d and e in ,i" ! are e#uialent&
d
e
C
D
A
B
,i" !
The ectors d and e hae the same direction and ma"nitude but only differ in position&
Also note that the direction of the arrow "ies the direction of the ector( that is
CD
uuur

is different from
DC
uuur
&
a
O
A
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space 2
The ma"nitude or len"th of the ector
AB
uuur
is denoted by
AB
uuur
&
There are many e'amples of ectors in the real world:
$a% A displacement of !*m to the hori+ontal ri"ht of an ob-ect from O to A:
20m
O A
,i" 3
$b% A force on an ob-ect actin" ertically downwards:
2
0
N
Object
,i" .
$c% The elocity and acceleration of a particle thrown ertically upwards:
,i" /
A2 Vector Addition and Scalar Multiplication
,i" 0
The result of addin" two ectors such as
a
and b in ,i" 0 is the dia"onal of the
parallelo"ram( + a b ( as shown in ,i" 0&
The multiplication
ka
of a real number k with a ector a is the product of the si+e of
a with the number k& ,or e'ample !a is the ector in the same direction as ector a
but the ma"nitude is twice as lon"&
,i" 1
What does the vector
)
!
a look like?
Velocity
Acceleration
a
b a
+
b
O
a
2
a
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space 3
,i" 2
Same direction as ector a but half the ma"nitude&
What effect does a negative k have on a vector such as
ka
?
If ! k = then ! a is the ector a but in the opposite direction and the ma"nitude is
multiplied by !( that is:
,i" 3
A ector
a
is the ector a but in the opposite direction& 4e can define this as
( ) ) = a a
4e call the product
ka
scalar multiplication&
4e can also subtract ectors as the ne't dia"ram shows:
,i" )*
$3&)% The ector subtraction of two ectors a and b is defined by
( ) = + a b a b
A3 Vectors in
!

What is meant by
!

?
!

is the plane representin" the Cartesian coordinate system named after the ,rench
mathematician $philosopher% 5ene 6escartes&
a
1
2
a
a
-
2
a
a
O
-
b
a
-
b
b
Rene Descartes was a French philosopher born in 1596. He
attended a Jesit colle!e and becase o" his poor health he was
allowed to re#ain in bed ntil 11 o$cloc% in the #ornin!& a habit he
contined ntil his death in 165'.
Descartes stdied law at the (ni)ersity o" *oitiers which is
located soth west o" *aris. A"ter !radatin! in 161+ he went to
Holland to stdy #athe#atics.
O)er the ne,t decade he tra)elled thro!h -rope e)entally
settlin! in Holland in 16.+. Here Descartes li)ed a solitary li"e
only concentratin! on #athe#atics and philosophy.
Fi! 11 Rene Descartes 1596 to 165'
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space 4
Descartes #ain contribtion to #athe#atics was his analytic !eo#etry which inclded
or present ,/y plane and the three di#ensional space.
0n 1619 Descartes #o)ed to 2weden to teach 3een 4hristina. Howe)er she wanted to
learn her #athe#atics early in the #ornin! 55a#6 which did not sit Descartes becase
he had a habit o" !ettin! p at 11a#. 4o#bined with these 5a# starts and the harsh
2wedish winter Descartes died o" pne#onia in 165'.
The points in the plane are ordered pairs with reference to the ori"in which is denoted
by O& ,or e'ample the followin" are all ectors in the plane
!

:
x
-4 -2 2 4 6 8 10
y
-2
2
4

7
5

/1
5

.
8

/6
/8

,i" )!
These are e'amples of ectors with two entries(
0 1 ! )
( ( and
3 / 3 /

&
The set of all ectors with two entries is denoted by
!

and pronounced 7r two8& The

represents that the entries are real numbers&
4e add and subtract ectors in
!

as stated aboe( that is we apply the parallelo"ram

law on the ectors& ,or e'ample:
x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
y
1
2
3
4
5
a
a9b
b
,i" )3
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space
What does the term ordered air mean?
The order of the entries matters( that is the coordinate ( ) ( a b
is different from
( ) ( b a
proided a b &
Normally the coordinate ( ) ( a b
is written as a column ector
a
b



&
E'ample )
9et
3 !
and
) 3

= =

u !
& :lot
+ u !
and write down
+ u !
as a column ector&
What do you notice about your result?
Solution
x
-2 -1 1 2 3
y
-2
-1
1
2
3
:

/.
8

) :

8
/1

9 )
,i" ).
By e'aminin" ,i" ). we hae that the coordinates of
+ u !
are
$)( !%
and this is
written as a column ector
)
!



