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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

Unit 10: Vectors in a plane

Vectors are commonly used in physics and other fields to express quantities that cannot
be accurately described by a scalar. Scalars are simply the value of something in a single
dimension - a real number. For example, one might say that they have driven 5 kilometres,
that an hour has elapsed, or that something’s mass is 20 kilograms. In every one of these
cases, there has been exactly one value stated.

However, we might have more information we wish to give. Take the example of driving 5
kilometres. In this case, it may be useful to know how far you drove, but it might also be
equally important which direction you drove, such as 5 kilometres due east. Now, given
your starting point, exactly where you drove can be determined.

1. Definition of vector

A vector can be represented geometrically by a directed line segment that starts at a point
A, called the initial point (or tail), and ends at a point B, called the terminal point (or
head).

Vectors are typically denoted with a lower case letter. For instance
we could represent a vector by v, w, a, or b, etc., or ⃗ v , w a, ⃗
⃗ , ⃗ b,
etc. Also when we’ve explicitly given the initial and terminal points we
will often represent the vector as, ⃗ AB where the positioning of the
upper case letters is important. The A is the initial point and so is
listed first while the terminal point, B, is listed second.

As we can see in the figure of the vector shown above a vector imparts two pieces of
information. A vector will have a direction and a magnitude (the length of the directed line
segment). Two vectors with the same magnitude but different directions are different
vectors and likewise two vectors with the same direction but different magnitude are
different.

Vectors with the same direction and same magnitude are called equivalent and even
though they may have different initial and terminal points we think of them as equal and so
if v and u are two equivalent vectors we will write u=v. For example, the vectors
represented in this graph are equivalent:

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

Components of a vector

It is often difficult to really visualize a vector without a frame of reference and so we will
often introduce a coordinate system to the picture. For example, suppose that v is any
vector whose initial point is at the origin of the rectangular coordinate system and its
terminal point is at the coordinates ( x,y ) as shown below.

In these cases we call the coordinates of the terminal point the

components of v and write, v⃗ =( x,y ) .

Now, notice that the component

form of the vector is really telling
how to get from the initial point of the vector to the terminal
point of the vector. For example, let's suppose that in
vector ⃗ v =( x,y ) we relocate its initial point (the origin) to a
point ( x 1 ,y 1 ) . The first component of the vector, x, is the
A
amount we have to move to the right (if x is positive) or to
the left (if x is negative), and the second component, y, is
the amount we have to move up (if y is positive) or down (if
y is negative). The terminal point of ⃗ v is then given by,
B ( x 1 +x,y 1 +y ) .

Notice as well that if the initial point is the origin then the final point will be B ( x,y ) and we
see that ( x,y ) can represent both a point and a vector.

This can all be turned around as well. Let’s suppose that we’ve got two points in the plane,
A ( x 1 , y 1 ) and B ( x 2 , y 2 ) . Then the vector with initial point A and terminal point B is given
by, ⃗ AB=( x −x , y − y ) .
2 1 2 1

Note that the order of the points is important. The components are found by subtracting
the coordinates of the initial point from the coordinates of the terminal point. If we turned
this around and wanted the vector with initial point B and terminal point A we’d have,
⃗
BA=( x 1− x 2 , y 1 − y 2 ) .

Example 1 Find the vector that starts at A ( 4,−2 ) and ends at B(−7,0) .

Solution

There really isn’t much to do here other than use the formula above.

⃗
AB=(−7−4,0+ 2 )=(−11,2 )

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

2. Arithmetic of vectors

There are two quick topics that we first need before defining the operations with vectors.

• The zero vector, denoted by 0 (or ⃗ 0 ), is a vector with no length. Because the zero
vector has no length it is hard to talk about its direction so by convention we say that
the zero vector can have any direction that we need for it to have in a given
problem.

• Negative of a vector. If ⃗ v is a vector then the negative of the vector, denoted by

−⃗v , is defined to be the vector with the same length as v⃗ but has the opposite
direction as ⃗ v .

Let’s start off the arithmetic of vectors.

Addition of vectors

To find the sum of two vectors ⃗ u and ⃗ v , denoted ⃗u+ ⃗

v , we position ⃗ u so that
its final point coincides with the initial point of ⃗v . The new vector whose initial point is
the initial point of ⃗u and whose terminal point is the terminal point of ⃗ v will be the
sum of the two vectors.

