Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes

Unit I
Vectors; Lines and Planes
1.1 Vectors
1.1.1 Scalar and Vector Quantities

A scalar is a quantity that is determine by its magnitude (its number of units measured in a suitable scale).
Examples 1 Mass, length, temperature, voltage are examples of scalar quantities.

Quantities that have both magnitude and direction are called vectors. A vector is usually represented by
an arrow, the length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector and the arrow head indicates the
direction of the vector.

Examples 2 Velocity, acceleration, displacement and force are examples of vector quantities.

When a vector is represented by an arrow, say AB , the point A is called the initial point (tail) and B is
called the terminal point (head) of the vector. Vectors can also be represented by a single letter (usually
small letter) with a bar over it such as a , b etc.

Example 3

terminal point
a

initial point

Notations A or a - vector A or vector a.

PQ - a vector with initial point P and terminal point Q.
A - magnitude (or norm) of vector A.

1.1.2 Equality of two Vectors

Definition 1.1 Two non-zero vectors a and b are said to be equal, denoted a = b , if
and only if they have the same direction and magnitude, regardless of the
position of their initial points.

Note that: Equality of vectors is transitive.

i.e. For three vectors a , b and c , if a = b and b = c , then a = c .

Definition 1.2 A Vector is called a free vector, provided that its magnitude and direction
are fixed, but its position is indeterminate. If the initial point of a free vector is
fixed, then it is called a localized vector.

Definition 1.3 Two ( free) Vector are equal if and only if they have the same magnitude
and direction.

Definition 1.4 A vector of magnitude ( modulus) unity ( one) is called a unit vector.

Definition 1.5 Any vector whose magnitude is zero and direction indeterminate is called

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes

a null ( zero) vector. A null vector is denoted by 0 .

A
Note that: For any non-zero vector A , A
is a unit vector in the direction of that of vector

A.
1.1.3 Vectors in 2 and 3

Definition 1.6 Position Vectors

A non-zero vector in 2 (or 3) is called a position vector if and only if its initial
point is at the origin and its terminal point is anywhere other than the origin.

From this definition, the initial point (tail) of a vector can be anywhere with out changing the direction and
the magnitude of the vector.

Vector Addition

Definition 1.7 Let AB and BC be two vectors in a plane. Then the sum AB + BC is the
vector represented by AC .

Triangle Law of Vector Addition

Let a and b be any two vectors. To find a + b , join a and b head to tail. a + b is the
vector whose initial point is that of a and terminal point that of b . This law of vector addition
is called triangle law of vector addition.
For any vector a , a + 0 = a .

Theorem 1.1
a) For any two vectors a and b

a + b = b + a .
b) For any three vectors a , b and c

a + (b + c )=(a + b )+ c .

For any vector a there exists a vector – a such that a + (– a )= 0 .– a , called the opposite of
vector a , has the same magnitude and opposite in direction to that of a .
Subtraction of Vectors
For any two vectors a and b , a – b is the vector defined by adding a and – b pictorially
illustrated as follows:

b  b
a  ( b )
a
a

Scalar Multiplication

Definition 1.8 Let a be any vector and k be any scalar. k a is a vector whose magnitude is
k times a and its direction is that of a if k > 0, opposite to that of a if

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes

k < 0 and indeterminate if k = 0.

Definition 1.9 For any two vectors a and b and any two scalars m and n
i) m ( a + b ) = ma +m b ii) (m + n) a = m a + n a

iii) (m n) a = m (n a ) iv) 1 a = a and 0 a = 0

Components and Coordinate Representation of Vectors.

Definition 1.10 Two vectors a and b are said to be parallel if a =t b for some
real
number t.

Let a and b be any two non-zero vectors which are not parallel. Then any vector u in the plane of
a and b can be uniquely expressed as
u =s a +t b

where s and t are scalars.

In this case, we say that u is expressed as a linear combination of a and b . The vectors s a and t
b are called the component vectors of u relative to a and b respectively and  a , b  is called a
base.
Any pair of non-collinear vectors may be chosen as a base, but the usual and the most convenient choice of
base is a pair of unit position vectors (vectors of unit length) along the positive x-axis and along the positive
y-axis.

