Math 1131 Assignment-M.

Choudhary z5588382
Q1. Find the intersection of two given planes using two different methods. The two given
planes are

()( ) ( ) ( ) ( )( ) ( ) ( )
x1 0 2 3 x1 0 2 3
Π 1 : x 2 = 0 + λ 1 −1 + λ2 0 Π 2 : x 2 = −1 + μ1 −2 + μ2 −1
x3 −1 −2 −1 x3 2 1 2

where x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , λ1 , λ 2 , μ1 , μ 2 ∈ R . Let L be the line of intersection of Π1 and Π 2.

a) Find vectors n1and n2 that are normal to П 1 and П 2 respectfully and explain how you
can tell without performing any extra calculations that П 1 and П 2 must intersect in a
line.
Solution: To find the vectors n1that is normal to П 1, we use the two non-parallel vectors given in the
parametric equation of to П 1, i.e. the vectors

( ) ( )
2 3
u= −1 ∧v= 0 .
−2 −1

The vector n1 can then be found by taking the cross-product of the vectors u and v.

( ) ( )( )( )
2 3 (−1×−1 )−(−2 ×0 ) 1
n1= −1 × 0 ¿ −( ( 2 ×−1 )−(−2 ×3 )) ¿ −4 .
−2 −1 ( 2× 0 )−(−1 ×3 ) 3

( )
1
n =
Therefore, 1 −4 is the vector normal to П 1.
3

Similarly, we find vector to n2 by using the two non-parallel vectors given in the parametric equation of
to П 2, i.e. the vectors

( ) ( )
2 3
s= −2 ∧t= −1 .
1 2

Then, we can find the vector n2 by taking the cross product of vectors s and t.

( ) ( )( )( )
2 3 (−2 ×2 )−( 1×−1 ) −3
n2 = −2 × −1 ¿ −( ( 2 ×2 ) −( 1× 3 ) ) ¿ −1 .
1 2 ( 2×−1 )−(−2 ×3) 4
 ( )
−3
Therefore, n2 = −1 is the vector normal to П 2.
4

Without any further calculations, it is evident that the planes П 1 and П 2 must intersect at a line as the
normal vectors n1 and n2 to the planes are not parallel, i.e. n1 ≠ λ n2, where λ is a constant that is an
element of real, and hence the two planes aren’t parallel either. This satisfies the condition that planes
intersect at a line only if their normal vectors are not scalar multiples of each other. Therefore, we see
clearly that the two planes must intersect at a line without the need to do further calculations.
b) Find Cartesian equations for the planes П1 and П 2.
Solution: We can easily change the parametric forms of the two equations into point-normal forms:
n⃗ ⋅ ( ⃗x −⃗c ) =0. Then, we can expand the equation to get the Cartesian forms: a x 1 +b x z + c x 3=d .

The point normal form of П 1 is given by substituting in the vector n1, which we found in part a, and the

( )
0
coordinate vector provided in the parametric equation which is: c= 0 .
−1

Hence, we get the equation

( ) ( ) ( ))
1 x1 0
−4 ⋅ x2 − 0 =0 .
3 x 3 −1

We then expand this equation to find the Cartesian form

x 1−4 x2 +3 x 3−( 0+ 0−3 )=0x 1−4 x2 +3 x 3=−3 .

Therefore, the Cartesian equation of the plane П 1 is x 1−4 x2 +3 x 3=−3 .

Likewise, to find the Cartesian equation for П 2, we first convert it into its point normal form by
substituting in the vector n2 , which we found in part a, and the coordinate vector given in the parametric

( )
0
form which is: c= −1 .
2

Hence, we get the equation

( ) ( ) ( ))
−3 x1 0
−1 ⋅ x 2 −1 =0 .
−
4 x3 2

Then, we expand this equation to get the Cartesian form

−3 x 1−x 2+ 4 x 3−( 0+1+ 8 )=0−3 x 1−x 2+ 4 x 3=9 .

Therefore, the Cartesian equation of the plane П 2 is −3 x 1−x 2+ 4 x 3=9 .

 c) For your first method, assign one of x 1, x 2 or x 3 to be the parameter ω and then use
your two Cartesian equations for П 1 and П 2 to express the other two variables in
terms of ω and hence write down a parametric vector form of the line of
intersection L.
Solution: By letting x 3=ω and substituting this value in the Cartesian equations for П 1 and П 2, we
get
x 1−4 x2 +3 ω=−3−3 x 1−x 2+ 4 ω=9.

