Concept understanding — Vector (Cross) Product of Vectors
The vector (cross) product combines two vectors to produce a third vector: A×B=(ABsinθ)n^, where θ is the angle between A and B, and n^ is perpendicular to the plane containing both, its sense fixed by the right-hand (screw) rule — curl the fingers from A toward B through the smaller angle; the thumb gives n^. It is not commutative: A×B=−(B×A). It is maximum (magnitude AB) when the vectors are perpendicular (θ=90°) and zero when they are parallel or anti-parallel (θ=0° or 180°); in particular A×A=0 always. For orthogonal unit vectors, i^×j^=k^, j^×k^=i^, k^×i^=j^ (and the reverse orderings give the negatives). In component form, using the determinant recipe,
Geometrically, if A and B are adjacent sides of a parallelogram, its area is ∣A×B∣, and a triangle with sides A,B has area 21∣A×B∣. Physically, every rotational quantity is built from a cross product: torque τ=r×F, angular momentum L=r×p, and linear velocity from angular velocity, v=ω×r.
The cross product of u and v is perpendicular to both; normalise it to unit length.
Its magnitude is 22+22+32=4+4+9=17. The two unit vectors perpendicular to both νˉ and vˉ are ±∣uˉ×vˉ∣uˉ×vˉ=±172i^+2j^+3k^.
✓Final answer
±172i^+2j^+3k^
Compute the cross product u x v (which is automatically perpendicular to both), find its magnitude, and divide by that magnitude to get the unit vector; take both signs since two opposite unit vectors are perpendicular to any given plane.
Reporting only one of the two unit vectors (forgetting the plus-or-minus), or a sign slip in expanding the 3x3 determinant.