Note that: Any position vector is uniquely determined by the coordinates of its terminal point.
Now the position vector (1, 0) is usually denoted by i and (0, 1) by j . The vectors i and j , being
perpendicular ,  i , j  is called an orthogonal base.
Note that: For any non-zero free vector a there is a unique position vector b such that a = b .
Now let (x, y) be the terminal point of a position vector u . Then u can be expressed as:
u =x i +y j .
Similarly, if r is a free vector with initial point P(x1, y1) and terminal point Q(x2, y2) can be expressed as:
r = (x2 – x1) i + (y2 – y1) j .
Notation: u = (x, y) represents the position vector u with terminal point (x, y).
Note that: i = (1, 0) and j = (0, 1) are unit position vectors determined by the coordinates of their
terminal points.
Similarly, i = (1, 0, 0), j = (0, 1, 0) ) and k = (0, 0, 1) are mutually perpendicular
unit position vectors in  . 3

Now let (x, y, z) be the terminal point of a position vector u in 3. Then u can be expressed as:
u =x i +y j +z k .
The length (norm) of a vector u = (x, y, z) is denoted and defined by:
2
u  x  y2  z2

Similarly, if r is a free vector with initial point P(x1, y1, z1) and terminal point Q(x2, y2, z2) can be
expressed as:
r = (x2 – x1) i + (y2 – y1) j + (z2 – z1) k

Example 4 Let r = (2, 0,  5). Find the coordinates of the terminal point of the vector that is
equal to r if P (2, 3, 1) is its initial point.
Solution Let Q (x, y, z) be the terminal point of the required vector.

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes
Then PQ = r  (x – 2, y – 3, z – 1) = (2, 0,  5)
 x – 2 = 2, y – 3 = 0 and z – 1 =  5
 x = 4, y = 3 and z = – 4.
Therefore, (4, 3, – 4) is the terminal point of the required vector.
Example 5 Let u = (2, 0,  5) and let P (0, 3, – 6) and Q (– 4, 3, 4) be the initial point and
terminal points of a vector. Find a real number t such that u =t PQ

Solution u = t PQ  (2, 0,  5) = t ( 4, 0, 10)

  4 t = 2 and 10 t =  5
 t =  0.5.
Therefore, t =  0.5 is the required solution.
The Scalar (Dot) Product
Before we define the dot product of vectors, we need to define what we mean by the angle between two
vectors.

Definition Let a and b be any two non-zero free vectors, and let (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) be
position vectors associated to a and b respectively. The angle between a and b

is defined to be the angle between the two position vectors (x 1, y1) and (x2, y2).

Note that:- The angle  between any two non-zero position vectors satisfies the condition 0    

Further more; if  = 0 or  = , then the two position vectors are parallel and if  = , then
2
the two position vectors are perpendicular.

Definition Let a and b be any two non-zero free vectors. The scalar (dot or inner) product

of a and b , denoted a .b is defined by:

a . b = a b cos 

Where  is the angle between a and b .

Note that: a , b and cos  are numbers and hence scalar (dot) product of any two
non-zero vectors is a scalar quantity.

Note that:- i) For any vector a , a . a  a 2

and hence a  a . a , since  = 0

and cos 0 = 1.
ii) The scalar product of any two non-zero perpendicular vectors a and b is zero.

.b  
i.e. a = 0, since  = and cos = 0.
2 2
iii) If  is the angle between two non-zero vectors a and b , then
a . b
cos  = a b

Theorem. For any vectors a , b and c , and any scalar k

i) a .b = b . a ii) k ( a .b ) = (k a ) . b =

a . (k b )

iii) a .( b  c) = a . b + a . c

Theorem. If a = x1 i  y2 j and b = x2 i  y2 j , then

a .b = x1 x2  y1 y2

Corollary. If a = x1 i  y2 j , b = x2 i  y2 j are non-zero vectors and  is the angle

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes
between a and b , then
x1 x2  y1 y2
Cos  = 2 2 2 2
x1  y1 x2  y 2

The Two Important Inequalities.

