NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Department of Applied Mathematics
SMA1102: Linear Algebra
Tutorial I: Vector Algebra
1. Determine which of the following vectors are equal:
u = (1, 2, 3), v = (2, 3, 1), w = (1, 3, 2), z = (2, 3, 1)
2. Find a and b:
(a) ( a, 3) = (2, a + b)
(b) (4, b) = a(2, 3)
3. Let u = (1, 3, −4), v = (2, 1, 5), w = (3, −2, 6). Find:
(a) 3u − 2v
(b) 5u + 3v − 4w
(c) u · v, u · w, v · w
(d) ∥u∥, ∥v∥
(e) cos θ, where θ is the angle between u and v
(f) d(u, v)
(g) projv u
4. Express the vector v = (1, −2, 5) as a linear combination of v1 = (1, 1, 1), v2 = (1, 2, 3), v3 =
(2, −1, 1).
5. Find k so that u and v are orthogonal:
(a) u = (1, k, −3), v = (2, −5, 4)
(b) u = (2, 3k, −4, 1, 5), v = (6, −1, 3, 7, 2k )
6. Prove the following theorems: For any u, v, w ∈ Rn and k ∈ R:
(a) (u + v) · w = u · w + v · w
(b) (ku) · v = k (u · v)
(c) u · v = v · u
(d) u · u ≥ 0, and u · u = 0 iff u = 0
1
7. Prove the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality: |u · v| ≤ ∥u∥∥v∥.
8. Find the equation of the hyperplane in R4 passing through P(3, −4, 1, 2) and normal to
[2, 5, −6, −3].
9. Find the parametric equation of the line L:
(a) Through the points P(1, 3, 2) and Q(2, 5, −6)
(b) Containing the point P(1, −2, 4) and perpendicular to the plane S given by 3x +
5y + 7z = 15
10. Let u = (3, 2, 1), v = (0, 2, −3), w = (2, 6, 7). Compute:
(a) v × w
(b) w × v
(c) (u + v) × w
(d) v · (v × w)
(e) v × v
(f) (u − 3w) × (u − 3w)
11. Use the cross-product to find a vector orthogonal to both u = (−6, 4, 2) and v = (3, 1, 5).
12. Given points P1 (2, 2, 0), P2 (−1, 0, 2), P3 (0, 4, 3) lie on plane H. Find the equation of plane
H.
13. Find the area of the parallelogram determined by
u = (1, −1, 2), v = (0, 3, 1)
14. Find the volume of the parallelepiped with sides
u = (2, −6, 2), v = (0, 4, −2), w = (5, −4, 0)
15. (a) Find the area of the triangle with vertices A(1, 0, 1), B(0, 2, 3), C (2, 1, 0)
(b) Use the result from (a) to find the length of the altitude from vertex C to side AB
