MATH 2023 • Spring 2015-16 • Multivariable Calculus

Problem Set #0 • Dot and Cross Products (Review)

1. (F) Given three points in R3 :

A(1, 2, 3), B(4, 0, 5) and C ( x, 6, 4)

Determine the number of possible value(s) of x such that the triangle ABC has a right
angle.

−→ −→
Solution: ∠ A is a right-angle if and only if AB ⊥ AC, if and only if:
−→ −→
0 = AB · AC = h3, −2, 2i · h x − 1, 4, 1i
= 3x − 9

Hence, ∠ A is a right-angle when x = 3 .

−→ − →
Similarly, ∠ B is a right-angle if and only if BA ⊥ BC, if and only if:
−→ − →
0 = BA · BC = h−3, 2, −2i · h x − 4, 6, −1i
= 26 − 3x

∠ B is a right-angle when x = 26/3 .

−→ − →
Finally, ∠C is a right-angle if and only if CA ⊥ CB, if and only if:
−→ − →
0 = CA · CB = h1 − x, −4, −1i · h4 − x, −6, 1i
= x2 − 5x + 27

As the quadratic equation has ∆ = (−5)2 − 4(27) < 0, it has no real root.
To conclude, there are two possible values of x such that ABC has a right-angle.

2. (FF) Let u = 2i + j − 2k, v = i + 2j + 2k and w = u × v.

(a) Show that u, v and w are mutually orthogonal (i.e. u ⊥ v, v ⊥ w and w ⊥ u).

Solution: Clearly, u · v = (2)(1) + (1)(2) + (−2)(2) = 0, so u ⊥ v. By the

definition of cross product, u × v is a vector which is orthogonal to both u and
v. Therefore, we have w ⊥ u and w ⊥ v as well.

(b) Given any vector r = xi + yj + zk in R3 , show that:

r·u r·v r·w
r= 2
u+ 2
v+ w.
|u| |v| | w |2
[Hint: You may use the fact that since u, v and w are mutually orthogonal and
non-zero, the vector r can be expressed as a linear combination of u, v and w, i.e.

r = au + bv + cw.

Solve for the scalars a, b and c.]

Page 1
MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0

Solution: Let r = au + bv + cw. Taking the dot product with u on both sides,
we get:

r · u = ( au + bv + cw) · u
r · u = au · u + bv · u + cw · u
r · u = a | u |2 + b (0) + c (0) (since v ⊥ u and w ⊥ u)
r·u
a=
| u |2
Similarly, taking the dot product with v and w on both sides of r = au + bv + cw
will give
r·v r·w
b= 2
and c =
|v| | w |2
respectively. This shows the desired result.

(c) Express the vector i as a linear combination of u, v and w.

Solution: Note that the result in (b) applies to any arbitrary vector r = xi + yj +
zk including the vector i (for which we have x = 1, y = z = 0). Therefore,

i·u i·v i·w

i= 2
u+ 2
v+ w
|u| |v| | w |2
By straight-forward computations, we have:

i·u 2
2
=
|u| 9
i·v 1
2
=
|v| 9
w = u × v = 6i − 6j + 3k
i·w 6 2
2
= =
|w| 81 27

Therefore,
2 1 2
i= u + v + w.
9 9 27

Page 2
MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0

3. (F) The figure below shows two vectors a and b which span a parallelogram. The vectors
in blue and red represent the two diagonals of the parallelogram.

(a) Express the red and the blue vectors in terms of a and b.

Solution: Red vector is a − b; Blue vector is a + b.

(b) By considering the dot product, show that: |a| = |b| if and only if the diagonals of
the parallelogram are orthogonal to each other.

Solution: (=⇒) Given that |a| = |b|, we need to show the blue and the red
vectors are orthogonal:

(a − b) · (a + b) = a · a + a · b − b · a − b · b (expansion)
= | a |2 + a · b − a · b − | b |2
= | a |2 − | b |2
=0 (given |a| = |b|)

Therefore, the diagonals (which are represented by a − b and a + b) are orthog-

onal to each other.
(⇐=) Given that the diagonals a − b and a + b are orthogonal, we have:

(a − b) · (a + b) = 0
a·a+a·b−b·a−b·b = 0 (expansion)
2 2
|a| + a · b − a · b − |b| = 0
|a|2 − |b|2 = 0.

