P2 Chapter 12 :: Vectors

Chapter Overview
This chapter is not hugely long, nor intended to be demanding (relatively speaking!).
It’s a reminder of how 3D coordinates work (which you may have encountered at
GCSE), and extends some of the results you learned in Year 1 vectors from 2D to 3D.

1:: Distance between two points. 2:: 𝑖, 𝑗, 𝑘 notation for vectors

What’s the distance between 1
(1,0,4) and (−3,5,9)? −2 → 𝒊 − 2𝒋 + 5𝒌
5

3:: Magnitude of a 3D vector and using 4:: Solving Geometric Problems

it to find angle between vector and a Same as Year 1 but with 3D vectors.
coordinate axis.
“Find the angles that the vector 5:: Application to Mechanics
𝒂 = 2𝒊 − 3𝒋 − 𝒌 makes with each of the
Using 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 with 3D force/acceleration
positive coordinate axis.”
vectors and understanding distance is the
magnitude of the 3D displacement vector, etc.

Note for teachers: All the harder vectors content from C4 has been moved to
Further Maths, i.e. no vector equations of straight lines nor dot product nor
angles between vectors (except with a coordinate axis).
Distance from the origin and magnitude of a vector
𝑦 In 2D, how did we find the distance from
a point to the origin?
3,4 Using Pythagoras:
𝑑 𝒅= 𝟑 𝟐 + 𝟒𝟐 = 𝟓
4

𝑧 𝑥
How about in 3D then?
3 You may be familiar with this method from GCSE.
Using Pythagoras on the base of the cuboid:
𝑦 𝟑𝟐 + 𝟒𝟐 = 𝟓
3,4,12 Then using the highlighted triangle:
𝟓𝟐 + 𝟏𝟐𝟐 = 𝟏𝟑
We could have similarly done this is one go using:
𝑥 𝟑𝟐 + 𝟒𝟐 + 𝟏𝟐𝟐 = 𝟏𝟑
From Year 1 you will be familiar with the magnitude |𝒂| of a vector 𝒂 being its length.
We can see from above that this nicely extends to 3D:
𝑥
! The magnitude of a vector 𝒂 = 𝑦 :
𝑧
𝒂 = 𝑥2 + 𝑦2 + 𝑧2
And the distance of (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) from the origin is 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 𝑧 2
Distance between two 3D points

𝑧
How do we find the distance between 𝑃 and 𝑄?
It’s just the magnitude/length of the vector
𝑦 between them.
𝑃 3,4,12 i.e.
𝟏
𝑷𝑸 = −𝟓
−𝟓
𝑥
= 𝟏𝟐 + −𝟓 𝟐 + −𝟓 𝟐 = 𝟓𝟏
𝑄 4, −1,7

! The distance between two points is:

Δ𝑥 means
2
𝑑 = Δ𝑥 + Δ𝑦 + Δz 2 2
“change in 𝑥”

Quickfire Questions: Distance between (0,4,3) and 5,2,3 . Fro Tip: Because we’re
Distance of (4,0, −2) from the origin: 𝒅 = 𝟓𝟐 + −𝟐 𝟐 + 𝟎𝟐 = 𝟐𝟗 squaring, it doesn’t matter
whether the change is
𝟒𝟐 + 𝟎𝟐 + −𝟐 𝟐 = 𝟐𝟎 Distance between (1,1,1) and 2,1,0 . negative or positive.

𝒅= 𝟏𝟐 + 𝟎𝟐 + 𝟏𝟐 = 𝟐
5
4 = 𝟓𝟐 + 𝟒𝟐 + −𝟏 𝟐 = 𝟒𝟐
Distance between (−5,2,0) and −2, −3, −3 .
−1
𝒅= 𝟑𝟐 + 𝟓𝟐 + 𝟑𝟐 = 𝟒𝟑
Test Your Understanding So Far…

[Textbook] Find the distance from the origin to the point 𝑃(7,7,7).

𝟕𝟐 + 𝟕𝟐 + 𝟕𝟐 = 𝟕 𝟑

[Textbook] The coordinates of 𝐴 and 𝐵 are (5,3, −8) and 1, 𝑘, −3 respectively.

