Linear Algebra : Vector-Vector Product

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Linear Algebra

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Example Questions

Example Question #841 : Linear Algebra

Calculate the angle (nearest degree) between  and .

Possible Answers:

The angle is undefined, since the vectors are in .

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The angle  between vectors   and  can be calculated using the formula

.

, the dot product, is the sum of the products of corresponding entries:

, the norm of , is the square root of the sum of the squares of its entries;  is defined similarly:

Example Question #32 : Vector Vector Product

, and  give the length, width, and height of a rectangular prism.

 and .

True or false:  gives the surface area of the prism.

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

The dot product  can be calculated by adding the products of the elements in corresponding locations, so

.

The surface area of the prism, , can be found by using the formula:

Equivalently,  gives half the surface area of the prism. The statement is false.

Example Question #33 : Vector Vector Product

Which of the following applies to  ,  where "  " and "" refer to the dot product and the cross product of two vectors?

Possible Answers:

 

 is an undefined expression.

Correct answer:

 

Explanation:

The cross product of  two vectors in  is also a vector in . It follows that  and ; it further follows that.

Example Question #34 : Vector Vector Product

Which of the following applies to  ,  where "" refers to the cross product of two vectors, and "" refers to either scalar or vector addition, as applicable?

Possible Answers:

 is an undefined expression.

Correct answer:

 is an undefined expression.

Explanation:

The cross product of two vectors is defined only if both vectors are in  and  are vectors in , so  is undefined; consequently, so is .

Example Question #35 : Vector Vector Product

Which of the following applies to  ,  where "  " refers to the dot product of two vectors, and "" refers to either scalar or vector addition, as applicable?

Possible Answers:

 is an undefined expression.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The dot product of two vectors in the same vector space is a scalar quantity. , so   and  are in the same vector space; their dot product is defined, and . For similar reasons, . Therefore, their sum is defined, and .

Example Question #36 : Vector Vector Product

.

Which of the following applies to ,  where "  " and "" refer to the dot product and the cross product of two vectors, and "" refers to either scalar or vector addition, as applicable?

Possible Answers:

 is an undefined expression.

Correct answer:

 is an undefined expression.

Explanation:

The cross product  of two vectors in  is also a vector in . The dot product  of two such vectors is a scalar. Since a vector and a scalar cannot be added,  is an undefined expression.

Example Question #31 : Vector Vector Product

True or false: It follows that .

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

One property of vector dot products is commutativity - that is, 

.

Therefore, if , then .

The statement is true,

Example Question #32 : Vector Vector Product

True or false: It follows that .

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

One property of vector cross products is anticommutativity - that is, 

.

If , it follows that  

.

The statement is false.

Example Question #161 : Matrices

Which of the following applies to  ,  where "  " and "" refer to the dot product and the cross product of two vectors?

Possible Answers:

 is an undefined expression.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The cross product of two vectors in  is also a vector in . It follows that  and . The dot product of two vectors in the same vector space, is a scalar, so , the  dot product of two vectors in , is a scalar in .

Example Question #31 : Vector Vector Product

Find  and  so that .

Possible Answers:

There does not exist any such  and 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The cross product of two vectors in  can be set up and calculated as if it were a determinant of a matrix with its top row comprising , the unit vectors of , and the other two comprising the elements of  and :

Calculate as you would a determinant, adding the upper-left to lower-right products and subtracting upper-right to lower-left products: 

Cross product

The cross-product is equal to 

We want this vector to be equal to , so the following must hold:

 

 

Examining the third equation, , we find that this is consistent with the other equations, since  and  make this true. Therefore,  and  are the values sought. 

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