Therefore, we have |a|2 = |b|2 , and since lengths of vectors must be non-negative,
we get |a| = |b|.

4. (F) Let u = xi + yj + zk be a variable unit vector in R3 and v = i + 2j + 3k.

(a) Find x, y and z such that u · v is the maximum possible. Explain your answer.

Solution: u · v = |u| |v| cos θ = |v| cos θ since u is unit. As v is a fixed vector, the
value of u · v is completely determined by the angle θ between u and v. Since
cos θ is the maximum when θ = 0 (at which we have cos θ = 1), the dot product
u · v is the maximum possible when u is parallel to v. Therefore,
v i + 2j + 3k
u= = √ ,
|v| 14
and so x = √1 , y= √2 and z = √3 .
14 14 14

Page 3
MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0

(b) Find x, y and z such that |u × v| is the maximum possible. Explain your answer.

Solution: Since |u × v| = |u| |v| sin θ = |v| sin θ, it is the maximum when θ = π2
(at which sin θ = 1). Therefore, any unit vector u which is orthogonal to v will
make |u × v| achieve the maximum possible value. As u · v = x + 2y + 3z, the
set of ( x, y, z)’s such that |u × v| are those which satisfy:

x + 2y + 3z = 0 and x2 + y2 + z2 = 1.

5. (FF) Given two vectors a and b in R3 , prove the following:

(a) Cauchy-Schwarz’s Inequality: |a · b| ≤ |a| |b|

Solution:
|a · b| = |a| |b| |cos θ | ≤ |a| |b| .
Here θ is the angle between a and b. We have used the fact that cos θ ≤ 1.

(b) Triangle Inequality: |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|

Solution: There is not much we can do with |a + b|. However, using the fact
that |u|2 = u · u for any vector u, we may consider:

| a + b |2 = ( a + b ) · ( a + b )
= a·a+a·b+b·a+b·b
= |a|2 + 2a · b + |b|2
≤ | a |2 + 2 | a · b | + | b |2 (since x ≤ | x | for any real x)
≤ | a |2 + 2 | a | | b | + | b |2 (from (a))
2
= (|a| + |b|)

As both |a + b| and |a| + |b| are positive, we conclude that:

|a + b| ≤ |a| + |b| .

(c) If a and b are orthogonal, show that |a + b|2 = |a|2 + |b|2 .

Solution: Proceed as in (b), the first three equalities give:

|a + b|2 = |a|2 + 2a · b + |b|2 .

If a and b are orthogonal, then a · b = 0 and so |a + b|2 = |a|2 + |b|2 .

Page 4
MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0

6. (F) Let A, B and C be the points ( a, 0, 0), (0, b, 0) and (0, 0, c) respectively in the three
dimensional space, and O be the origin (0, 0, 0). Denote [ ABC ] the area of the triangle
with vertices A, B and C (analogously for [OAB], [OBC ], etc.). Show that:

[ ABC ]2 = [OAB]2 + [OBC ]2 + [OCA]2 .

With the help of a diagram, explain why this result can be regarded as the three-dimensional
analogue of the Pythagoreas’ Theorem.

Solution: First we find [ ABC ] using cross product.

−→
AB = h0, b, 0i − h a, 0, 0i = h− a, b, 0i
−→
AC = h0, 0, ci − h a, 0, 0i = h− a, 0, ci
−→ −→
AB × AC = hbc, ac, abi
−→ −→ q
 AB × AC  = (bc)2 + ( ac)2 + ( ab)2
 

1 −→ −→ 1
q
[ ABC ] =  AB × AC  = (bc)2 + ( ac)2 + ( ab)2
2 2
1
[ ABC ]2 = (bc)2 + ( ac)2 + ( ab)2


4
The other triangles are right-angled ones whose bases and heights can be easily found
from the diagram.

ab
[OAB] =
2
ac
[OAC ] =
2
bc
[OBC ] =
2
Therefore,
 2  ac 2  2
2 2 2 ab bc
[OAB] + [OAC ] + [OBC ] = + +
2 2 2
1
(bc)2 + ( ac)2 + ( ab)2


=
4
= [ ABC ]2 ,

as desired.
[ ABC ] is analogous to the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle in 2D, whiles [OAB],
[OAC ] and [OBC ] are analogous to the sides of the triangle. The 2D Pythagoreas’
Theorem asserts the the square of the hypotenuse is the sum of squares of the lengths
of the sides. Analogously, the squared area of the hypotenuse face ABC is the sum of
squares of the areas of the other three sides.