Then, we solve for ω through simultaneous equations, i.e. we solve for x 1 in the first equation and
substitute the solution in the second equation to get x 2 in terms of ω .
x 1=−3−3 ω+ 4 x 2−3 (−3−3 ω+ 4 x 2 )−x 2+ 4 ω=99+ 9 ω−12 x 2−x 2+ 4 ω=9x 2=ω .

By substituting the value of x 2 into the equation we found earlier for x 1, i.e. x 1=−3−3 ω+ 4 x 2, to
find x 1 in terms of ω. Hence, we get
x 1=−3−3 ω+ 4 ωx 1=−3+ ω .

Now, we have all three variables in terms of ω : x 1=−3+ ω , x 2=ω∧x 3=ω. Given this, we can find the
parametric equation for the line of intersection L in the form of x=a +ω v to be

( ) ()
−3 1
x= 0 +ω 1 .
0 1

d) For your second method, substitute expressions for x 1 , x 2∧x 3 from the parametric
form of П 2 into your Cartesian equation for П 1and hence find a parametric vector
form of the line of intersection L.

( )( ) ( ) ( )
x1 0 2 3
П x
Solutions: Recall that the parametric equation of 2 was 2 = −1 + μ1 −2 + μ 2 −1 , and the Cartesian
x3 2 1 2
equation for П 1 was x 1−4 x2 +3 x 3=−3. By substituting the formulas for each expression in the
parametric equation into the Cartesian equation, we get

( 0+ 2 μ1 +3 μ2 )−4 (−1−2 μ 1−μ 2 ) +3 ( 2+ μ1 +2 μ 2) =−313 μ1 +13 μ 2+10=−3μ1 + μ2=−1μ1=−1−μ2 .

We then substitute this value of μ1 back in the parametric equation of П 2 to get

( )( ) ( ) ( )
x1 0 2 3
x 2 = −1 +(−1−μ¿¿ 2) −2 + μ2 −1 .¿
x3 2 1 2

All that is left is to solve for each of the components x 1 , x 2∧x 3, so that we get:
x 1=0+2 (−1−μ z ) + 3 μ 2=−2+ μ2 x 2=−1−2 (−1−μ2 )−μ2 =1+ μ 2 x 3=2−1−μ2 +2 μ 2=1+ μ2 .
Therefore, the parametric vector form of the line of intersection is:

( ) ()
−2 1
x= 1 + ω 1 .
1 1

e) If your parametric forms in parts (c) and (d) are different, check that they represent the same
line. If your parametric forms in parts (c) and (d) are the same, explain how they could have
been different while still describing the same line.

Solutions: The first step of proving that the two parametric equations found in parts (c) and (d)
represent the same line, we simply check to see whether the direction vectors within the two parametric
equations are equal or parallel. In this case we have to prove that u=λv.

() ()
1 1
Let u= 1 from the parametric equation in part (c) and let v= 1 from the parametric equation in part
1 1
(d). Since u=λv, it is clear that the direction vectors of the two parametric equations are parallel.

The final of step of proving that the two parametric equations represent the same line is to check
whether they pass through a common point. We do this by substituting the ω=µ−1 into the equation in
part (d) and checking if it is identical to the parametric equation in part (c).

( ) ()( ) ()( ) ()
−2 1 −2−1 1 −3 1
x= 1 + ( μ−1 ) 1 ¿ 1−1 +µ 1 ¿ 0 + µ 1 .
1 1 1−1 1 0 1

We find that substituting ω=µ−1 into the equation in part (d) gives us the equation in part (c).
Therefore, the two parametric equations represent the same line.

f) Find m=n1 × n2 and show that m is parallel to the line you found in parts (c) and (d).
We can find m=n1 × n2 by applying the cross-product formula.

( ) ( )( )( )
1 −3 16−3 13
m= 4 × −1 ¿ −( 4−9 ) ¿ 5 .
−3 4 −1+ 12 11

To prove that m is parallel to the parametric equation of L which was found in parts c and d, we must
prove that m is a scalar multiple of the direction vector of L.

( )( ) ( )
1 13 1
m=λ 1 5 = λ 1 .
1 11 1

Since λ is an element of real, this means that the m is parallel to L.

 g) Give a geometric explanation of the result in part (f)
Solution: Recall that the cross product of two vectors is perpendicular to that vector. This means that m
is perpendicular to n1∧n2. Since n1∧n2 are normals to the planes П 1 and П 2, this means that m has to be
parallel to those planes. L is the line of intersection between П 1 and П 2, and hence L must be parallel to
the planes also. Therefore, because both m and L are parallel to the planes, they must also be parallel to
each other.

