Vector Operations

vector operations, Extension of the laws of elementary algebra to vectors. They include addition, subtraction, and three types of multiplication. The sum of two vectors is a third vector, represented as the diagonal of the parallelogram constructed with the two original vectors as sides. When a vector is multiplied by a positive scalar (i.e., number), its magnitude is multiplied by the scalar and its direction remains unchanged (if the scalar is negative, the direction is reversed). The multiplication of a vector a by another vector b leads to the dot product, written a ∙ b, and the cross product, written a × b. The dot product, also called the scalar product, is a scalar real number equal to the product of the lengths of vectors a (|a|) and b (|b|) and the cosine of the angle (θ) between them: a ∙ b = |a| |b| cos θ. This equals zero if the two vectors are perpendicular (see orthogonality). The cross product, also called the vector product, is a third vector (c), perpendicular to the plane of the original vectors. The magnitude of c is equal to the product of the lengths of vectors a and b and the sine of the angle (θ) between them: |c| = |a| |b| sin θ. The associative law and commutative law hold for vector addition and the dot product. The cross product is associative but not commutative.