Page 5
MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0

7. (FF) Given three non-zero vectors u, v and w in R3 , provide a geometric explanation to

each of the following facts:
(a) u × u = 0

Solution: Since the “angle” between u and itself is 0, we have |u × u| = |u| |u| sin 0 =
0. The only vector with zero magnitude is the zero vector, so u × u = 0.

(b) (u × v) · u = (u × v) · v = 0

Solution: The cross product u × v is geometrically defined as a vector in R3

which is perpendicular to both u and v. Since the dot product between two
perpendicular vectors are zero, so:

(u × v) ⊥ u ⇒ (u × v) · u = 0
(u × v) ⊥ v ⇒ (u × v) · v = 0.

(c) (u × v) × w is a vector on the plane spanned by u and v.

Solution: Since (u × v) is perpendicular to both u and v, it is a normal vector

to the plane Π spanned by u and v. Now consider (u × v) × w. No matter what
w we pick, the product (u × v) × w must be a vector in R3 that is perpendicular
to (u × v). Recall that (u × v) is a normal vector to the plane Π. The vector
(u × v) × w being perpendicular to the normal vector (u × v) must lie on the plane
Π.

−→
8. (FFF) The diagram below shows a circle with radius r centered at O. Let a = OA,
−→ −→
b = OB and c = OC. The purpose of the problem is to use dot products to show that
the angle at the center of a circle is twice the corresponding angle at the circumference.
Precisely, with the notations in the diagram below, we want to show ∠ BOA = 2∠ BCA.
We will prove this by showing ϕ1 = 2θ1 , and ϕ2 = 2θ2 can be proved in a similar way.
Follow the steps structured below:

θ1
c θ2

O
b ϕ1
ϕ2 a
−c
B
A

Page 6
MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0

b·c
(a) Show that cos ϕ1 = − . Recall that r is the radius of the circle.
r2
Solution: According to the geometric definition of dot products (applied to vec-
tors b and −c), we have:

b · (−c) = |b| |−c| cos ϕ1 .

Since both b and −c represent the radii of the circle, their lengths are both r.
Therefore, by rearranging the above, we get:

b · (−c) −b · c b·c
cos ϕ1 = = =− 2 .
|b| |−c| r·r r

r2 − b · c
(b) Show that cos θ1 = .
|b − c| |c|
−→
Solution: Similarly, apply the geometric definition of dot product on vectors CO
−→ −→ −→
and CB. Note that CB = b − c and CO = −c, so:

(b − c) · (−c) = |b − c|| − c| cos θ1 = |b − c||c| cos θ1 .

Expanding the LHS: we have

(b − c) · (−c) = −b · c + c · c = −b · c + |c|2 = −b · c + r2 .

Therefore,
r2 − b · c = |b − c||c| cos θ1 ,
which yields the desired result after rearrangement.

(c) Showing that |b − c|2 = 2(r2 − b · c).

Solution: Use the fact that |u|2 = u · u:

| b − c |2 = ( b − c ) · ( b − c )
= b·b−b·c−c·b+c·c
= |b|2 − 2b · c + |c|2
= r2 − 2b · c + r2 = 2(r2 − b · c).

Page 7
MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0

r2 − b · c
(d) Using the result proved in the previous parts, show that cos2 θ1 = .
2r2
Solution:
(r 2 − b · c )2
cos2 θ1 = (from (b))
| b − c |2 | c |2
(r 2 − b · c )2
= (from (c))
2(r 2 − b · c ) r 2
r2 − b · c
= .
2r2

(e) Finally, find a relation between cos2 θ1 and cos ϕ1 , and conclude that ϕ1 = 2θ1 .
[Hint: Double angle formula for cos.]

Solution:
r2 − b · c b·c
 
2 1 1
cos θ1 = 2
= + − 2
2r 2 2 r
1 1
= + cos ϕ1 (from (a))
2 2
ϕ
= cos2 1 (double/half-angle formula)
2
ϕ1
Therefore, θ1 = 2 , as desired.

Page 8