&
If we add ! and y coordinates separately then we obtain the resultant ector&
That is if we ealuate
3 ! 3 ! )
) 3 ) 3 !

+ = + = =

+

u !
which means that we can
add the correspondin" entries of the ector to find
+ u !
&
In "eneral if
a
b

=


u
and
c
d

=


!
then
a c a c
b d b d
+
+ = + =

+

u !
E'ample !
9et
3
)

=


!
& :lot the ectors
)
( ! ( 3
!
! ! ! and
!
on the same a'es&
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space "
Solution& :lottin" each of these ectors on
!

we hae
x
-2 2 4 6 8 10
y
-1
1
2
3
)

1
.

)
8)
; )
.)
,i" )/
Note that by readin" off the coordinates of each ector we hae:
3 )&/ 3 0 3 3
) )
( ! ! ( 3 3
) *&/ ) ! ) 3 ! !

= = = = = =


! ! !
and
3 3
) )

= =

!
5emember the product
k !
is called scalar multiplication& The term scalar comes
from the 9atin word scala meanin" ladder& Scalar multiplication chan"es the len"th of
the ector or we can say it chan"es the scale of the ector as you can see in ,i" )/&
In "eneral if
a
b

=


!
then the scalar multiplication
a ka
k k
b kb

= =


!
A4 Vectors in
3

What does the notation

3

mean?
3

is the set of all ordered triples of real numbers and is also called 3;space&
4e can e'tend the ector properties in
!

mentioned in subsection A3 aboe to three

dimensions
3

pronounced 7r three8&
The
! y
plane can be e'tended to coer three dimensions by includin" a third a'is
called the " a'is& This a'es is at ri"ht an"les to the other two( ! and y( a'es& The
position of a ector in three dimensions is "ien by three co;ordinates ( ) ( ( ! y "
&
,or e'ample the followin" is the ector
)
!
/





in
3

and is represented "eometrically

x
z
y
,i" )0
Shows the 3 a'es !( y and "&
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space #
by:
<ector addition and scalar multiplication is carried out as in the plane
!

& That is if
and
a d
b e
c f


= =



u !
then the ector addition
a d a d
b e b e
c f c f
+

+ = + = +


+

u !
Scalar multiplication is defined by
a ka
k k b kb
c kc


= =



u
A Vectors in
n

What does
n

reresent?
In the )1
th
century 5ene 6escartes used ordered pairs of real numbers(
a
b

=


!
( to
describe ectors in the plane and e'tended it to ordered triples of real numbers(
a
b
c


=



!
( to describe ectors in 3 dimensional space& Why can#t we e!tend this to an
ordered $uadrule of real numbers%
a
b
c
d



=



!
% or n& tules of real numbers%
)
!
n
v
v
v



=



!
M
?
,i" )1
!
y
"
,i" )1
)
!
/





Chapter 3: Euclidean Space $
In the )1
th
century ectors were defined as "eometric ob-ects and there was no
"eometric interpretation of
n

for
n
"reater than 3& =oweer in the )3
th
century
ectors were thou"ht of as mathematical ob-ects that can be added( subtracted( scalar
multiplied etc so we could e'tend the ector definition&
An e'ample is a system of linear e#uations where the number of un>nowns
) ! 3
( ( ( and
n
! ! ! ! L
is "reater than 3&
A ector
)
!
n
v
v
v



=



!
M
is called an n dimensional ector& An e'ample is
)
!
2

=



!
M
&
=ence
n

is the set of all n dimensional ectors where si"nifies that the entries of
the ector are real numbers( that is
) ! 3
( ( ( and
n
v v v v L
are all real numbers& The
real number
'
v
of the ector ! is called the component or more precisely the -th
component of the ector !&
This
n

is also called n;space or the ector space of n;tuples&

Note that the ectors are ordered n;tuples& What does this mean?
The ector
)
!
2

=



!
M
is different from
!
)
2






M
( that is the order of the components
matters&
How do we draw vectors in
n

for . n ?
4e cannot draw pictures of ectors in
. / 0
( ( etc& What is the oint of the n&
sace%
n

% for . n ?
4ell we can carry out ector arithmetic in n;space&
A" Vector Addition and Scalar Multiplication in
n

?eometric interpretation of ectors in

n

is not possible for . n therefore we

define ector addition and scalar multiplication by al"ebraic means&
Two ectors u and ! are e%ual if they hae the same number of components and the
correspondin" components are e#ual& How can we write this in mathematical
notation?
9et
) )
! !
and
n n
u v
u v
u v



= =



u !
M M
and if
$3&!%
' '
u v =
for
)( !( 3( ( ' n = L
then the ectors
= u !
&
,or e'ample the ectors
)
/
1





and
)
1
/





are not e#ual because the correspondin"
components are not e#ual&
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space &
E'ample 3
9et
3
)
!
y
" !


