Hey, guys. So let's get started with our problem here. So we've got these 2 vectors a and b, and we're told some information about their scalar and vector products, their dot and cross products, and we want to calculate what their angle between them is. So in other words, what we're asked to find here is theta. But if you notice, I actually know nothing about these vectors. I don't know their magnitudes and directions or anything like that. So how do we figure this out? Well, if you're looking for theta, the one equation that pops up here with the theta term is going to be that the magnitude of the vector products, remember, this really just produces another vector. I'm just going to call it c. Is equal to absinθ, the two magnitudes and the angle between them. So, really, this is our target variable, and we actually know what this magnitude is. Right? Usually, we're asked to find it, but we actually know it's already 12. So if I try to rearrange this equation, what I'm going to end up with is that sinθ is equal to 12/ab. And I can't really do anything else with this. Right? So I can't even if I were to try to do this inverse sine, I still don't know what this a and b are. So because I don't know what the magnitude of those vectors, I can’t really finish off this equation. I'm going to need something else. I'm going to need another equation. Well, the one thing that we haven't seen or that we haven't used yet is that the scalar product is negative 8. Remember the scalar product is a dot b. So what I'm going to do here is I'm going to start out another equation, and I'm going to say that a·b is equal to remember that the definition of a dot b, it doesn't have a magnitude. It's just a number. And remember, it was just abcosθ, except we already know what the scalar product is. We know that a·b, whenever you do abcosθ, you're going to get negative 8. Alright? So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to rewrite another equation. I'm going to get cosθ. Right? Because this is my other this is my target variable just in another equation, and this is going to be negative 8 divided by AB. So here's what I'm going to do. Right? I've got these two equations and they actually both have 3 unknowns. I've got the theta that's unknown and I've got my A and B that's unknown. So what I can do to get rid of them is I can actually divide the two equations. So what I'm going to do here is I'm going to do sinθ divided by cosθ. And what you're going to get here is that 12 divided by AB divided by negative 8 over AB. And what happens here is that the ABs are going to cancel. When you divide these two equations, the ABs cancel out and then basically what you end up with here is just a tangent theta. Right? Sine over cosine equals tangent. So you've got the tangent theta is equal to, and this is just 12 over negative 8, so this is just going to work out to negative 1.5. So we've got these two equations that had 3 unknowns and by dividing them, we were actually able to get down to only one equation with one unknown. So now what I have to do is just I just take the inverse tangent of this. And just make sure that your calculator is in degrees. So you're going to take the inverse tangent of negative 1.5. What you're going to get here is you're going to get negative 56.3 degrees. Alright. So is that our final answer? Well, remember that this angle here, this theta, is the angle between these two vectors A and B, but it has to be the smallest positive value. So what we can do here is if this angle here is negative 56, then we're going to have to add 180 degrees to it. One way you can kind of think about this, is that these two vectors have a scalar product of negative 8. So what happens here is I'm just going to draw like a sketch real quickly of what these vectors might look like. So this is a sketch. So this is my x and y axis. So if this vector is like let's say this is a, then in order for them to have a scalar product that's negative, it means that they have to be pointing in opposite directions. You only get scalar products that are negative whenever you have some components that point antiparallel. So, basically, what happens is we know that the angle between A and B has to be greater than 90 degrees. So this theta here must be greater than 90 degrees because a dot b is negative. It’s less than 0. Alright? So now that we've added a 180 to this, what you're going to get is 123.7 degrees, and that is the right answer. Alright? So now we know that this angle, this angle here, has to be 123.7. That's the only way you can get a vector product that has a magnitude of 12, but a scalar product that has a magnitude or or that's a scalar product that's negative 8. So hopefully, that makes sense. Let me know if you guys if you guys have any questions, and I'll see you in the next one.
- 0. Math Review31m
- 1. Intro to Physics Units1h 24m
- 2. 1D Motion / Kinematics3h 56m
- Vectors, Scalars, & Displacement13m
- Average Velocity32m
- Intro to Acceleration7m
- Position-Time Graphs & Velocity26m
- Conceptual Problems with Position-Time Graphs22m
- Velocity-Time Graphs & Acceleration5m
- Calculating Displacement from Velocity-Time Graphs15m
- Conceptual Problems with Velocity-Time Graphs10m
- Calculating Change in Velocity from Acceleration-Time Graphs10m
- Graphing Position, Velocity, and Acceleration Graphs11m
- Kinematics Equations37m
- Vertical Motion and Free Fall19m
- Catch/Overtake Problems23m
- 3. Vectors2h 43m
- Review of Vectors vs. Scalars1m
- Introduction to Vectors7m
