Chapter 12: Problem 34
Find a vector of magnitude 3 in the direction opposite to the direction of \(\mathbf{v}=(1 / 2) \mathbf{i}-(1 / 2) \mathbf{j}-(1 / 2) \mathbf{k}\).
Short Answer
Expert verified
The vector is \( \mathbf{w} = -\sqrt{3} \mathbf{i} + \sqrt{3} \mathbf{j} + \sqrt{3} \mathbf{k} \).
Step by step solution
01
Calculate the Magnitude of Vector v
The first step is to calculate the magnitude of the given vector \( \mathbf{v} = \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{i} - \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{j} - \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{k} \).The magnitude of a vector \( \mathbf{v} = a \mathbf{i} + b \mathbf{j} + c \mathbf{k} \) is calculated using the formula: \[ |\mathbf{v}| = \sqrt{a^2 + b^2 + c^2} \]For vector \( \mathbf{v} \):\[ |\mathbf{v}| = \sqrt{\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)^2 + \left(-\frac{1}{2}\right)^2 + \left(-\frac{1}{2}\right)^2} \]\[ = \sqrt{\frac{1}{4} + \frac{1}{4} + \frac{1}{4}} \]\[ = \sqrt{\frac{3}{4}} \]\[ = \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} \]
02
Determine the Unit Vector in Opposite Direction
To find the vector in the opposite direction of \( \mathbf{v} \), first find the unit vector in the opposite direction.Unit vector \( \mathbf{u} \) in the direction opposite \( \mathbf{v} \) is given by:\[ \mathbf{u} = -\frac{\mathbf{v}}{|\mathbf{v}|} \]So the unit vector opposite to \( \mathbf{v} \) is:\[ \mathbf{u} = -\frac{1}{\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}} \left( \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{i} - \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{j} - \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{k} \right) \]\[ = -\frac{2}{\sqrt{3}} \left( \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{i} - \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{j} - \frac{1}{2} \mathbf{k} \right) \]\[ = -\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}(\mathbf{i} - \mathbf{j} - \mathbf{k}) \]\[ = -\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{i} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{j} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{k} \]
03
Scale the Unit Vector to the Desired Magnitude
Now, we want to scale the unit vector \( \mathbf{u} \) to have a magnitude of 3.The scaled vector \( \mathbf{w} \) is given by multiplying the unit vector by the desired magnitude:\[ \mathbf{w} = 3 \mathbf{u} \]Substitute \( \mathbf{u} \):\[ \mathbf{w} = 3 \left( -\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{i} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{j} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{k} \right) \]\[ = -\frac{3}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{i} + \frac{3}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{j} + \frac{3}{\sqrt{3}} \mathbf{k} \]Simplifying, since \( \frac{3}{\sqrt{3}} = \sqrt{3} \):\[ \mathbf{w} = -\sqrt{3} \mathbf{i} + \sqrt{3} \mathbf{j} + \sqrt{3} \mathbf{k} \]
04
Write the Final Vector
This is the vector of magnitude 3 in the direction opposite to the vector \( \mathbf{v} \):\[ \mathbf{w} = -\sqrt{3} \mathbf{i} + \sqrt{3} \mathbf{j} + \sqrt{3} \mathbf{k} \]
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Unit Vector
A unit vector is a vector that has a magnitude of exactly 1. It is often used to indicate direction without regard to magnitude. To find a unit vector in the same direction as a given vector, you simply divide each component of the vector by its magnitude. For instance, if we have a vector \( \mathbf{v} = a \mathbf{i} + b \mathbf{j} + c \mathbf{k} \), the unit vector \( \mathbf{u} \) is given by:\[ \mathbf{u} = \frac{1}{|\mathbf{v}|} \mathbf{v} = \frac{1}{|\mathbf{v}|} (a \mathbf{i} + b \mathbf{j} + c \mathbf{k}) \]
- The unit vector retains the direction of the original vector.
- It is especially useful for finding vectors with different magnitudes in the same direction.
Opposite Direction
Sometimes, you may need a vector that points in the opposite direction of a given vector. To achieve this, you negate the vector's components, which flips its direction. For example, if \( \mathbf{v} = a \mathbf{i} + b \mathbf{j} + c \mathbf{k} \), the vector in the opposite direction, \(-\mathbf{v}\), is:\[ -\mathbf{v} = -a \mathbf{i} - b \mathbf{j} - c \mathbf{k} \]
- Negating a vector changes its direction by 180 degrees.
- Magnitude remains the same; only direction is reversed.
Vector Scaling
Vector scaling involves adjusting the magnitude of a vector while keeping its direction unchanged. This is achieved by multiplying the vector by a scalar (a constant number). The resulting vector is larger or smaller, but still points in the same direction, or the opposite direction if the scalar is negative. To scale a vector \( \mathbf{u} \) by a scalar \( k \), the formula is:\[ \mathbf{w} = k \mathbf{u} \]
- The direction of the vector remains constant if \( k > 0 \).
- If \( k \) is negative, the direction gets flipped.
- Magnitude of the new vector is the absolute value of \( k \) multiplied by the magnitude of \( \mathbf{u} \).