Another method of finding the sum

geometrically is drawing the
parallelogram spanned by and ⃗ v
when both begin at the same initial
point, and the addition ⃗ u+ ⃗
v will be
given by the diagonal of this figure,
having its initial point at the same place
u and ⃗
⃗ v had it.

u =( u1 , u2 ) and ⃗
Using the components of the vectors, if we have ⃗ v =( v 1 , v 2 ) , then

u+ ⃗
⃗ v =( u 1 + v1 , u 2 + v 2 )

Subtraction of vectors

The difference of two vectors u

⃗ and v , denoted
⃗ u −⃗v , is defined
⃗ u −⃗v =⃗u +(−⃗v ) .
⃗

If we draw the parallelogram defined by u⃗ and v⃗ , the vector

u −⃗v will be determined by the diagonal that goes from the
⃗
terminal point of ⃗ v to the terminal point of ⃗
u .

u −⃗v =( u1 −v 1 , u 2−v 2 ) .
Using components again, ⃗

Note that both addition and subtraction will extend naturally to more than two vectors.

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

Scalar multiple

Suppose that ⃗ v is a vector and c is a non-zero scalar (i.e. c is a number); then the
scalar multiple, c ⃗v , is the vector whose length is |c| times the length of ⃗ v and is in
v if c is positive and in the opposite direction of ⃗
the direction of ⃗ v is c is negative.

Note that we can see from this that scalar multiples are
parallel. In fact it can be shown that if ⃗v and w ⃗
are two parallel vectors then there is a non-zero scalar
c such that ⃗ v =c w
⃗ , or in other words the two
vectors will be scalar multiples of each other.

With components, if v⃗ =( v 1 , v 2 ) , then

c ⃗v =( cv 1 , cv 2 )

Properties of arithmetic of vectors

If u, v and w are vectors, and c and k are scalars, then

1) u+v=v+u

2) (u+v)+w=u+(v+w)

3) u+0=0+u=u

4) u-u=0

5) 1u=u

6) (c k)u=c(ku)

7) (c+k)u=cu+ku

8) c(u+v)=cu+cv

3. Magnitude of a vector

v is a vector then the magnitude of the vector is called the norm of the vector and
If ⃗
v =( v 1 ,v 2 ) , then ∥⃗v∥=√ v 21 +v 22 .
denoted by ∥⃗v∥ or simply ∣⃗v∣ . If ⃗

This formula is fairly easy to see

from a geometric perspective. Let’s
suppose that we have ⃗ v =( v 1 ,v 2 )
and we want to find the magnitude
(or length) of this vector. Let’s
consider the following sketch of the
vector.

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Then using the Pythagorean Theorem we can find the length of the hypotenuse, but that is
also the length of the vector.

v∥=∣c∣∥⃗
From this definition we can deduce that ∥c ⃗ v∥ .

We can also get this from the definition of the norm:

√
v∥= ( cv 1 ) 2 + ( cv 2 )2 =√ c 2 v12 +c 2 v 22 =
∥c ⃗

√ c ( v +v )=∣c∣√ v +v =∣c∣∥⃗v∥
2 2
1
2
2
2
1
2
2

Unit vector

v is a
There is one norm that we’ll be particularly interested in on occasion. Suppose ⃗
v
vector in the plane. We call ⃗ a unit vector if ⃗ ∥v∥=1 .

With this, we can take a loot at two facts about the norm of a vector.

v =⃗
i) For any vector v⃗ , we have that ∥⃗v∥≥0 . Also, ∥⃗v∥=0 if and only if ⃗ 0 .

1
u=
v , the new vector ⃗
ii) Given a non-zero vector ⃗ ⃗v is a unit vector.
∥⃗v∥

This result tells us that we can always turn a non-zero vector into a unit vector simply by
dividing by its norm. Note as well that because all we’re doing to compute this new unit
vector is scalar multiplication by a positive number this new unit vector will point in the
same direction as the original vector.

v =( 3,−1 ) find a unit vector that,

Example 1 Given ⃗

v
(a) points in the same direction as ⃗

v
(b) points in the opposite direction as ⃗

Solution

(a) The first thing we need to do is compute the norm of v⃗ and then use the previous
result to find a unit vector that will point in the same direction as v⃗ .

∥⃗v∥=√ 32 + (−1 )2 =√ 9+1= √ 10

1 3 −1
u=
⃗
√ 10
( 3,−1 ) = ( ,
√ 10 √ 10 )
(b) We’ve done most of the work for this one. Since ⃗ u is a unit vector that points in
the same direction as ⃗v then its negative will be a unit vector that points in the
v . So, here is the negative of ⃗
opposite directions as ⃗ u.

