vector: Addition and Multiplication of Vectors

Addition and Multiplication of Vectors

The addition, or composition, of two vectors can be accomplished either algebraically or graphically. For example, to add the two vectors U [−3,1] and V [5,2], one can add their corresponding components to find the resultant vector R [2,3], or one can graph U and V on a set of coordinate axes and complete the parallelogram formed with U and V as adjacent sides to obtain R as the diagonal from the common vertex of U and V.CE5

Addition, or composition, of the vectors U [-3,1] and V [5,2] to form the resultant vector R [2,3].

Two different kinds of multiplication are defined for vectors in three dimensions. The scalar, or dot, product of two vectors, A and B, is a scalar, or quantity that has a magnitude but no direction, rather than a vector, and is equal to the product of the magnitudes of A and B and the cosine of the angle θ between them, or A · B = |A| |B| cos θ. The vector, or cross, product of A and B is a vector, A × B, whose magnitude is equal to |A| |B| sin θ and whose orientation is perpendicular to both A and B and pointing in the direction in which a right-hand screw would advance if turned from A to B through the angle θ. The vector product is an example of a kind of multiplication that does not follow the commutative law, since A × B = −B × A.

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