CARTESIAN VECTORS AND

THEIR ADDITION & SUBTRACTION

Today’s Objectives:
Students will be able to: In-Class Activities:
a) Represent a 3-D vector in a • Reading Quiz
Cartesian coordinate system. • Applications / Relevance
b) Find the magnitude and
• A Unit Vector
coordinate angles of a 3-D vector
c) Add vectors (forces) in 3-D • 3-D Vector Terms
space • Adding Vectors
• Concept Quiz
• Examples
• Attention Quiz

READING QUIZ

1. Vector algebra, as we are going to use it, is based on a

___________ coordinate system.
A) Euclidean B) Left-handed
C) Greek D) Right-handed E) Egyptian

2. The symbols , , and  designate the __________ of a

3-D Cartesian vector.
A) Unit vectors B) Coordinate direction angles
C) Greek societies D) X, Y and Z components

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 1
 APPLICATIONS

 Many structures and

machines involve 3-
dimensional space.

 In this case, the power pole

has guy wires helping to
keep it upright in high
winds. How would you
represent the forces in the
cables using Cartesian
vector form?

APPLICATIONS (continued)
 In the case of this radio tower, if you know the forces in the
three cables, how would you determine the resultant force
acting at D, the top of the tower?

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 2
 CARTESIAN UNIT VECTORS
 For a vector A, with a magnitude
of A, an unit vector is defined as
uA = A / A .
 Characteristics of a unit vector :
a) Its magnitude is 1.
b) It is dimensionless (has no units).
c) It points in the same direction as the
original vector (A).

 The unit vectors in the Cartesian

axis system are i, j, and k. They
are unit vectors along the positive x,
y, and z axes respectively.

CARTESIAN VECTOR REPRESENTATION

 Consider a box with sides AX, AY, and

AZ meters long.

 The vector A can be defined as

A = (AX i + AY j + AZ k) m

 The projection of vector A in the x-y plane is A´. The

magnitude of A´ is found by using the same approach as a 2-D
vector: A´ = (AX2 + AY2)1/2 .
 The magnitude of the position vector A can now be obtained as
A = ((A´)2 + AZ2) ½ = (AX2 + AY2 + AZ2) ½

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 3
 DIRECTION OF A CARTESIAN VECTOR
 The direction or orientation of vector A is
defined by the angles ά, β, and γ.
 These angles are measured between the vector and
the positive X, Y and Z axes, respectively. Their
range of values are from 0° to 180°
 Using trigonometry, “direction cosines” are found
using

 These angles are not independent. They must satisfy the following equation.
cos ²  + cos ²  + cos ²  = 1
 This result can be derived from the definition of a coordinate direction
angles and the unit vector. Recall, the formula for finding the unit vector of
any position vector:

or written another way, uA = cos  i + cos  j + cos  k .

ADDITION OF CARTESIAN VECTORS

(Section 2.6)
 Once individual vectors are written in Cartesian form, it is
easy to add or subtract them. The process is essentially the
same as when 2-D vectors are added.

 For example, if
A = AX i + AY j + AZ k and
B = BX i + BY j + BZ k , then
A + B = (AX + BX) i + (AY + BY) j + (AZ + BZ) k
or
A – B = (AX - BX) i + (AY - BY) j + (AZ - BZ) k .

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 4
 IMPORTANT NOTES

 Sometimes 3-D vector information is given as:

a) Magnitude and the coordinate direction angles, or,
b) Magnitude and projection angles.

 You should be able to use both these sets of information to

change the representation of the vector into the Cartesian form,
i.e.,
F = {10 i – 20 j + 30 k} N.

EXAMPLE

Given: Two forces F1 and F2 are

G applied to a hook.

Find: The resultant force in

Cartesian vector form.

Plan:

1) Using geometry and trigonometry, write F1 and F2 in

Cartesian vector form.

2) Then add the two forces (by adding x and y-components).