Let A and B be two vectors.

1. A. B  A B (Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality)
A B
2.  A + B (Triangle Inequality)

Example. Compute the scalar product of

i) a =3 i +4 j and b =4 i 3 j

i) a =4 i +3 j and b =8 i 6 j

Solutions. Using the above definition we get:

i) a .b = (3, 4)
. (4,  3) = 12  12 = 0.
and ii) a .b = ( 4, 3)
. (8,  6) =  32  18 =  50.
Example. Given: The angle between two unit vectors p and q is 60. Then find
i) p  q ii) the angle between and +
.
p p q

Solutions. i) p  q 2
= ( p + q ) ( p + q )

= p 2
+2 p q cos 60 + q 2

= 2 (1 + cos 60)
= 3.
Therefore p  q = 3.

ii) Let  be the angle between p and p + q .

Then p  p  q  = p 2
+ p q cos 60
= 1 + cos 60
= 1.5. i)
On the other hand p  p  q  = p p  q cos 
= 3 cos  ii)
From i) and ii) we get:
3
3 cos  = 1.5  cos  =
2
  = 30.
Therefore the angle between p and p + q 30.
Example. Given: a = i and b = i + j . Find the value of k such that
i) a +k b is orthogonal to a

ii) a +k b is orthogonal to b

Solutions. a = 1 and b = 2.

i) a +k b is orthogonal to a if and only if a

.( a +k b ) = 0.

Now a
.( a +k b )=0 a 2
+ ka  b  = 0.

 1+k=0
 k =  1.
Therefore k =  1.

ii) a +k b is orthogonal to b if and only if b

.( a +k b ) = 0.

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes

Now b
.( a +k b )=0 k b 2
+ a  b  = 0.

 1 + 2k = 0
 k =  0.5.
Therefore k =  0.5.
Example. Find the angle  between ( 6 , 1,  1) and the positive x axis.
Solution. Let A = ( 6 , 1,  1) and B = (1, 0, 0) be two position vectors.

Then A B = A  B cos 

A B
Hence cos  =
A B

6 3
 cos  = 
8 2


 = .
6

Therefore the angle between ( 6 , 1,  1) and the positive x axis is .
6

Direction Angles and Direction Cosines.

Defn Let A = (a1, a2, a3) be a non-zero vector. The angles ,  and  (between 0 and 
inclusively) that A makes with the positive x, y and z axes respectively are called
the direction angles of A.

Now take the unit vectors i , j and k . From this definition we get:
a1 a2 a3
cos  = , cos  = and cos  =
A A A

Furthermore;
a1 = A cos , a2 = A cos  = and a3 = A cos 

Therefore A = A ( i cos  + j cos  + k cos )

cos , cos  and cos  are called the direction cosines of A.

Example. Let A = ( 2, 0, 3). Find the direction cosine of A.

Solution. A = ( 2) 2  0 2  32 = 13 .

2 3
Hence cos  =  , cos  = 0 and cos  = .
13 13

 1 2  1  1 3 
 = cos 
 ,
13 
 = cos  0  and  = cos 
 .
13 
   

 1 2    1 3 
Therefore cos 
 , and cos   are the direction cosines of A.
 13 
 2 
 13 


Projection and Resolution of Vectors.

Defn Let A be a non-zero vector. The projection of a vector B onto A, denoted by

Pr oj B
A is defined as:

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes

A. B
Pr oj B  A
A A 2

Pr oj B
Note that:- A is a vector parallel to A.

Pr oj B Pr oj A
Example. Let A = ( 2,  3,  1) and B = (0, 1,  1). Find A and B .

Solution. A = 14 , B = 2 and A. B =  2.

Pr oj B 1 Pr oj A
Therefore A =  A and B =  B.
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Theorem
Let A be a non-zero vector. Then for any vector B,
Pr oj B
A  B

A. B
Pr oj B   B cos 
Proof. A A  B .

Pr oj B
Therefore A  B .

