Chapter 13: Problem 6
Find a unit normal vector to the surface at the given point. [Hint: Normalize the gradient vector \(\nabla \boldsymbol{F}(\boldsymbol{x}, \boldsymbol{y}, z) .]$$x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}=11\)
Short Answer
Expert verified
The unit normal vector to the surface \(x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}-11=0\) at any point (x, y, z) is \(\frac{1}{2}\langle x, y, z \rangle\).
Step by step solution
01
Calculate the gradient of F
The gradient of the scalar field \(F(x, y, z)\) is defined as \(\nabla F = \langle \frac{\partial F}{\partial x}, \frac{\partial F}{\partial y}, \frac{\partial F}{\partial z} \rangle \). Applying this to calculate the gradient of \(F = x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}-11\), we get: \(\nabla F = \langle 2x, 2y, 2z \rangle \).
02
Normalize the gradient vector
The normalization of a vector involves dividing each of its components by its magnitude. The magnitude of a vector \(v = \langle a, b, c \rangle \) is calculated as \(\|v\| = \sqrt{a^{2} + b^{2} + c^{2}} \). The magnitude of \(\nabla F = \langle 2x, 2y, 2z \rangle\) is \(\|\nabla F\| = \sqrt{(2x)^{2} + (2y)^{2} + (2z)^{2}} = 2\sqrt{x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}}\). Thus, the normalized gradient vector is \(\frac{\nabla F}{\|\nabla F\|} = \frac{1}{2}\langle x, y, z \rangle \).
03
Validate by checking magnitude
To ensure that the obtained vector is indeed a unit vector, its magnitude should be checked to be equal to 1. The magnitude of the unit normal vector \(\frac{1}{2}\langle x, y, z \rangle\) is calculated as \(\left\|\frac{1}{2}\langle x, y, z \rangle\right\| = \frac{1}{2}\sqrt{x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}} = 1\). It is therefore confirmed that \(\frac{1}{2}\langle x, y, z \rangle\) is a unit normal vector to the surface at any point (x, y, z)
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Gradient Vector
In vector calculus, the gradient vector is a powerful concept used to denote the direction of the steepest ascent of a scalar field. Essentially, it points to where the function increases most rapidly. The gradient of a scalar field \( F(x, y, z) \) is represented by the symbol \( abla F \), and it combines all the partial derivatives of \( F \) with respect to each variable:
\[abla F = \left\langle \frac{\partial F}{\partial x}, \frac{\partial F}{\partial y}, \frac{\partial F}{\partial z} \right\rangle.\]
\[abla F = \left\langle \frac{\partial F}{\partial x}, \frac{\partial F}{\partial y}, \frac{\partial F}{\partial z} \right\rangle.\]
- Directional Insight: The gradient provides insight into how the scalar field changes in all directions, and it is perpendicular to level surfaces of the field.
- Example: For the function \( F = x^2 + y^2 + z^2 - 11 \), its gradient is \( abla F = \langle 2x, 2y, 2z \rangle \).
Normal Vector
A normal vector is one that is perpendicular, or normal, to a surface at a given point. This concept is particularly useful in geometry and physics, for calculating tangents, slopes, or boundaries.
- The gradient vector \( abla F \) of a scalar field serves as the normal vector to its level surface at any point.
- For the equation \( x^2+y^2+z^2=11 \), the normal to the surface at any point (x, y, z) is \( \langle 2x, 2y, 2z \rangle \).
Unit Vector
A unit vector is a vector with a magnitude of 1. Normalizing a vector involves changing its magnitude to 1 while preserving its direction. This is done by dividing the vector by its magnitude.
For a vector \( v = \langle a, b, c \rangle \), the magnitude is given by:
\[\|v\| = \sqrt{a^2 + b^2 + c^2}.\]
For a vector \( v = \langle a, b, c \rangle \), the magnitude is given by:
\[\|v\| = \sqrt{a^2 + b^2 + c^2}.\]
- Process: Divide each component of the vector by \( \|v\| \) to normalize it.
- Example: The normalized vector of \( abla F = \langle 2x, 2y, 2z \rangle \) is \( \frac{1}{2}\langle x, y, z \rangle \), ensuring its magnitude is 1.
Scalar Field
A scalar field assigns a scalar value to every point in space, representing phenomena like temperature distribution or gravitational potential. In mathematical terms, a scalar field is a function \( F(x, y, z) \) that maps each point to a single scalar value.
- Visualization: Imagine a scalar field as a landscape with hills and valleys, where the height at each point is the value of the field.
- Application: In the exercise, \( F = x^2 + y^2 + z^2 - 11 \) defines a spherical surface, where each point on the surface satisfies the equation \( x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = 11 \).