−⃗u = ( √−310 , √110 )

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

4. Linear dependence and independence

We say a vector w ⃗ is a linear combination of the vectors ⃗ v 1 , ⃗v 2 , .. . , ⃗v n , if there are

scalars c 1 ,c 2 ,. . . ,c n so that w
⃗ can be written w
⃗ =c 1 ⃗
v 1 +c 2 ⃗v 2 +.. . +cn ⃗v n .

Suppose S= {⃗v 1 , ⃗v 2 ,. .. , ⃗
v n } is a non-empty set of vectors and form the vector equation,

c 1 v⃗ 1 +c 2 ⃗v 2 +. .. +cn ⃗v n=⃗0

This equation has at least one solution, namely, (0,0 ,... ,0) . This solution is called the
trivial solution.

If the trivial solution is the only solution to this equation then the vectors in the set S are
called linearly independent and the set is called a linearly independent set. If there is
another solution then the vectors in the set S are called linearly dependent and the set is
called a linearly dependent set.

Example 1 Determine if each of the following sets of vectors are linearly independent or
linearly dependent.

(a) v⃗ 1=( 1,0 ) , v⃗ 2 =( 0,1 )

(b) v⃗ 1=( 2,−2 ) , ⃗v 2 =( 3,-3 )

Solution

To answer the question here we’ll need to set up the equation

v 1 +c 2 ⃗v 2=⃗0
c1 ⃗

for each part, combine the left side into a single vector and then set all the
components of the vector equal to zero (since it must be the zero vector, 0). At this
point we’ve got a system of equations that we can solve. If we only get the trivial
solution the vectors will be linearly independent and if we get more than one solution
the vectors will be linearly dependent.

(a) Here is the vector equation for this part.

c 1 ( 1,0 ) +c2 ( 0,1 )=( 0,0 )

The system of equations to solve for this part is,

c 1 =0
c 2 =0

So, not much solving to do this time. It is clear that the only solution will be the trivial
solution and so these vectors are linearly independent.

(b) Here is the vector equation for this second part.

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c 1 ( 2,−2 ) +c2 ( 3,−3 ) =( 0,0 )

The system of equations that we’ll need to solve here is,

2c 1 +3c 2=0
−2c1 −3c 2 =0

The solution to this system is,

−3
c 1= t c 2 =t , where t is any real number.
2

We’ve got more than just the trivial solution and so these vectors are linearly
dependent.

Often the only way to determine if a set of vectors is linearly independent or linearly
dependent is to set up a system as above and solve it. However, there are a couple of
cases were we can get the answer just be looking at the set of vectors.

• A finite set of vectors that contains the zero vector will be linearly dependent.

• Suppose that S= {⃗v 1 , ⃗v 2 ,. .. , ⃗

v n } is a set of vectors in . If n> 2 then the set of
vectors is linearly dependent.

5. Basis and dimension

A basis is a linearly independent set of vectors that "span" the plane. In other words, for a
set of vectors to form a basis, you have to be able to express any vector (x , y ) in ℜ2
as a linear combination of those vectors, and you can't be able to express a vector in the
set as a combination of other vectors in the set.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

Example 1 Determine if each of the sets of vectors will be a basis for .

(a) {(3, 1)}

(b) {(3,1), (6,2)}

(c) {(3,1), (1,0)}

(d) {(1,2), (0,2), (0,0)}

(e) {(2,1), (1,1), (2,-2), (1,4)}

Solution

(a) In this case you can't express every possible vector as a combination of this one.
A counterexample is (0,1). Imagine that you could write (0,1) as a combination:

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a(3,1) = (0,1).

This leads to the following two equations:

3a = 0

a=1

That's an inconsistent system (if we substitute a=1 in the first equation we get
3·1=0... false!). The vector doesn't span all of ℜ2 , so it doesn't make a basis. In fact,
one vector alone can't ever span ℜ2 , since you always end up with two equations in
one variable.

(b) Now there are two vectors, so there's hope that it might be a basis since taking a
linear combination will give two equations in two variables. However, the set is not
linearly independent. We can solve the system:

a(3,1) + b(6, 2) = (0, 0)

to give a=-2, b=1 (in fact, we get an infinite number of solutions).

Since these two vectors are not linearly independent, they aren't a basis.

(c) Again we have two vectors. But now we have the system

a(3,1) + b(1, 0) = (0, 0)

and it's impossible to get a solution different from a=0 and b=0, so those two vectors
are independent. Can we get any possible (x, y)? We'd have

a(3, 1) + b(1, 0) = (x, y)

That's two equations in two variables.