Now let A and B be orthogonal vectors and let C be a vector in the same plane as A and B.
Then we can express C as a linear combination of vectors parallel to A and B as follows:
Pr oj C Pr oj C
C= A + B

In this case, we say that vector C is resolved into vectors parallel to A and B.

Example. Let A = (0, 1,  2), B = (0, 2, 1) and C = (0, 5,  4). Resolve C into vectors parallel
to A and B.

Solution. A. B = 0 and these three vectors lie on the yz plane.

Pr oj C A.C C B.C
A = 2
A and Pr oj B = B.
A B 2

Now A.C = 13, B .C = 6, A = B = 5.

Pr oj C 13 Pr oj C 6
Hence A = A and B = B.
5 5

13 6
Therefore C = A + B.
5 5

Example. Let A = (1, 0, 3), B = ( 3, 0, 1) and C = (2, 0, 5). Resolve C into vectors parallel
to A and B.

Solution. A. B = 0 and these three vectors lie on the xz plane.

Pr oj C A.C C B.C
A = 2
A and Pr oj B = B.
A B 2

Now A.C = 18, B .C =  1, A = B = 10 .

Pr oj C 9 Pr oj C 1
Hence A = A and B =  B.
5 10

9 1
Therefore C = A  B.
5 10

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes

Cross Product

Defn. Let A = (a1, a2, a3) and B = (b1, b2, b3) be two vectors. The cross (Vector) product
of A and B, written A  B is defined by:
A  B = (a2 b3  b2a3) i + (a3 b1  a1 b3) j + (a1 b2  a2 b1) k

A  B is read as “A cross B”.

Now let us see a simple method how to recall the formula for the cross product of A and B
i) The first method.

i j k

AB= a1 a2 a3
b1 b2 b3

ii) The second method.

+ + +   

i j k i j

a1 a2 a3 a1 a2

b1 b2 b3 b1 b2

Example. Let A = (5,  1, 0) and B = (0, 2,  2). Find A  B and B  A.

Solution.
i j k
AB=
5 1 0

0 2 2
=2 i + 10 j + 10 k

Therefore A  B = 2 i + 10 j + 10 k .

i j k

AB= 0 2 2
5 1 0

=2 i  10 j  10 k

Therefore A  B =  2 i  10 j  10 k .

Remark: i  j = k , j  k = i and k  i = j .

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes

Properties of Cross Product.

Let A, B, C be vectors and let m be a scalar. Then

i) A  B =  (B  A)
ii) A  A = 0

iii) A  (B + C) = (A  B) + (A  C)
and (A + B)  C) = (A  C) + (B  C)
iv) (m A)  B = m (A  B) = A  (m B).

Remark: Cross Product is not associative.

Example. i ( k  k )= 0 while, ( i  k ) k = j  k = i .

Theorem. Let A and B be two non-zero vectors.

a) A . ( A  B )  0 and B . ( A  B )  0
Consequently; if A  B  0 , then A  B is orthogonal to both A and B.
b) If  is the angle between A and B (0    ), then
A B = A B sin .

Proof. i) A . ( A  B ) = a1 (a2 b3  b2a3) + a2 (a3 b1  a1 b3) + a3 (a1 b2  a2 b1)

= a1a2 b3  a1a3b2 + a2a3 b1  a1a2b3 + a1a3b2  a2 a3b1
= (a1a2 b3  a1a2b3) + (a1a3b2 a1a3b2) + (a2a3 b1 +  a2 a3b1)
= 0.
B . ( A  B ) = b1 (a2 b3  b2a3) + b2 (a3 b1  a1 b3) + b3 (a1 b2  a2 b1)

= a2 b1b3  a3 b1b2 + a3b1b2  a1b2b3 + a1b2b3  a2b1b3

= (a2 b1b3  a2b1b3) + (a3b1b2  a3 b1b2) + (a1b2b3 a1b2b3)
= 0.
ii) A  B 2 = (a2 b3  b2a3)2 + (a3 b1  a1 b3)2+ (a1 b2  a2 b1)2