Given that the distance from 𝐴 to 𝐵 is 3 10 units, find the possible values of 𝑘.

𝟒𝟐 + 𝒌 − 𝟑 𝟐 + 𝟓𝟐 = 𝟑 𝟏𝟎
𝒌𝟐 − 𝟔𝒌 + 𝟓𝟎 = 𝟑 𝟏𝟎
𝒌𝟐 − 𝟔𝒌 + 𝟓𝟎 = 𝟗𝟎
𝒌𝟐 − 𝟔𝒌 − 𝟒𝟎 = 𝟎
𝒌 + 𝟒 𝒌 − 𝟏𝟎 = 𝟎
𝒌 = −𝟒 𝒐𝒓 𝒌 = 𝟏𝟎
 𝒊, 𝒋 and 𝒌 notation
1 0
In 2D you were previously introduced to 𝒊 = and 𝒋 = as unit vectors in each of
0 1
the 𝑥 and 𝑦 directions.

8 1 0 8
It meant for example that could be written as 8𝒊 − 2𝒋 since 8 −2 =
−2 0 1 −2

Unsurprisingly, in 3D:
1 0 0
𝒊 = 0 ,𝒋 = 1 ,𝒌 = 0
0 0 1

Quickfire Questions 2 Write as a column vector:

0 1
1 Put in 𝑖, 𝑗, 𝑘 notation: 4𝒋 + 𝒌 = 4 𝒊 − 𝒋 = −1
1 0
1
2 = 𝒊 + 2𝒋 + 3𝒌 3 If 𝐴 1,2,3 , 𝐵 4,0, −1 then
−7 3
3
3 = −7𝒊 + 3𝒋 𝐴𝐵 = −2
3 0 −4
0 = 3𝒊 − 𝒌 2 0 6
−1 4 If 𝒂 = 3 and 𝒃 = −1 then 3𝒂 + 2𝒃 = 7
4 3 18
Examples
ෝ, the unit vector in the
Find the magnitude of 𝒂 = 2𝒊 − 𝒋 + 4𝒌 and hence find 𝒂
direction of 𝒂.

Magnitude of 𝑎 is 𝑎 = 22 + −1 2 + 42 = 21 Recall from Year 1 that if the length/magnitude

𝒂 1 of the vector is 21, then clearly dividing this
ෝ
𝒂= = 2𝒊 − 𝒋 + 4𝒌 vector by 21 will give a length of 1. It has unit
𝒂 21 length and therefore is known as a unit vector.

2 4
If 𝒂 = −3 and 𝒃 = −2 is 2𝒂 − 3𝒃 parallel to 4𝒊 − 5𝒌.
5 0

8 4 4
2𝒂 − 3𝒃 = 0 = 2 0 which is a multiple of 0
−10 −5 −5
∴ parallel.
Angles between vectors and an axis

𝑧 How could you work out the angle

between a vector and the 𝑥-axis?
𝑦
Just form a right-angle triangle!
𝒂
𝑥
𝜃𝑥 ! The angle between 𝒂 = 𝑦 and the 𝑥-axis is:
𝑥 𝑧
𝑥 𝑥
cos 𝜃𝑥 =
𝒂
and similarly for the 𝑦 and 𝑧 axes.

[Textbook] Find the angles that the vector

𝒂 = 2𝒊 − 3𝒋 − 𝒌 makes with each of the
positive coordinate axis.

𝑎 = 22 + −3 2 + −1 2 = 14
2
cos 𝜃𝑥 = → 𝜃𝑥 = 57.7°
14
−3
cos 𝜃𝑦 = → 𝜃𝑦 = 143.3°
14
−1
cos 𝜃𝑧 = → 𝜃𝑧 = 105.5°
14
 Test Your Understanding
[Textbook] The points 𝐴 and 𝐵 have position vectors 4𝒊 + 2𝒋 + 7𝒌 and 3𝒊 + 4𝒋 − 𝒌 relative to a
fixed origin, 𝑂. Find 𝐴𝐵 and show that Δ𝑂𝐴𝐵 is isosceles.

