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

1 Answer
Mar 18, 2018

The vector is <12, -24, -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,-3〉

Therefore,

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

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

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

=〈12,-24,-8〉=vecc

Verification by doing 2 dot products

〈12,-24,-8〉.〈4,5,-9〉=(12)*(4)+(-24)*(5)+(-8)*(-9)=0

〈12,-24,-8〉.〈4,3,-3〉=(12)*(4)+(-24)*(3)+(-8)*(-3)=0

So,

vecc is perpendicular to veca and vecb