Q.Find the area of a triangle having the points A(1,1,1), B(1,2,3) and C(2,3,1) as its vertices.
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🔒 Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Concept understanding — Cross Product Area
Area from the Cross Product
The cross product a×b of two vectors in 3D is itself a vector, and the most useful thing about its magnitude is that it measures area.
Place the two vectors tail-to-tail. They span a parallelogram. The magnitude of their cross product is exactly the area of that parallelogram:
Area of parallelogram=∣a×b∣=∣a∣∣b∣sinθ
where θ is the angle between them.
Why sine, not cosine
The area of a parallelogram is base × height. Take ∣a∣ as the base. The height is the part of b perpendicular to a, namely ∣b∣sinθ. Multiplying gives ∣a∣∣b∣sinθ — precisely ∣a×b∣. The dot product uses cosθ (overlap along); the cross product uses sinθ (spread across), and "across" is what builds area.
Area of a triangle
A triangle with adjacent sides a and b is half that parallelogram:
Area of triangle=21∣a×b∣
For a triangle with vertices A,B,C, take a=AB and b=AC.
A quick example
For a=i^+2j^ and b=3i^+j^,
a×b=i^13j^21k^00=(1⋅1−2⋅3)k^=−5k^. …
Key idea: the area of a triangle equals half the magnitude of the cross product of two sides from a common vertex.
Step 1 — Side vectors from A.
AB=B−A=(0,1,2),AC=C−A=(1,2,0).
Step 2 — Cross product.
AB×AC=i^01j^12k^20=i^(0−4)−j^(0−2)+k^(0−1)=−4i^+2j^−k^. …
Taking AB=(0,1,2) and AC=(1,2,0), their cross product is (−4,2,−1) of length 21, so the triangle's area is 221 square units.
The magnitude ∣u×v∣ equals the area of the parallelogram spanned by u and v. A triangle is exactly half of that parallelogram, so its area is 21∣u×v∣ where u and v are two sides sharing a vertex.
1. Choose two sides from the same vertex
Take A(1,1,1) as the common vertex:
AB=B−A=(1−1, 2−1, 3−1)=(0,1,2),
AC=C−A=(2−1, 3−1, 1−1)=(1,2,0).
2. Cross the two side vectors
AB×AC=i^01j^12k^20.
Expanding along the top row:
- i^: 1⋅0−2⋅2=−4
- j^: −(0⋅0−2⋅1)=−(−2)=2
- k^: 0⋅2−1⋅1=−1
So
AB×AC=−4i^+2j^−k^.
3. Magnitude, then halve it …
Method: Area of a triangle from its vertices using vectors
The magnitude of a cross product is a parallelogram's area, and a triangle is half of it. So build two side-vectors from one vertex, cross them, and halve.
Steps
Step 1: Make two side vectors from a common vertex
Pick any vertex (say A) and form AB=B−A and AC=C−A by subtracting coordinates. Both vectors must start at the same vertex.
Step 2: Cross the two side vectors
AB×AC=i^(AB)1(AC)1j^(AB)2(AC)2k^(AB)3(AC)3. …
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Forgetting the factor 21.
Why it's wrong: ∣AB×AC∣ is the area of the parallelogram on those sides; the triangle is only half of it. Correct approach: always multiply the cross-product magnitude by 21 for a triangle.
Mistake 2: Using two sides that do not share a vertex.
Why it's wrong: vectors like AB and BC (or a mix that doesn't start from one common point) do not span the triangle correctly and give a wrong area. Correct approach: take both side vectors from the same vertex, e.g. AB and AC. …
Showing the 12 most recent of 15 on this concept.
- GUJCET 2026Set x1 markMCQQ.The area of the triangle with vertices A(1,1,2), B(2,3,5) and C(1,5,5) is ______ (A) 43 (B) 243 (C) 61 (D) 261
›Reveal solutionSolution
Area =21∣AB×AC∣=261.
Form two edge vectors:
AB=(1,2,3),AC=(0,4,3)
Cross product:
AB×AC=(2⋅3−3⋅4,−(1⋅3−3⋅0),1⋅4−2⋅0)=(−6,−3,4)
Magnitude: …
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If the position vectors of points A and B from the origin are a=2i^−3j^+2k^ and b=2i^+3j^+k^ respectively, then the area of triangle OAB= ____.(a) 229(b) 157(c) 21229(d) 21157
›Reveal solutionSolution
Area of △OAB=21∣a×b∣.
a×b=i^22j^−33k^21=i^(−3−6)−j^(2−4)+k^(6+6)=−9i^+2j^+12k^.
