Created by T.

Madas

VECTOR
OPERATORS

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

GRADIENT
grad ϕ ≡ ∇ϕ

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 1
A surface S is given by the Cartesian equation

x 2 + y 2 = 25 .

a) Draw a sketch of S , and describe it geometrically.

b) Determine an equation of the tangent plane on S at the point with Cartesian

coordinates ( 3, 4,5 ) .

3 x + 4 y = 25

Question 2
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Show by detailed workings that

r
∇r = .
r

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 3
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that a is a constant vector find

∇ (a i r ) .

∇ (a i r ) = a

Question 4
A surface S is defined by the Cartesian equation

y2 + z2 = 8 .

a) Draw a sketch of S , and describe it geometrically.

b) Determine an equation of the tangent plane on S at the point with Cartesian

coordinates ( 2, 2, 2 ) .

y+z =4

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 5
The scalar function V is defined as

2
V ( x, y, z ) = ( y + z ) + y 2 ( x + y ) + xyz + 1 .

Determine the value of the directional derivative of V at the point P (1, −1,1) , in the
direction −i + j + k .

Question 6
The scalar function ϕ is defined as

ϕ ( x, y, z ) = e x − y sin z .

Determine the value of the directional derivative of ϕ at the point P (1,1,0 ) , in the
direction i + j + k .

1
3

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 7
The point P (1, 2,3) lies on the surface with Cartesian equation

2 z 2 = 6 x2 + 3 y 2 .

The scalar function u is defined as

u ( x, y, z ) = x 2 yz + x 2 y .

Determine the value of the directional derivative of u at the point P in the direction
to the normal at P .

6 3

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 8
The point P (1, y0 , z0 ) lies on both surfaces with Cartesian equations

x 2 + y 2 + z 2 = 9 and z = x 2 + y 2 − 3 .

The two surfaces intersect each other at an angle θ , at the point P .

Given further that P lies in the first octant, determine the exact value of cos θ .

8
cos θ =
3 21

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 9
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that ϕ ( r ) = ln r , show that

r
∇ϕ ( r ) = .
r2

proof

Question 10
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Show by detailed workings that

∇ r 3 ≡ 3rr .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 11
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

1
Given that ψ ( r ) = , show that
r

r
∇ψ ( r ) = − .
r3

proof

Question 12
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Show clearly that

( )
∇ r n = nr n−2r .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 13
The surface S has Cartesian equation

f ( x, y, z ) = constant ,

where f is a smooth function.

Given that ∇f ≠ 0 , show that ∇f is a normal to S .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 14
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that f ( r ) is a differentiable function, show that

r
∇f ( r ) = f ′( r ) .
r

MM2B , proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 15
The smooth functions F ( x, y, z ) and G ( x, y, z ) are given.

Show that

 F  G ( ∇F ) − F ( ∇G )
∇  = .
G  G2

proof

Question 16

x2 + y 2 + z 2
( )
Ψ ( x, y , z ) = x 2 + y 2 + z 2 e −

Show that

(
∇  Ψ ( x, y, z )  = ( x i + y j + z k ) 2 − x 2 + y 2 + z 2 e− ) x2 + y 2 + z 2
.

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 17
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Show that

 
∇  9r 2 + − 12 r  = 2  3 − 2r 2 
− 3 
3 + r 2  r .
4 −3

 r    

proof

Question 18
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

The smooth function f ( r ) satisfies

∇  f ( r )  = 10r 3r .

Determine a simplified expression for f ( r ) .

f ( r ) = 2r 5 + C

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

DIVERGENCE
div F ≡ ∇ iF

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 1
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r .

Determine the value of

∇ir .

∇ir = 3

Question 2
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r .

Given that a is a constant vector, find

∇ i (a ∧ r ) .

∇ i (a ∧ r ) = 0

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 3
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r .

Given that a is a constant vector, show that

∇ i ( a i r ) r  = 4a i r .

proof

Question 4
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r .

Given that a is a constant vector, show that

∇ i r ∧ ( r ∧ a )  = 2a i r .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 5

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show clearly that

 r 
∇i  3  = 0 .
r 
 

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 6
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r .

Given that m is a constant vector, show that

 m∧r 
∇ i  3 =0.
 r 
 

MM2D , proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 7

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show clearly that

r 2
∇ i   = .
r r

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 8

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show, with a detailed method, that

( )=6r
∇i r r
3 3
.

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 9
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Show that

( )
∇ i r nr = ( n + 3 ) r n .

MM2A , proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 10

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show, with a detailed method, that

  1  3
∇i  r ∇  3  = 4 .
  r  r
  

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

CURL
curl F ≡ ∇ ∧ F

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 1
A Cartesian vector is denoted by

A = A1i + A2 j + A3k ,

where Ai = f ( x, y, z ) , i = 1, 2,3

Given that Ai are differentiable functions, show that

∇i∇∧ A = 0 .

proof

Question 2
A function ϕ is denoted by

ϕ = ϕ ( x, y , z ) .

Given that ϕ is differentiable show that

∇ ∧ ∇ϕ = 0 .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 3
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Determine the value of

∇ ∧r .