We can find 𝐴𝐵 by simply

−𝟏 looking at the change from 4 to
𝟐 3, and so on. The textbook has
𝑨𝑩 = 𝟐 ∴ 𝑨𝑩 = −𝟏 + 𝟐𝟐 + −𝟖 𝟐 = 𝟔𝟗 a longwinded way of writing
−𝟖 4 3
𝑂𝐴 = 2 and 𝑂𝐵 = 4 ,
𝑶𝑨 = 𝟒𝟐 + 𝟐𝟐 + 𝟕𝟐 = 𝟔𝟗 7 −1
then finding 𝐴𝐵 = 𝑂𝐵 − 𝑂𝐴.
𝑶𝑩 = 𝟑𝟐 + 𝟒𝟐 + −𝟏 𝟐 = 𝟐𝟔 Overkill!

𝑨𝑩 = 𝑶𝑨 (but ≠ 𝑶𝑩 ) therefore 𝑶𝑨𝑩 is isosceles.

(a) Find the angle that the vector 𝒂 = 2𝒊 + 𝒋 + 𝒌 makes with the 𝑥-axis.
(b) Find the angle that 𝒃 = 𝒊 + 3𝒋 + 2𝒌 makes with the 𝑥-axis.
(c) Explain why the difference between these angles does not give you the angle between 𝒂 and 𝒃.

a c The difference (74.5 − 35.3 = 39.2°) would only be the

𝒂 = 22 + 12 + 12 = 6
angle between 𝑎 and 𝑏 if 𝑎, 𝑏 and 𝑖 were coplanar, i.e.
2
cos 𝜃𝑥 = 𝜃𝑥 = 35.264° lied on the same plane.
6
b 𝒃 = 12 + 32 + 22 = 14 74.499°
1
cos 𝜃𝑥 = 𝜃𝑥 = 74.499°
14 𝑥
Geometric Problems
For more general problems involving vectors, often drawing a diagram helps!

[Textbook] 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶 and 𝐷 are the [Textbook] 𝑃, 𝑄 and 𝑅 are the points

points 2, −5, −8 , 4, −9, −3 , (7, −7, −7) and 8, −2,0
1, −7, −3 , (0,15, −10) and respectively. Find the coordinates of the point 𝑆
2,19, −20 respectively. so that 𝑃𝑄𝑅𝑆 forms a parallelogram.
a. Find 𝐴𝐵 and 𝐷𝐶, giving your
answers in the form 𝑆
𝑝𝒊 + 𝑞𝒋 + 𝑟𝒌.
𝑃(4, −9, −3) (Draw a diagram, recalling
b. Show that the lines 𝐴𝐵 and 𝐷𝐶 that the letters go in a
are parallel and that 𝐷𝐶 = 2𝐴𝐵. 𝑅(8, −2,0) clockwise or anticlockwise
c. Hence describe the quadrilateral order)
𝐴𝐵𝐶𝐷.
𝑄(7, −7, −7)
a 𝑨𝑩 = −𝒊 − 𝟐𝒋 + 𝟓𝒌
−𝟑 This is basically just saying
𝑫𝑪 = −𝟐𝒊 − 𝟒𝒋 + 𝟏𝟎𝒌 “whatever we move from 𝑄
𝑸𝑷 = −𝟐
𝟒 to 𝑃, we do the same
b 𝑫𝑪 = 𝟐 −𝒊 + 𝟐𝒋 + 𝟓𝒌 = 𝟐𝑨𝑩 ∴ 𝑶𝑺 = 𝑶𝑹 + 𝑹𝑺 movement starting from 𝑅”
They are multiples ∴ parallel. = 𝑶𝑹 + 𝑸𝑷
𝟖 −𝟑 𝟓
c 𝑨𝑩 and 𝑫𝑪 are parallel but = −𝟐 + −𝟐 = −𝟒
𝟎 𝟒 𝟒
different in length. Therefore 𝑺 𝟓, −𝟒, 𝟒
𝑨𝑩𝑪𝑫 is a trapezium.
Comparing Coefficients
There are many contexts in maths where we can ‘compare coefficients’, e.g.
3𝑥 2 + 5𝑥 ≡ 𝐴 𝑥 2 + 1 + 𝐵𝑥 + 𝐶
Comparing 𝑥 2 terms: 3 = 𝐴 [Textbook] The diagram shows a cuboid whose
vertices are 𝑂, 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶, 𝐷, 𝐸, 𝐹 and 𝐺. Vectors 𝑎, 𝑏 and
We can do the same with vectors: 𝑐 are the position vectors of the vertices 𝐴, 𝐵 and 𝐶
respectively. Prove that the diagonals 𝑂𝐸 and 𝐵𝐺
bisect each other.
𝐸
[Textbook] Given that 𝐹
3𝒊 + 𝑝 + 2 𝒋 + 120𝒌 = 𝑝𝒊 − 𝑞𝒋 + 4𝑝𝑞𝑟𝒌, 𝐶 𝐺 The strategy behind this
type of question is to
𝒄
find the values of 𝑝, 𝑞 and 𝑟. 𝐻 find the point of
𝐷 intersection in 2 ways,
𝐵
𝒂 and compare
𝒃 𝐴
𝑂 coefficients.
Comparing 𝑖: 3 = 𝑝
Comparing 𝑗: 𝑝 + 2 = −𝑞 ∴ 𝑞 = −5 Suppose there is a point of intersection 𝐻 of 𝑂𝐸 and 𝐵𝐺.
Comparing 𝑘: 120 = 4𝑝𝑞𝑟 ∴ 𝑟 = −2
We can get to 𝐻 in two ways:
𝑂𝐻 = 𝑟 𝑂𝐸 for some scalar 𝑟.
𝑂𝐻 = 𝑂𝐵 + 𝐵𝐻 = 𝑂𝐵 + 𝑠 𝐵𝐺 for some scalar 𝑠.

