Jia Shing Wee Winter 2022

Vectors Basic Formula Sheet

Jia Shing Wee
Winter 2022
Contents
1. Vectors in 3 Dimensions 2
1.1. Basic Formulas 2
1.1.1. Vector Magnitude 2
1.1.2. Unit Vector (Normalizing a Vector) 2
1.1.3. Dot Product 2
1.1.4. Cross Product 3
1.2. Miscellaneous Formulas 3
1.2.1. Scalar Triple Product 3
1.2.2. Vector Triple Product 3
1.2.3. Area of Parallelogram (Extended by u and v) 3
1.2.4. Area of Triangle (Extended by u and v) 4
2. Lines and Curves in Space 5
2.1. Equation of line 5
2.1.1. Equation of Planes (1) 5
2.1.2. Equation of Planes (2) 5
2.1.3. Distance between Point (Not in Plane) and a Plane 5
2.1.4. Distance between Line (With Direction v) in Space and Point Q 6
2.1.5. Distance between 2 Parallel Planes 6

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1. Vectors in 3 Dimensions

1.1. Basic Formulas

1.1.1. Vector Magnitude

‖ ab , ‖ = a b 2
+
2

1.1.2. Unit Vector (Normalizing a Vector)

Divide by Magnitude:
u
u
‖ ‖

1.1.3. Dot Product

a b c d ac bd
, ⋅ , = +

uu u⋅ = ‖ ‖
2

Orthogonality Check
uv u v
⋅ = ‖ ‖ ‖ ‖ cos 𝜃

Where:
𝜃 = angle between vectors
Note: Checks for orthogonality: u v uv
⟂ ⇔ ⋅ = 0

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1.1.4. Cross Product

i jk
abc
, , ⨯ def , , = abc
def
b c i- a c j ab k
=
ef df +
de
u u ⨯ = 0

Parallelism Check
‖u v⨯ ‖ = ‖ u v
‖ ‖ ‖ sin 𝜃

Where:
𝜃 = angle between vectors
Note: Checks for parallelism: u v u v
∥ ⇔ ⨯ = 0

1.2. Miscellaneous Formulas

1.2.1. Scalar Triple Product

a b c
· ⨯ a b c b c a
= ⨯ ⋅ = ⋅ ⨯

Volume of parallelepiped = a b c ‖ · ⨯ ‖

Note: If the Scalar Triple Product is 0, all vectors lie on the same plane

1.2.2. Vector Triple Product

1.2.3. Area of Parallelogram (Extended by u and v)

Area u v = ‖ ⨯ ‖

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1.2.4. Area of Triangle (Extended by u and v)

Area =
1

2
u v
‖ ⨯ ‖

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2. Lines and Curves in Space

2.1. Equation of line

xyz
, , = x y z
0, 0, 0 + tabc, ,

Lines Segment
Given: P 1
= ( x y z P x y z
1
, 1
, 1
) & 2
= ( 2
, 2
, 2
)

PP1 2 = x y z t x -x y -y z -z for
, , + 2 1, 2 1, 2 1 0 ⩽ t ⩽ 1

2.1.1. Equation of Planes (1)

a x-x b y-y c z-z

( 0) + ( 0) + ( 0) = 0

Where:
n a b c is the normal vector
= , ,

P x y z is a point on the plane

0
= ( 0
, 0
, 0
)

2.1.2. Equation of Planes (2)

ax by cz d + + =

Where:
d ax by cz = + +

n a b c is the normal vector

0 0 0

= , ,

P x y z is a point on the plane

0 = ( 0, 0, 0)

Postulate 1 Two planes are parallel if their normal is parallel. The converse is true.

2.1.3. Distance between Point (Not in Plane) and a Plane

d =
|ax by cz d
0
+ 0
+ 0
+ |

a b c 2
+
2
+
2

PQ n ⋅

PQ
=

‖ ‖

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2.1.4. Distance between Line (With Direction v) in Space and Point Q

d PQ v ‖ ⨯ ‖

v
=

‖ ‖

Where:
P is any point on the Line
2.1.5. Distance between 2 Parallel Planes
d =
d -d 1 2

a b c
2
+
2
+
2

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