Coordinates and vectors

Background mathematics review David Miller

 Coordinates and vectors

Coordinate axes and vectors

Background mathematics review David Miller

 Coordinate axes and vectors
y
Ordinary geometry
Three “axes” x, y, and z
All at right angles
“Cartesian” axes
(from René
x Descartes)
Lines or directions at right
angles are also called
orthogonal
z
 Coordinate axes and vectors
y
Right-handed axes
Using your right hand
Thumb x
Index (“first”) finger y
Middle finger z
x
No matter how you now
rotate your whole hand
the axes remain right-
handed
z
 Coordinate axes and vectors
y
If you use your left hand
z
Thumb x
Index (“first”) finger y
Middle finger z
give left-handed axes
x
No rotation of this entire
set of left-handed axes will
ever make it right-handed
We use right hand axes unless
otherwise stated
 Coordinate axes and vectors
y
yP For some point P in space
. P The corresponding
(xP, yP, zP) “projections” onto the
coordinate axes give
Cartesian coordinates
origin
. xP
x xP, yP, and zP,
zP relative to the origin of
the axes
Sometimes written
z (xP, yP, zP)
 Coordinate axes and vectors

A vector is something with

a magnitude
G such as a length
and a direction
Usually written in “bold” font
e.g., G 
Sometimes G or G
And shown as an “arrow”
With “length” and
direction
 Coordinate axes and vectors

A vector could be
B the distance
r and
direction
you need to walk to get
A from A to B
 Coordinate axes and vectors

A vector could be
A force
F how hard you are
pushing
and
what direction you are
pushing
 Coordinate axes and vectors

A vector could be
A velocity
v how fast you are going
(speed)
e.g., the number on
your car speedometer
and
what direction you are
going in
e.g., on a compass
 Coordinate axes and vectors

An ordinary number
which has no direction
r F v is called a “scalar”
Distance
how hard you push
speed
are all scalars
Scalars are in ordinary fonts
Usually italic in printing
 y
Coordinate axes and vectors

Gy
A vector has “components”
along three orthogonal axes
Gx, Gy, and Gz
G
We can also define vectors of
j Gx unit length along each axis
i – unit vector along x
k x
i
Gz j – unit vector along y
k – unit vector along z

z
 y
Coordinate axes and vectors

Gy
Then we can write
G=Gx i+Gy j+Gzk
G
G yj

G xi Gx
x
G zk
Gz

z
 y
Coordinate axes and vectors

Gy
Then we can write
G=Gx i+Gy j+Gzk
G
making the final vector up
G yj by adding its vector
G xi Gx components
x
G zk
Gz

z
 Coordinates and vectors

Operations with vectors

Background mathematics review David Miller

 Adding vectors

To add vectors
graphically
connect them head to tail in any
S order
G
G+S G+S
G
S
 Adding vectors

To add vectors
algebraically
add them component by
Szk Syj component
G zk
G yj G  S  Gx i  G y j  Gz k
G+S
 Sxi  S y j  Szk
G xi
Sxi   Gx  S x  i   G y  S y  j   Gz  S z  k
Multiplying vectors

Two kinds of multiplications or “products” for

geometrical vectors
Dot product
a b
Gives a scalar result
Cross product
ab
Gives a vector result
 Vector dot product

One formula for the dot product is

a  b  a b cos   ab cos 
a Here the “modulus” sign “| |” means
we take the length of the vector
angle   a a
b Note that
a b  b a
Also
a  a  a2
So
a  a a
 Vector dot product

One formula for the dot product is

a  b  a b cos   ab cos 
a We can think of a b cos  as
angle  The projection of vector b onto the
 direction of vector a
b Multiplied by the length of a
or
The projection of vector a onto the
direction of vector b
Multiplied by the length of b
 Vector dot product

One formula for the dot product is

a a  b  a b cos   ab cos 
Note that
 for two vectors at right angles
   / 2  90
b
and
cos  / 2   0
so
the dot product is zero
 Vector dot product

The unit vectors along the coordinate

directions are all orthogonal (at
right angles)
So all their dots products with one
j another are zero
k i i  j  0 i k  0 j k  0
j i  0 k  i  0 k  j  0
Also, since these are unit length
vectors, by definition
i  i  1 j j  1 k  k  1
 Vector dot product

Since
i  j  0 i k  0 j k  0
a j i  0 k  i  0 k  j  0
Forming the dot product
algebraically
b a  b   ax i  a y j  az k    bx i  by j  bz k 
gives
a  b  ax bx  a y by  az bz
which is an equivalent formula for
the dot product
 Vector dot product

The components of a vector can be

found by
G taking the dot product
with the unit vectors along the
coordinate directions
i For example
G  i   Gx i  G y j  Gz k   i  Gx
 Vector cross product

For two vectors

a  ax i  a y j  az k
a b  bx i  by j  bz k
the vector cross product is
 a  b  n a b sin   nab sin 
b
n is a unit vector with a direction
given by the
right hand screw rule
 Right hand screw rule
a
Imagine you have a corkscrew

With an ordinary right-handed
b
a  b gives vector n thread
away from you with its handle lined up along
vector a
b Now rotate the handle so it lines up
with vector b

a The direction, in or out, that the
a  b gives vector n corkscrew moved is the direction
towards you of the vector n
 Vector cross product

Note that
a  b  b  a
a If we have to turn clockwise to go
from a to b
 So the corkscrew goes “in”
b So n points “inwards”
Then we have to turn anti-clockwise
to go from b to a
So the corkscrew goes “out”
So n point “outwards”
 Vector cross product

An equivalent algebraic formula for the vector

cross product is
a  b   a y bz  az by  i   az bx  ax bz  j   ax by  a y bx  k
A short-hand way of writing this is
i j k
a  b  ax a y az
bx by bz
which is the same as the determinant
notation used with matrix algebra