3a + b = x

a=y

A solution does exist, and it's easy to find, by solving first for a and substituting back
for b:

a=y

b = x - 3y

So our set does span ℜ2 , which means it forms a basis.

(d) Not much to do here... Since the zero vector is in the set, it can't be linearly
independent. So, it is not a basis.

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(e) It might be intuitive that four vectors will be too many to form a basis. The easiest
way to show that these vectors do not form a basis is to show that the set is not
linearly independent...Try solving:

a(2,1) + b(1,1) + c(2,-2) + d(1,4) = (0, 0)

It solves to a=1, b=1, c=-1, d=-1. It is a linearly dependent set, so this is not a basis.

An orthogonal basis is a basis whose vectors are mutually perpendicular. If they are also
unit vectors, the basis is called orthonormal.

The simplest example of a basis in ℜ2 is the standard basis or canonical basis, that
consists of the vectors ⃗e 1=( 1,0 ) , ⃗
e 2 =( 0,1 ) . It is easy to show that the standard basis is
orthonormal.

Next let’s take a look at a pair of results that give us some of the reasons for being
interested in a set of basis vectors.

• Suppose that S= {⃗v 1 , ⃗v 2 ,. .. , ⃗

v n } is a basis for ℜ2 . Then every vector ⃗
u from ℜ2
can be expressed as a linear combination of the vectors from S in exactly one way. In
other words, we just can find one solution for the equation

u =c 1 ⃗
⃗ v 1 +c 2 ⃗v 2 +.. .+c n ⃗v n

and this solution ( c 1 ,c 2 , .. . ,c n ) is what we call coordinates of the vector u⃗ on the

basis S.

• Suppose that S= {⃗v 1 , ⃗v 2 ,. .. , ⃗

v n } is a basis for ℜ2 . In this case

 if n> 2 , S will be a linearly dependent set

 if n< 2 , S will not span ℜ2

 so, n=2 , for any basis in ℜ2

The number of vectors that form a basis is what we call dimension of the space ℜ2
(2 in the case of ℜ2 ) .

6. Dot product

Definition

The dot product or scalar product of two vectors ⃗ u and ⃗ v is the product of their
magnitudes multiplied by the cosine of the angle α that they form.

u · ⃗v =∥⃗u∥·∥⃗v∥· cos α
⃗

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Properties

If u, v and w are vectors, and k is a scalar, then

1) u·v=v·u

2) k·(u·v)=(k·u)·v

3) u·(v+w)=u·v+u·w

4) u≠0 ⇒ u·u>0

5) if u is an unit vector, then u·u=1

6) if u and v are perpendicular, then u·v=0

Analytic expression

Using coordinates, we can find an analytic expression for this product. Let ⃗ u =( u1 , u2 ) and
v =( v 1 , v 2 ) be the coordinates of the vectors in the standard basis {⃗e 1 , ⃗e 2 } . So we can
⃗
write the following:

u · ⃗v =( u1 ⃗e 1 +u2 ⃗e 2 ) · ( v 1 ⃗e 1 +v 2 ⃗e 2 ) =
⃗
u1 ⃗e 1 ·v 1 ⃗e 1 +u1 ⃗e 1 ·v 2 ⃗e 2 +
+u 2 ⃗e 2 ·v 1 ⃗e 1 +u2 ⃗e 2 ·v 2 ⃗e 2=
u1 ·v 1 +u2 ·v 2

because of the properties 5) and 6).

Applications of dot product

Projection of a vector on the other

We can use the dot product to find the length of the projection of a vector on the other one:

We want to find the length OA'. From the triangle OA'A we can see that

OA'=∥⃗u∥· cos α

On the other side, using the definition of dot product, we have

u
⃗ · v⃗
u∥· cos α=
∥⃗
∥⃗v∥

⃗u · ⃗v
So, combining both equalities, we get OA'= .
∥⃗v∥

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Angle between two vectors

u·⃗
⃗ v u·⃗
⃗ v
u · ⃗v =∥⃗u∥·∥⃗v∥· cos α , we have cos α=
Since ⃗ . So, α=arc cos
∥⃗u∥·∥⃗v∥ ∥⃗u∥·∥⃗v∥

Magnitude of a vector

If we multiply a vector by itself, we get the following:

2
u·⃗
⃗ u =∥⃗u∥·∥⃗u∥· cos 0º=∥⃗
u∥

So, ∥⃗
u∥=√⃗u ·⃗u

Perpendicularity of vectors

u and
We have seen on property 6) of dot product that given two perpendicular vectors ⃗
v , we always have ⃗
⃗ u · ⃗v =0 .

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