= +


+

u
and
)
!
3


=



!
& If
= u !
then determine the real numbers
( ! y
and
"
&
Solution&
Since
= u !
we hae
3 ) "ies .
) ! "ies )
3 "ies . 3 )
! !
y y
" ! " "
= =
+ = =
+ = + = =
Our solution is
.( ) ! y = =
and ) " = &
4e can also define ector addition and scalar multiplication in
n

&
9et
) )
! !
and
n n
u v
u v
u v



= =



u !
M M
be ectors in
n

then
$3&3%
) ) ) )
! ! ! !
n n n n
u v u v
u v u v
u v u v
+

+

+ = + =


+

u !
M M M
The sum of the ectors u and ! denoted by
+ u !
is e'ecuted by addin" the
correspondin" components as formulated in $3&3%& Note that
+ u !
is also a ector in
n

&
Scalar multiplication
k !
is carried out by multiplyin" each component of the ector !
by the real number k:
$3&.%
) )
! !
n n
v kv
v kv
k k
v kv



= =



!
M M
A"ain
k !
is a ector in
n

&
E'ample .
9et
3 3
) !
and
1 .
/ )



= =

u !
& ,ind
$a%
+ u !
$b% )*u $c% 3 ! + u ! $d%
u u
$e% ! 2 u !
Solution&
$a% By applyin" $3&3% we hae
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space 1'
3 3 3 3 0
) ! ) ! 3
1 . 1 . 3
/ ) / ) .
+

+

+ = + = =



+

u !
$b% By usin" $3&.% we hae
3 3 )* 3*
) ) )* )*
)* )*
1 1 )* 1*
/ / )* /*

= = =

u
$c% By applyin" both $3&3% and $3&.% we hae
3 3 3 3 3 !
) ! ) 3 ! !
3 ! 3 !
1 . 1 3 . !
/ ) / 3 ) !
3 )2 3 )2 3
3 . 3 . 1
!) 2 !) 2 )3
)/ ! )/ ! )3




+ = + = +





+


+

= + = =



+

u !
$d% 4e hae
( )
3 3 3 3
) ) ) )
)
1 1 1 1
/ / / /
3 3 3 3 *
) ) ) ) *
1 1 1 1 *
/ / / / *



= = +




+




= + = = =



+

u u
(
=ence
u u
"ies the +ero ector (&
$e% 4e hae
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
3 ! 3 3 3 2
) ! ) ! ! 2
! 2 ! 2
1 ! 1 . . 2
/ ! / ) ) 2
0 1! 0 1! 00
! )0 ! )0 )2
). 3! ). 3! )2
)* 2 )* 2 !






= =













= = =

u !

@ou may li>e to chec> these results of E'ample . in AAT9AB&

Note that for any ector ! we hae
Chapter 3: Euclidean Space 11
= ! ! (
The +ero ector in
n

is denoted by ( and is defined as

$3&/%
*
*
*



=



(
M
BAll entries are +eroC
There are other al"ebraic properties of ectors which we describe in the ne't section&
Why is this chater called (uclidean Sace?
Euclidean space is the space of all n;tuples of real numbers which is denoted by
n

&
=ence Euclidean space is the set
n

&
Euclid was a ?ree> mathematician who lied around 3**BC and deeloped distances
and an"les in the plane and three dimension space& A more detailed profile of Euclid is
"ien in the ne't section&
SDAAA5@
<ectors hae ma"nitude as well direction& Scalars only hae ma"nitude& <ectors are
normally denoted by bold letters such as u( !( ) etc&
<ector addition in the plane
!

is carried out by the parallelo"ram rule and scalar

multiplication scales the ector accordin" to the multiple k&
!

is also called !;space&

3

is the three dimensional space with

( ! y
and " a'is at ri"ht hand an"les to each
other&
3

is also called 3;space&

4e can e'tend the aboe space to n;space which is denoted by
n

where n is a
natural number such as )( !( 3( . (/ E
9et
) )
! !
and
n n
u v
u v
u v



= =



u !
M M
be ectors in
n

then
$3&3%
) ) ) )
! ! ! !
n n n n
u v u v
u v u v
u v u v
+

+

+ = + =


+

u !
M M M
$3&.%
) )
! !
n n
v kv
v kv
k
v kv



= =



!
M M