= (a22 b32  2 a2a3b2b3 + b22 a32) + (a12 b32  2 a1a3b1b3 + b12 a32)
+ (a12 b22  2 a1a2b1b2 + a22b12)
= a12 (b22 + b32) + a22 (b12+ b32 ) + a32 (b12+ b22 )
 (2 a2a3b2b3 + 2 a1a3b1b3 + 2 a1a2b1b2)
= (a12 +a22 + a32) (b12 + b22 + b32 )  (a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3)2

= A 2 B 2( A B cos ) 2

= A 2 B 2 A 2 B 2 cos 2 

= A 2 B 2 (1  cos 2  )

= A 2 B 2 sin 2 

Therefore A B = A B sin .

Corollary. Two non-zero vectors A and B are parallel if and only if A  B = 0 .

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes
Proof. A  B = 0  A B =0
 A B sin 
 sin  = 0
  = 0 or  = .
 A∥ B.

Therefore Two non-zero vectors A and B are parallel if and only if A  B = 0 .

Example. Let A (3, 2,  2) and B (0, 3, 7).
i) Determine whether A and B are parallel or orthogonal or neither.
ii) Find a vector orthogonal to both A and B.
Solution. i) A . B = (3  0) + (2  3) + ( 2  7) =  2, A = 17 and B = 2 14 .
Hence neither A . B  0 nor A. B  A B .
Therefore A and B are neither parallel nor orthogonal.
Remark: A B is the area of a parallelogram with adjacent sides A and B.
Triple Product.
There are two types of triple products.
i) Scalar triple product.
For any three vectors A, B and C, A . ( B  C ) is called the triple (box or mixed triple)
product of A, B and C.
Example. Show that for any three vectors A, B and C
A . ( B  C ) = ( A  B) . C

Solution. A . ( B  C ) = A B  C cos , where  is the angle between A and B  C .

= A B C cos  sin , where  is the angle between B and C
and ( A  B ) . C = A B C cos  sin , where  is the angle between C and
A  B and  is the angle between A and B.

Now cos  = sin  and sin  = cos , because co-functions of complementary angles
are equal.
Therefore A . ( B  C ) = ( A  B ) . C .
ii) Vector Triple Product.
For any three vectors A, B and C, A  ( B  C ) is called the Vector triple product of
A, B and C.
Example. Show that for any three vectors A, B and C
A  ( B  C )  ( A  B)  C

Solution. A  ( B  C ) = A B  C sin , where  is the angle between A and B  C .

= A B C sin  sin , where  is the angle between B and C
and ( A  B )  C = A B C sin  sin , where  is the angle between C and
A  B and  is the angle between A and B.

Now sin   sin  and sin   sin .

Therefore A  ( B  C )  ( A  B )  C .

Remark: For any three vectors A, B and C

A  ( B . C ) , ( A . B )  C and ( A . B ) . C
are undefined operations.
Some Properties of Triple Products.
For any three vectors A, B and C

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes
i) ( A  B )  C = B . (C  A) = A  ( B  C )
ii) A  ( B  C ) = B ( A . C )  C ( A . B ) “ bac – cab” rule.
Remark: For any three non-zero vectors A, B and C; A . (B  C) is the volume of a
parallelepiped with sides A, B and C.
Lines in  3 .
A line in space is determined by a point p0 (x0, y0, z0) on ℓ and a non-zero vector L parallel to it.
Now let ℓ be a line parallel to a non-zero vector L and let p 0 (x0, y0, z0) be a fixed point on ℓ.
Let p (x, y, z) be an arbitrary point on ℓ. We need to express p in terms of p 0 and L.
ℓ ∥ L  Po P ∥ L

 (x  x0, y  y0, z  z0) = t L ; for some t   and t  0.