𝑂𝐻 = 𝑟 𝒂 + 𝒃 + 𝒄 = 𝒃 + 𝑠 𝒂 − 𝒃 + 𝒄
𝑟𝒂 + 𝑟𝒃 + 𝑟𝒄 = 𝑠𝒂 + 1 − 𝑠 𝒃 + 𝑠𝒄
Comparing coefficients, 𝑟 = 𝑠 and 𝑟 = 1 − 𝑠
1
Adding: 2𝑟 = 1 ∴ 𝑟 = 𝑠 =
2
Therefore lines bisect each other.
Application to Mechanics
Out of displacement, speed, acceleration, force, mass and time, all
but mass and time are vectors. Clearly these can act in 3D space.

Vector Scalar

3
Force 4 𝑁 32 + 42 + −1 2

−1 = 5.10 𝑁
1
Acceleration 0 𝑚𝑠 −2 1.41 𝑚𝑠 −2
1
12
Displacement 3 𝑚 13 𝑚 Distance
4
0
Velocity 4 𝑚𝑠 −1 5𝑚 Speed
3
Example
[Textbook] A particle of mass 0.5 kg is acted on by three forces.
𝐹1 = 2𝒊 − 𝒋 + 2𝒌 𝑁
𝐹2 = −𝒊 + 3𝒋 − 3𝒌 𝑁
𝐹3 = 4𝒊 − 3𝒋 − 2𝒌 𝑁
a. Find the resultant force 𝑅 acting on the particle.
b. Find the acceleration of the particle, giving your answer in the form 𝑝𝒊 + 𝑞𝒋 + 𝑟𝒌 ms-2.
c. Find the magnitude of the acceleration.

Given that the particle starts at rest,

d. Find the distance travelled by the particle in the first 6 seconds of its motion.

2 −1 4 5
a. −1 + 3 + −3 = −1 𝑁
2 −3 −2 −3
b. 𝑭 = 𝑚𝒂
5 10
−1 = 0.5𝑎 ∴ 𝒂 = −2 𝑚𝑠 −2
−3 −6
c. 𝒂 = 102 + −2 2 + −6 2 = 140 ms-2
d. 𝑢 = 0, 𝑎 = 140 𝑚𝑠 −2 , 𝑡 = 6 𝑠, 𝑠 =?
1 2 1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 = × 140 × 62 = 36 35 𝑚
2 2