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II. Short Answer Questions · Q4

Q.Write a short note on the scalar product between two vectors.

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Step 1. The scalar (dot) product of two vectors A⃗\vec A and B⃗\vec B, inclined at angle θ\theta, is defined as A⃗⋅B⃗=ABcos⁡θ\vec A\cdot\vec B = AB\cos\theta — a plain number, not a vector.

Step 2. It is commutative (A⃗⋅B⃗=B⃗⋅A⃗\vec A\cdot\vec B=\vec B\cdot\vec A) and distributive over addition, and its self-product gives the magnitude squared: A⃗⋅A⃗=A2\vec A\cdot\vec A=A^2.

Step 3. In component form, A⃗⋅B⃗=AxBx+AyBy+AzBz\vec A\cdot\vec B=A_xB_x+A_yB_y+A_zB_z, using i^⋅i^=j^⋅j^=k^⋅k^=1\hat i\cdot\hat i=\hat j\cdot\hat j=\hat k\cdot\hat k=1 and i^⋅j^=j^⋅k^=k^⋅i^=0\hat i\cdot\hat j=\hat j\cdot\hat k=\hat k\cdot\hat i=0. …

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