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HW 2

This document provides the homework assignment for Math 53 due on Tuesday September 13, 2011. It includes reading and practice problems for sections 12.3 on determinants and 12.4 on cross products. It also includes three sub-problems regarding finding the vertices of a regular tetrahedron within a cube, calculating angles between the edges of the tetrahedron using dot products, and determining the bond angle in a methane molecule.

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Yuhua Wang
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175 views

HW 2

This document provides the homework assignment for Math 53 due on Tuesday September 13, 2011. It includes reading and practice problems for sections 12.3 on determinants and 12.4 on cross products. It also includes three sub-problems regarding finding the vertices of a regular tetrahedron within a cube, calculating angles between the edges of the tetrahedron using dot products, and determining the bond angle in a methane molecule.

Uploaded by

Yuhua Wang
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Math 53 Homework 2

Due Tuesday 9/13/11 in section

(The problems in parentheses are for extra practice and optional. Only turn in the underlined problems.) Wednesday 9/7 Dot product continued; determinant Read: section 12.3. Work: 12.3: (1), (11), 19, 23, (25), (27), (34), 35, (39), (45), (51), 56, 59, (60). Problem 1 below. Friday 9/9 Cross product Read: section 12.4. Work: 12.4: (3), (9), (13), 16, (19), (27), 31, 35, (37), (43), 44, 49. p. 794 The geometry of a tetrahedron, parts 1 and 3. Hint: for part 1, dont introduce coordinates; instead, express everything in terms of the vectors a = SP , b = SQ , and c = SR and use vector identities.

Problem 1. The eight vertices of a cube centered at (0, 0, 0) of side length 2 are at (1, 1, 1). a) Find the four vertices of the cube, starting with (1, 1, 1), that form a regular tetrahedron. Conrm your answer by nding the length of an edge and explaining why all edges have the same length. (Recall: a tetrahedron is a solid with four triangular faces, like a pyramid with a triangular base; it is regular if all faces are equilateral triangles. Draw pictures and look at cubical objects in order to gure out how equilateral triangles t on a cube). b) Use dot product to nd the angle between two adjacent edges (edges sharing a common vertex) of the regular tetrahedron; and the angle between two opposite edges (edges that lie on skew lines; even though they dont intersect, you can still compute the angle made by their directions). Explain your answers using symmetry. c) A methane molecule CH4 consists of a hydrogen atom at each of the vertices of a regular tetrahedron and a carbon atom at the center. Find the bond angle, i.e. the angle made by vectors from the carbon atom to two hydrogen atoms (use a calculator; round your answer).

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