- Adding Vectors Graphically22m
- Vector Composition & Decomposition11m
- Adding Vectors by Components13m
- Trig Review24m
- Unit Vectors15m
- Introduction to Dot Product (Scalar Product)12m
- Calculating Dot Product Using Components12m
- Intro to Cross Product (Vector Product)23m
- Calculating Cross Product Using Components17m
- 4. 2D Kinematics1h 42m
- 5. Projectile Motion3h 6m
- 6. Intro to Forces (Dynamics)3h 22m
- 7. Friction, Inclines, Systems2h 44m
- 8. Centripetal Forces & Gravitation7h 26m
- Uniform Circular Motion7m
- Period and Frequency in Uniform Circular Motion20m
- Centripetal Forces15m
- Vertical Centripetal Forces10m
- Flat Curves9m
- Banked Curves10m
- Newton's Law of Gravity30m
- Gravitational Forces in 2D25m
- Acceleration Due to Gravity13m
- Satellite Motion: Intro5m
- Satellite Motion: Speed & Period35m
- Geosynchronous Orbits15m
- Overview of Kepler's Laws5m
- Kepler's First Law11m
- Kepler's Third Law16m
- Kepler's Third Law for Elliptical Orbits15m
- Gravitational Potential Energy21m
- Gravitational Potential Energy for Systems of Masses17m
- Escape Velocity21m
- Energy of Circular Orbits23m
- Energy of Elliptical Orbits36m
- Black Holes16m
- Gravitational Force Inside the Earth13m
- Mass Distribution with Calculus45m
- 9. Work & Energy1h 59m
- 10. Conservation of Energy2h 54m
- Intro to Energy Types3m
- Gravitational Potential Energy10m
- Intro to Conservation of Energy32m
- Energy with Non-Conservative Forces20m
- Springs & Elastic Potential Energy19m
- Solving Projectile Motion Using Energy13m
- Motion Along Curved Paths4m
- Rollercoaster Problems13m
- Pendulum Problems13m
- Energy in Connected Objects (Systems)24m
- Force & Potential Energy18m
- 11. Momentum & Impulse3h 40m
- Intro to Momentum11m
- Intro to Impulse14m
- Impulse with Variable Forces12m
- Intro to Conservation of Momentum17m
- Push-Away Problems19m
- Types of Collisions4m
- Completely Inelastic Collisions28m
- Adding Mass to a Moving System8m
- Collisions & Motion (Momentum & Energy)26m
- Ballistic Pendulum14m
- Collisions with Springs13m
- Elastic Collisions24m
- How to Identify the Type of Collision9m
- Intro to Center of Mass15m
- 12. Rotational Kinematics2h 59m
- 13. Rotational Inertia & Energy7h 4m
- More Conservation of Energy Problems54m
- Conservation of Energy in Rolling Motion45m
- Parallel Axis Theorem13m
- Intro to Moment of Inertia28m
- Moment of Inertia via Integration18m
- Moment of Inertia of Systems23m
- Moment of Inertia & Mass Distribution10m
- Intro to Rotational Kinetic Energy16m
- Energy of Rolling Motion18m
- Types of Motion & Energy24m
- Conservation of Energy with Rotation35m
- Torque with Kinematic Equations56m
- Rotational Dynamics with Two Motions50m
- Rotational Dynamics of Rolling Motion27m
- 14. Torque & Rotational Dynamics2h 5m
- 15. Rotational Equilibrium3h 39m
- 16. Angular Momentum3h 6m
- Opening/Closing Arms on Rotating Stool18m
- Conservation of Angular Momentum46m
- Angular Momentum & Newton's Second Law10m
- Intro to Angular Collisions15m
- Jumping Into/Out of Moving Disc23m
- Spinning on String of Variable Length20m
- Angular Collisions with Linear Motion8m
- Intro to Angular Momentum15m
- Angular Momentum of a Point Mass21m
- Angular Momentum of Objects in Linear Motion7m
- 17. Periodic Motion2h 9m
- 18. Waves & Sound3h 40m
- Intro to Waves11m
- Velocity of Transverse Waves21m
- Velocity of Longitudinal Waves11m
- Wave Functions31m
- Phase Constant14m
- Average Power of Waves on Strings10m
- Wave Intensity19m
- Sound Intensity13m
- Wave Interference8m
- Superposition of Wave Functions3m
- Standing Waves30m
- Standing Wave Functions14m
- Standing Sound Waves12m
- Beats8m
- The Doppler Effect7m
- 19. Fluid Mechanics2h 27m
- 20. Heat and Temperature3h 7m
- Temperature16m
- Linear Thermal Expansion14m
- Volume Thermal Expansion14m
- Moles and Avogadro's Number14m
- Specific Heat & Temperature Changes12m
- Latent Heat & Phase Changes16m
- Intro to Calorimetry21m
- Calorimetry with Temperature and Phase Changes15m
- Advanced Calorimetry: Equilibrium Temperature with Phase Changes9m
- Phase Diagrams, Triple Points and Critical Points6m
- Heat Transfer44m
- 21. Kinetic Theory of Ideal Gases1h 50m
- 22. The First Law of Thermodynamics1h 26m
- 23. The Second Law of Thermodynamics3h 11m
- 24. Electric Force & Field; Gauss' Law3h 42m
- 25. Electric Potential1h 51m
- 26. Capacitors & Dielectrics2h 2m
- 27. Resistors & DC Circuits3h 8m
- 28. Magnetic Fields and Forces2h 23m
- 29. Sources of Magnetic Field2h 30m
- Magnetic Field Produced by Moving Charges10m
- Magnetic Field Produced by Straight Currents27m
- Magnetic Force Between Parallel Currents12m
- Magnetic Force Between Two Moving Charges9m
- Magnetic Field Produced by Loops andSolenoids42m
- Toroidal Solenoids aka Toroids12m
- Biot-Savart Law (Calculus)18m
- Ampere's Law (Calculus)17m
- 30. Induction and Inductance3h 37m
- 31. Alternating Current2h 37m
- Alternating Voltages and Currents18m
- RMS Current and Voltage9m
- Phasors20m
- Resistors in AC Circuits9m
- Phasors for Resistors7m
- Capacitors in AC Circuits16m
- Phasors for Capacitors8m
- Inductors in AC Circuits13m
- Phasors for Inductors7m
- Impedance in AC Circuits18m
- Series LRC Circuits11m
- Resonance in Series LRC Circuits10m
- Power in AC Circuits5m
- 32. Electromagnetic Waves2h 14m
- 33. Geometric Optics2h 57m
- 34. Wave Optics1h 15m
- 35. Special Relativity2h 10m
3. Vectors
Intro to Cross Product (Vector Product)
Video duration:
4mPlay a video:
Related Videos
Related Practice
Intro to Cross Product (Vector Product) practice set