Q2. Consider a beam. We define the 𝒙-axis to be the one going along the longest side of
the beam, and we place its origin at the left-most end of the beam The 𝒚-axis is along the
height of the beam. The width of the beam will not play a role in the calculations.

The way beams bend in building structures can be modelled using the bending moment.
Engineers then differentiate the bending moment, expressed in Newtons × Metres (Nm),
with respect to 𝒙 to obtain the shear force, expressed in Newtons (N), and then
differentiate the shear force again to obtain the load, expressed in Newtons per metre (𝑵
m ). By sketching these quantities against 𝒙, they obtain the bending moment diagram
−1

(BMD), the shear force diagram (SFD) and the loading diagram.

The bending moment of 𝒙 of a beam with length 5 metres is given by

m ( x) =
{−2 x −2
2
x x≤3
+22 x−54 x >3

The graph of this function, that is the bending moment diagram is given below:
Q1.

a) Determine at which points of the interval (0,5) the bending moment 𝒎 is

differentiable. Justify your answer.
Solution: The bending moment m is only differentiable in the intervals (0,3) and (3,5). This is because a
function is only differentiable at points that are continuous and differentiable on the curve. Although
the piece wise function of m is continuous at all points, it is not differentiable at x=3. We prove this by
first testing continuity at x=3 through testing the limit of x approaching 3 from left and right:

lim ¿
−¿
x→ 3 m ( x ) = lim
+¿
¿¿
x→ 3 m (x )=−6¿

We then prove that the function is not differentiable at x=3 by taking the limits of the derivative
function approaching the point from the left- and right-hand side:

lim ¿
−¿
x→ 3 m ( x ) =
'
lim ¿¿ −2 ≠10 RHS ≠ LHS .
x →3 m ( x ) ¿
+¿ '

Hence, we get the intervals (0,3) and (3,5) to be the only set of points that are differentiable.

b) Find the expressions for the shear force and the load in terms of 𝒙 in each interval
where 𝒎 is differentiable. Denote the shear and load force 𝒇(𝒙) and 𝒍(𝒙)
respectively.
Solution: Let the expression for shear force be s(x). To find this expression, we differentiate m(x) to get

s ( x )= {−4−2x +22 0<3< xx <3<5

To find the expression for load, which we will represent as l(x), we differentiate s(x) to get

l (x )= {−40 0<3< xx<3<5

c) Plot the graphs of the shear force and the load in terms of 𝒙. Note that since the
units for shear force and load are different, you will need to have two separate
diagrams.
Solution: Graph of Shear Force (𝑵)

s ( x )= {−4−2x +22 0<3< xx <3<5

Graph of Load ( Nm−1)

{
l ( x ) = 0 0< x<3
−4 3< x <5

Q2.

a) State the assumptions of the min-max theorem and explain why the min-max
theorem can be applied to the bending moment 𝒎.
Solution: The Min-Max Theorem states that a continuous function on a closed interval will attain a
global minimum and a global maximum. Furthermore, these extrema will always occur at a critical
point, that is a stationary point, an endpoint or a point of non-differentiability.

Observing the function m which is given by

m ( x) =
{ −2 x x≤3
−2 x +22 x−54 x >3
2

It can be seen that it satisfies the condition for continuity as the when taking the limit of the function
approaching 3 from the left and right side, we observe the following:

lim ¿
−¿
x→ 3 m ( x ) = lim
+¿
¿¿
x→ 3 m (x )=−6.¿

It also showcases that the function 𝑚 is in a closed interval of [0,5]. Thus the Min-Max Theorem can
be applied to the bending moment 𝑚.

b) Hence find the minimum bending point.

Solution: The min-max theorem states that that the extrema will be observed at critical points. Those
critical points are x=0, x=3 and x=5. These points are the end points and the non-differentiable points.
When substituting these values in m(x), we get the following values:

m ( 0 )=0m ( 3 )=−6m ( 5 )=6 .

Hence, we obtain the minimum bending point to be at -6 Nm.

Q3.

a) Does the min-max theorem apply to the shear force? Why/why not?
Solution: The min-max theorem cannot be applied to the shear force as it only applies if a function
satisfies the condition that it is continuous. The function s(x) contains a discontinuity at x=3, which can
be proved through the following proof:

lim ¿
−¿
x→ 3 s ( x ) = lim+¿
¿¿ −2 ≠10RHS ≠ LHS .
x→ 3 s ( x ) ¿

Thus the min-max theorem does not apply to shear force.

b) Find the minimum shear force.

Solution: Although we cannot use the Min-Max theorem, we can still obtain the minimum shear force
through the graph we plotted in Q1 part c and hence it is clear that minimum shear force equals -2 N.