MTH 240 Chapter 2: Vectors
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A vector is a line segment that has direction and magnitude (length). To calculate a vector from the two points, just subtract the initial point (beginning point) from the terminal point (ending point). A vector can be written two ways: zyx i x j y z k. Find the vector that has an initial point (1, 2, 0) and has a terminal point of (3, 4, 0). Subtracting the initial point from the terminal point yields: Find the magnitude (length) the vector from the previous example above. Applying the formula for magnitude of a vector yields: Find the unit vector in the direction of vector v in the previous example above. v. Applying the formula for the unit vector yields: u. Find a vector that has a magnitude of 2 and makes a 30 angle with the positive x-axis: since x is adjacent the angle given, then we can use cosine to solve for x.