∇∧r = 0

Question 4
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that a is a constant vector, find

∇ ∧ (a ∧ r ) .

∇ ∧ ( a ∧ r ) = 2a

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 5
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Determine

( )
∇ ∧ r + y 2k .

( )
∇ ∧ r + y 2k = 2 yi

Question 6
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that a is a constant vector, show that

( )
∇ ∧ r 2a ≡ 2r ∧ a .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 7
A vector function A is defined as

A = A1 ( x, y, z ) i + A2 ( x, y, z ) j + A3 ( x, y, z ) k .

Given that the standard Cartesian position vector is denoted by r , show that

∇ i ( A ∧ r ) ≡ r i∇ ∧ A .

proof

Question 8
The smooth vector functions, A and B , are both irrotational.

Show that A ∧ B is solenoidal.

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 9

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Find the value of

 r 
∇∧ 2  .
r 
 

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 10
If ϕ = ϕ ( x, y, z ) is a smooth function, prove that.

∇ ∧ (ϕ ∇ ϕ ) = 0 .

proof

Question 11

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Given that a is a constant vector, find the value of

∇ ∧ ∇ ∧ (r ∧ a ) .

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 12
The irrotational vector field F is given by

F = ( 8 x + 8 y + az ) i + ( bx + 8 y − 4 z ) j + ( −4 x + cy + 2 z ) k ,

where a , b and c are scalar constants.

Determine a smooth scalar function ϕ ( x, y, z ) such that

∇ϕ = F .

2
ϕ ( x, y, z ) = ( 2 x + 2 y − x ) + constant = 4 x 2 + 4 y 2 + z 2 − 4 xz − 4 yz + 8 xy + constant

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 13

a) Define the vector calculus operators grad, div and curl.

A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

b) Determine the vector

( )
∇ ∧ r ∧ i + ∇ sin e xyz  .
 

( )
MM2F , ∇ ∧ r ∧ i + ∇ sin e xyz  = −2i
 

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 14
The smooth functions f and A are defined as

f = f ( x, y, z ) and A = A1 ( x, y, z ) i + A2 ( x, y, z ) j + A3 ( x, y, z ) k .

a) Define the vector calculus operators grad, div and curl with reference to f
and A .

A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

b) Determine the vector

∇ ∧ r ∧ i + ( x + y ) k  .

c) Show that

 1  2
∇i∇ 2  = 4 .
r  r

MM2G , −i − j

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 15
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that a is a constant vector, show that

∇ ∧ ( a i r ) r  = a ∧ r .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 16
The smooth functions A = A ( x, y, z ) , B = B ( x, y, z ) and ϕ = ϕ ( x, y, z ) are defined
as

A = yz i − x 2 y j + xz 2 k , B = x 2 i + yz j − xy k and ϕ = xyz.

Find, in simplified form, expressions for

a) ( A ∇ )ϕ .
i

b) (B ∇) A .
i

c) ( A ∧ ∇ )ϕ

( A ∇ )ϕ = y 2 z 2 − x3 yz + x 2 yz 2
i ,

( B ∇ ) A = ( yz 2 − xy 2 ) i + ( −2 x3 y − x 2 yz ) j + ( x 2 z 2 − 2 x 2 yz ) k
i ,

( A ∧ ∇ )ϕ = ( − x3 y 2 − x 2 z 3 ) i + ( xyz 3 − xy 2 z ) j + ( xyz 2 + x2 y 2 z ) k

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 17

a) Define the vector calculus operators grad, div and curl.

b) Given that ϕ ( x, y, z ) and ψ ( x, y, z ) are smooth functions, show that

∇ ∧ [ϕ ∇ψ ] ≡ ∇ϕ ∧ ∇ψ .

c) Evaluate

 
∇ ∧ ∇ ∧ ∇ ∧ ∇ ∧ ( x + y + z ) i + 4 x3 − yz j + ( xyz ) k    .
( ( ) )
3
 
 
 
 


d) Use the vector function

( ) ( )
A ( x, y, z ) = e x + y i + ( x sin z ) j + 4 x k

to verify the validity of the identity

∇ ∧ ( ∇ ∧ A ) ≡ ∇ ( ∇ i A ) − ∇ 2A .


∇ ∧ ∇ ∧ ∇ ∧ ∇ ∧ ( x + y + z ) i + 4 x3 − yz j + ( xyz ) k
 
 
 ( 3
( ) )   = 0

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 18
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that f ( r ) is a differentiable function, show that

∇ ∧ r f ( r )  = 0 .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 19
Given that A = A ( x, y, z ) is a twice differentiable vector function, show that

∇ ∧ (∇ ∧ A ) ≡ ∇ (∇ i A ) − ∇2A .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 20

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show that r f ( r ) is irrotational, where f ( r ) is differentiable function of r .

proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 21
The vector function E satisfies

r
E= 2
, r ≠ 0,
r

where r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show that E is irrotational, and find a smooth scalar function ϕ ( r ) , with ϕ ( k ) = 0 ,

so that E = −∇ϕ ( r ) .