 (x, y, z) = (x0, y0, z0) +
 r = r
0 + t L; for some t   and t  0;
where r = (x, y, z) and r
0 = (x0, y0, z0).
Therefore r = r
0 + t L; for some t   and t  0 is the vector form of the equation of a line.
Example. Find a vector equation of the line that contains ( 1, 3, 5) and is parallel to 4 i 3 j 2 k

Solution. Now r
0 =  i 3 j 5 k and L = 4 i 3 j  2 k .
r =( i 3 j 5 k )+t(4 i 3 j  2 k )
Therefore r = ( 1  4t ) i  (3  3 t ) j  (5  2 t ) k is the required vector form of the
equation of the line.
Now let L = a i b j c k be a given non-zero vector and let (x0, y0, z0) be a point on ℓ. Then for
any point (x, y, z) on ℓ that is parallel to L, the vector equation form of ℓ is given by:
r = r0 + t L.

Hence (x, y, z) = ( x0  at ) i  ( y0  b t ) j  ( z0  c t ) k

 x = x0  at , y = y0  b t and z = z0  c t . (i)
These equations are called the parametric equations of ℓ and t is called the parameter.
Example. Find the parametric equation of the line that contain ( 2, 1, 3) and is parallel to
4 i .
2 k

Solution. Now (x0, y0, z0) = ( 2, 1, 3) and L = 4 i 2 k .

Then x =  2  4 t , y = 1 and z = 3  2 t .
Therefore x =  2  4 t , y = 1 and z = 3  2 t is the required solution.

In the above parametric equations of a line ℓ if a, b, and c are non-zero real numbers then
We can express (i) as follows:
xx 0 y  y0 z  z0
t    ; where t  .
a b c
This form of the equations of a line is called the Symmetric form of the equation of a line.

Example. Find the symmetric equations of the line containing the points P 1 (2, 3,  1) and
P2 (5, 0, 4).
Solution. Now take L = PP0 = 3 i  3 j 5 k and (x0, y0, z0) = (2, 3,  1).
x2 y 3 z 1
Therefore t    ; where t   is the required equation.
3 3 5

Example. Find the vector, parametric and symmetric equations of the line containing the point

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes
P ( 3, 4, 5) which is parallel to 4 i 3 k .
Solution. (x0, y0, z0) = ( 3, 4, 5).
i) Vector equation
Hence r = ( 3, 4, 5) + t (4, 0,  3).
= ( 3 + 4 t, 4, 5  3 t)
= ( 3 + 4 t) i + 4 j + (5  3 t) k

x2 y 3 z 1
Therefore t    ; where t   is the required equation.
3 3 5

ii) Parametric equations.

(x, y, z) = ( 3 + 4 t, 4, 5  3 t)
 x =  3 + 4 t, y = 4 and z = 5  3t ; where t   is the required equation.
iii) Symmetric equations.
x =  3 + 4 t, y = 4 and z = 5  3t ; where t  
x 3 z 5
 t  4

3
and y  4 ; where t  .

x 3 z 5
Therefore t   and y  4 ; where t   is the required equation.
4 3
Example. Show that the line containing the points (0, 0, 5) and (1,  1, 4) is perpendicular to the
x y 5 z 9
line with equation   .
7 4 3
Solution. Let P (0, 0, 5) and Q (1,  1, 4).
We need to show that PQ and n = (7, 4, 3) are perpendicular.
Now (1, 1, 1) . (7, 4, 3) = 0.
Therefore the two lines are perpendicular.

Distance from a Point to a Line.

Given a line ℓ and a non-zero vector L parallel to ℓ, we wish to determine the distance D between ℓ and a
point P1 (not on ℓ).
To do so choose a point P0 on ℓand let  be the angle between ℓ and P0 P1 , where 0 ≤  ≤ π.

Now D = P0 P1 sin , but L  P0 P1 = L P0 P1 sin .

L  P0 P1
Therefore D  is the distance of P1 from the line ℓ.
L

Example. Find the distance D from the point (2, 1, 0) to the line with equation
x =  2, y + 1 = z = t.
Solution. Take any point P0 on the line. Say P0 ( 2,  1, 0).
P1 (2, 1, 0) and L = (0, 1, 1). Hence P0 P1 = (4, 2, 0).