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 5
 EXAMPLE (continued)
Solution:
First, resolve force F1.

Fx = 0 = 0 N
Fy = 500 (4/5) = 400 N
Fz = 500 (3/5) = 300 N

Now, write F1 in Cartesian vector form

(don’t forget the units!).
F1 = {0 i + 400 j + 300 k} N

EXAMPLE (continued)
Now, resolve force F2.
F2z = -800 sin 45° =  565.7 N
F2’ = 800 cos 45° = 565.7 N
F2’
F2’ can be further resolved as,
F2x = 565.7 cos 30° = 489.9 N F2z
F2y = 565.7 sin 30° = 282.8 N

Thus, we can write:

F2 = {489.9 i + 282.8 j  565.7 k } N

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 6
 EXAMPLE (continued)

So FR = F1 + F2 and
F1 = {0 i + 400 j + 300 k} N
F2 = {489.9 i + 282.8 j  565.7 k } N
FR = { 490 i + 683 j  266 k } N

CONCEPT QUESTIONS
1. If you know only uA, you can determine the ________ of A
uniquely.
A) magnitude B) angles (, , and )
C) components (AX, AY, & AZ) D) All of the above.

2. For a force vector, the following parameters are randomly

generated. The magnitude is 0.9 N,  ´= 30º , β= 70º , γ = 100º.
What is wrong with this 3-D vector ?
A) Magnitude is too small.
B) Angles are too large.
C) All three angles are arbitrarily picked.
D) All three angles are between 0º to 180º.

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 7
 GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING

Given: The screw eye is subjected to

two forces, F1 and F2.
Find: The magnitude and the
coordinate direction angles
of the resultant force.
Plan:

1) Using the geometry and trigonometry, resolve, and write F1

and F2 in the Cartesian vector form.
2) Add F1 and F2 to get FR.
3) Determine the magnitude and angles , , .

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)

First resolve the force F1.

F1z = - 250 sin 35° = - 143.4 N
F´ = 250 cos 35° = 204.8 N
F´
F´ can be further resolved as,
F1z F1x = 204.8 sin 25° = 86.6 N
F1y = 204.8 cos 25° = 185.6 N

Now we can write:

F1 = {86.6 i + 185.6 j  143.4 k } N

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 8
 GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)

Now, resolve force F2.

The force F2 can be represented in the Cartesian vector form as:

F2 = 400{ cos 120° i + cos 45° j + cos 60° k } N
= { -200 i + 282.8 j + 200 k } N

F2 = { -200 i + 282.8 j +200 k } N

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)

So FR = F1 + F2 and
F1 = { 86.6 i + 185.6 j  143.4 k} N
F2 = { -200 i + 282.8 j + 200 k} N
FR = { -113.4 i + 468.4 j + 56.6 k} N

Now find the magnitude and direction angles for the vector.
FR = {(-113.4)2 + 468.42 + 56.62}1/2 = 485.2 = 485 N
 = cos-1 (FRx / FR) = cos-1 (-113.4 / 485.2) = 103.5°
 = cos-1 (FRy / FR) = cos-1 (468.4 / 485.2) = 15.1°
 = cos-1 (FRz / FR) = cos-1 (56.6 / 485.2) = 83.3°

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 9
 ATTENTION QUIZ
1. What is not true about an unit vector, e.g., uA?
A) It is dimensionless.
B) Its magnitude is one.
C) It always points in the direction of positive X- axis.
D) It always points in the direction of vector A.

2. If F = {10 i + 10 j + 10 k} N and
G = {20 i + 20 j + 20 k } N, then F + G = { ____ } N
A) 10 i + 10 j + 10 k
B) 30 i + 20 j + 30 k
C) – 10 i – 10 j – 10 k
D) 30 i + 30 j + 30 k

Statics:The Next Generation (2nd Ed.) Mehta, Danielson, & Berg Lecture Notes for Sections 2.5,2.6 10