k 
ϕ ( r ) = ln  
r 

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 22
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that a is a constant vector, show that

 r  3a i r a
∇∧a∧ 3  = 5 r − 3 .
 r  r r

proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 23

∇ ∧ ( A ∧ B) ≡ (B i ∇) A + (∇ i B) A − ( A i ∇) B − (∇ i A ) B .

a) Given that A = A ( x, y, z ) and B = B ( x, y, z ) are smooth vector functions, use

index summation notation to prove the validity of the above vector identity.

b) Verify the validity of the vector identity if

A = i + 2 j − 3k and B = xi + y j+ zk

both sides yield 2i + 4 j − 6k

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

LAPLACIAN
2
∇ i ∇ϕ ≡ ∇ ϕ

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 1
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Determine the value of

  1 
div grad    , r ≠ 0 .
  r 

  1 
div grad    = 0
  r 

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 2
A smooth scalar field is denoted by ϕ = ϕ ( x, y, z ) and a smooth vector field is
denoted by A = A ( x, y, z ) .

a) Use the standard definitions of vector operators to show that

∇ i ( ϕ A ) = ∇ϕ i A + ϕ ∇ i A .

b) Given further that f and g are functions of x , y and z , whose second

partial derivatives exist, deduce that

∇ i ( f ∇g − g ∇f ) = f ∇ 2 g − g ∇ 2 f .

MM2E , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 3
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r , r ≠ 0 .

Show that

1
∇ 2 ( ln r ) = .
r2

proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 4
It is given that ϕ = ϕ ( x, y, z ) and ψ = ψ ( x, y, z ) are twice differentiable functions.

Show, with a detailed method, that

∇ 2 (ϕψ ) = ψ ∇ 2ϕ + 2 ∇ϕ i ∇ψ + ϕ ∇ 2ψ .

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 5

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show clearly that

∇2 r( ) = n ( n + 1) r
n n−2
.

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 6
It is given that

ϕ ( x, y, z ) = z + sinh x sin y .

a) Verify that ϕ is a solution of Laplace’s equation

∇ 2ϕ = 0 .

b) Hence find a vector field F , so that

∇ i F = 0 and ∇ ∧ F = 0 .

c) Verify that F found in part (b) is solenoidal and irrotational.

F = ( cosh x sin y ) i + ( sinh x cos y ) j + k

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 7
A Cartesian position vector is denoted by r and r = r .

Given that f ( r ) is a twice differentiable function, show that

d2 f 2 df
∇2 f = 2
+ , r ≠ 0.
dr r dr

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 8

r ( x, y, z ) = xi + yj + zk .

Show, with a detailed method, that

  r  2
∇ 2 ∇ i  2   = 4 .
  r   r
 

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 9
The scalar function ϕ is given below in terms of the non zero constants λ and µ .

ϕ ( x, y, z ) = e x sin ( λ y + λ z ) cos ( µ y − µ z ) .

Given that

∇ i ( ∇ϕ ) = 0 ,

show, with a detailed method, that λ 2 + µ 2 = 1 .

2

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 10
It is given that

A ∧ ( B ∧ C) ≡ B ( A i C) − ( A i B ) C .

a) Use the above identity to find a simplified expression for ∇ ∧ ( ∇ ∧ F ) , where

F is a smooth vector field.

The smooth vector fields E and H , satisfy the following relationships.

• ∇iE = 0
∂H
• ∇∧E = −
∂t
• ∇iH = 0
∂E
• ∇∧H =
∂t

b) Show that E and H , satisfy the wave equation .

∂ 2U
∇ 2U = .
∂t 2

∇ ∧ ( ∇ ∧ F ) ≡ ∇ ( ∇ i F ) − ∇ 2F

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 11
The Laplacian operator ∇ 2 in the standard two dimensional Cartesian system of
coordinates is defined as

∂2 ∂2
∇2 ( )≡ ( )+ ( ).
∂x 2 ∂y 2

Show that the two dimensional Laplacian operator is invariant under rotation.

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 12
It is given that if F is a smooth vector field, then

∇ ∧ ( ∇ ∧ F ) = ∇ ( ∇ i F ) − ∇ 2F .

a) By using index summation notation, or otherwise, prove the validity of the

above vector identity.

Maxwell’s equations for the electric field E and magnetic field B , satisfy

ρ ∂B ∂E
∇iE = , ∇∧E = − , ∇ i B = 0 and ∇ ∧ B = µ0J + µ0ε 0 ,
ε0 ∂t ∂t

where ρ is the electric charge density, J is the current density, and µ0 and ε 0 are
positive constants.

∂ρ
b) Show that +∇iJ = 0.
∂t

c) Given further that ρ = 0 and J = 0 , show also that

∂ 2E ∂ 2B
∇ 2E = µ0ε 0 and ∇ 2B = µ0ε 0 .
∂t 2 ∂t 2

proof

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 13
Show that the Laplacian operator in the standard two dimensional Polar system of
coordinates is given by

∂2 1 ∂ 1 ∂2
∇2 ( )≡ ( )+ ( )+ ( ).
∂r 2 r ∂r r 2 ∂θ 2

proof

Created by T. Madas