Now L  P0 P1 =2 i + 4 j  4 k , L  P0 P1 = 6 and L = 2.

Therefore D = 3 2 units.

Planes in 3.
Given a point P0 and a non-zero vector n , there exists one and only one plane J containing P0 and
perpendicular to n .
Let P0 (x0, y0, z0) be a given point, n = (a, b, c) be a non-zero vector and let P (x, y, z) be an arbitrary point
on the plane J containing P0 and which is perpendicular to n .
n is perpendicular to the plane J.

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes
 n is perpendicular to P0 P1 .
 (a, b, c) · (x  x0, y  y0, z  z0) = 0.
 a (x  x0) + b (y  y0) + c ( z  z0) = 0. (*)
Therefore a (x  x0) + b (y  y0) + c (z  z0) = 0 is the equation of the plane containing P 0 and perpendicular
to n = (a, b, c).
n is said to be normal to the plane J.
Expanding and rearranging (*) , we get an equivalent equation of the form:
a x + b y + c z = d; where d = n · P0 .
Example. Find the equation of the plane that contains the point (5,  1, 2) and has normal to
2 i 3 k .
Solution. P0 (5,  1, 2) and n = (2, 0,  3).
Now (5,  1, 2) · (2, 0,  3) = 4.
Therefore 2 x 3 z = 4 is the required equation of the plane.
Example. Find the equation of the plane that contains the point (2,  2, 1) and which is
1 x y 2
perpendicular to the line with equation has normal to   3z .
2 3
1
Solution. P0 (2,  2, 1) and n = (2, 3, ).
3
1 29
Now (2,  2, 1) · (2, 3, )=  .
3 3
1 29
Therefore 2 x + 3 y + z=  is the required equation of the plane.
3 3

Note that: i) Three distinct points P0, P1 and P2 in 3 are collinear if and only if
P0 P1  P0 P2 = 0.
ii) Three distinct non-collinear points P 0, P1 and P2 in 3 determine a unique plane.
Let P0, P1 and P2 be three distinct non-collinear points in 3. To determine the equation of the plane J that
contains these points, we need to solve:
P0 P1 · ( P0 P1  P0 P2 ) = 0.
Example. Find the equation of the plane that contains (1, 0, 1), (2, 1, 1) and (2, 0, 3).
Solution. Let P0 (1, 0, 1), P1 (2, 1, 1) and P2 (2, 0, 3).
Then P0 P1 = (3, 1, 0) and P0 P2 = (1, 0, 2).

Hence P0 P1  P0 P2 = (2,  6, 1).

Therefore 2 x  6 y + z =  1 is the required equation of the plane.

Distance from a Point to a Plane.

We need to determine the distance D between a point P 1 to a plane J whose normal is the non-zero vector
n = (a, b, c). To do so choose a point P0 on J and let  be the angle between n

and P0 P1 , where 0 ≤  ≤ π.

D= P0 P1 cos .

Now n . P P
0 1 = n P0 P1 cos .

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Unit I Vectors; Lines and Planes
n . P P
0 1
Hence D = n
.

n . P P
0 1
Therefore D = n
for any point P0 on J.

Example. Calculate the distance D between the point P1 (2, 3,  1) and the plane
 4 x + 2y + z = 0.
Solution. Let P0 (1, 2, 0) be a point on the plane. Now n = ( 4, 2, 1) and P0 P1 = (1, 1,  1).
. P P
Hence n 0 1 = 3 and n = 21 .

3
Therefore D = units.
7

Example. Calculate the distance D between the point P1 (2, 3,  1) and the plane that passes
through A( 3, 0, 2), B(1, 1, 2) and C( 1,  1,  1).
Solution. Let P0 ( 3, 0, 2). Now P0 P1 = (5, 3,  3) and n = AB . AC = ( 3, 12,  6).
. P P
Hence n 0 1 = 39 and n = 189 .

13
Therefore D = units.
21

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