What is the cross product of <4 , 5 ,-9 > and <4, 3 ,0 >?

2 Answers
Apr 8, 2018

The vector is =〈27,-36,-8〉

Explanation:

The cross product of 2 vectors is calculated with the determinant

| (veci,vecj,veck), (d,e,f), (g,h,i) |

where veca=〈d,e,f〉 and vecb=〈g,h,i〉 are the 2 vectors

Here, we have veca=〈4,5,-9〉 and vecb=〈4,3,0〉

Therefore,

| (veci,vecj,veck), (4,5,-9), (4,3,0) |

=veci| (5,-9), (3,0) | -vecj| (4,-9), (4,0) | +veck| (4,5), (4,3) |

=veci((5)*(0)-(-9)*(3))-vecj((4)*(0)-(4)*(-9))+veck((4)*(3)-(4)*(5))

=〈27,-36,-8〉=vecc

Verification by doing 2 dot products

〈27,-36,-8〉.〈4,5,-9〉=(27)*(4)+(-36)*(5)+(-8)*(-9)=0

〈27,-36,-8〉.〈4,3,0〉=(27)*(4)+(-36)*(3)+(-8)*(0)=0

So,

vecc is perpendicular to veca and vecb

Apr 8, 2018

<27, -36, -8>

Explanation:

The easiest way to compute is to make a matrix whose determinant is the cross product.

M = [ (hat i, hat j , hat k), (v_(1x), v_(1y), v_(1z)), (v_(2x), v_(2y), v_(2z)) ]

For our vectors we have:

=> v_1 = <4,5,-9>
=> v_2 = <4,3,0>

Hence, we have:

M =[ (hat i, hat j , hat k), (4, 5, -9), (4, 3, 0) ]

Now we just need to take the determinant of this matrix to get the cross product.

v_1 ox v_2 = "det"(M)

= (5*0-(-9)*3)hat i + ((-9)*4-(4)*0)hat j+ (4*3-(5)*4)hat k

= (27) hat i + (-36)hat j + (-8)hat k

= 27hat i -36hat j - 8hat k

Hence:

v_1 ox v_2 = <27, -36, -8>