…
- GUJCET 2025Set 031 markMCQQ.Area of a rectangle having vertices A, B, C and D with position vectors −i^+21j^+4k^, i^+21j^+4k^, i^−21j^+4k^ and −i^−21j^+4k^, respectively is _____. (A) 4 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 21
›Reveal solutionSolution
[!TLDR]
The emf is maximum at t=2ωπ.
Concept
In an AC generator the induced emf is sinusoidal: ε=ε0sin(ωt+ϕ). The condition ε=0 at t=0 fixes the phase ϕ=0, so ε=ε0sin(ωt).
Solution …
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The area of the triangle with vertices A(1,1,2), B(2,3,5) and C(1,5,5) = ____.(a) 241(b) 261(c) 251(d) 271
›Reveal solutionSolution
Area of a triangle with vertices A,B,C is 21∣AB×AC∣.
AB=(1,2,3), AC=(0,4,3).
AB×AC=i^10j^24k^33=i^(6−12)−j^(3−0)+k^(4−0)=−6i^−3j^+4k^.
…
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If a=i^−7j^+7k^ and b=3i^−2j^+2k^, then ∣a×b∣ = ____.(a) 192(b) 0(c) 19(d) 38
›Reveal solutionSolution
Compute the cross product directly and take its magnitude.
a×b=i^13j^−7−2k^72=i^(−14+14)−j^(2−21)+k^(−2+21)=0i^+19j^+19k^.
…
- GUJCET 2024Set 131 markMCQQ.The area of a parallelogram, whose adjacent sides are given by the vectors a=2i^+3j^+4k^ and b=−j^−2k^, is __________. (A) 23 (B) 6 (C) 24 (D) 26
›Reveal solutionSolution
Parallelogram area =∣a×b∣.
Steps. a=(2,3,4), b=(0,−1,−2).
a×b=(3(−2)−4(−1),−(2(−2)−4⋅0),2(−1)−3⋅0)=(−2,4,−2). …
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The area of a parallelogram whose adjacent sides are a=j^+2k^ and b=i^+2j^ is ______.(a) 221(b) 42(c) 21(d) 2121
›Reveal solutionSolution
The area of a parallelogram equals ∣a×b∣.
a×b=i^01j^12k^20=i^(0−4)−j^(0−2)+k^(0−1)=−4i^+2j^−k^.
…
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.For the vectors a and b, ∣a∣=32, ∣b∣=3 and ∣a×b∣=1, then the angle between a and b is ______.(a) 6π(b) 4π(c) 3π(d) 2π
›Reveal solutionSolution
Use ∣a×b∣=∣a∣∣b∣sinθ.
…
- GUJCET 2022Set 081 markMCQQ.The area of a triangle having the points A(1,1,1), B(1,2,3) and C(2,3,1) as its vertices is ______. (A) 219 (B) 221 (C) 219 (D) 221
›Reveal solutionSolution
Triangle area from vertices = ½ of the magnitude of the cross product of two edge vectors.
Concept. Area=21AB×AC.
Solution. AB=(0,1,2), AC=(1,2,0).
AB×AC=(1⋅0−2⋅2,2⋅1−0⋅0,0⋅2−1⋅1)=(−4,2,−1) …
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2022Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The area of a parallelogram whose adjacent sides are given by the vectors a=3i^+j^+4k^ and b=i^−j^+k^ is ___.(a) 21(b) 42(c) 42(d) 21
›Reveal solutionSolution
The area of the parallelogram is ∣a×b∣.
…
- GUJCET 2021Set 151 markMCQQ.The area of parallelogram whose adjacent sides are determined by the vectors a=i^−j^+3k^ and b=2i^−7j^+k^ is (A) 152 (B) 15 (C) 215 (D) 215
›Reveal solutionSolution
Parallelogram area = |axb|.
Concept. a×b=(a2b3−a3b2, a3b1−a1b3, a1b2−a2b1).
Solution. a=(1,−1,3), b=(2,−7,1):
a×b=(−1+21, 6−1, −7+2)=(20,5,−5). …
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2020Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Find the area of a parallelogram whose adjacent sides are given by the vectors a=3^+5^−2k^ and b=2^+^+3k^.(a) 507(b) 387(c) 21507(d) 25
›Reveal solutionSolution
Compute the cross product a×b, then its magnitude gives the parallelogram area directly.
a=3^+5^−2k^, b=2^+^+3k^.
…
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