zuai-logo
zuai-logo
  1. AP Calculus
FlashcardFlashcard
Study GuideStudy GuideQuestion BankQuestion Bank

What is a vector?

A quantity with both direction and magnitude.

Flip to see [answer/question]
Flip to see [answer/question]
Revise later
SpaceTo flip
If confident

All Flashcards

What is a vector?

A quantity with both direction and magnitude.

What is the magnitude of a vector?

The length of the vector.

What is a vector-valued function?

A function that returns a vector, often written as r(t)=<f(t),g(t)>r(t) = <f(t), g(t)>r(t)=<f(t),g(t)>.

What does the derivative of a vector-valued function represent?

The tangent vector to the curve at a given point, representing the velocity vector.

What is the tail of a vector?

The point at which the vector originates.

What is the head of a vector?

The final point of the vector, represented with an arrowhead.

What are the components of a vector?

The horizontal and vertical components that define the vector's direction and magnitude.

What is the notation for the magnitude of vector v?

‖𝑣‖

What is the derivative of a vector-valued function r(t)?

r'(t) = <f'(t), g'(t)> where r(t) = <f(t), g(t)>

What does the position vector describe?

A vector that represents the location of a point in space relative to an origin.

How to calculate the magnitude of a vector?

‖𝑣‖ = a2+b2\sqrt{a^2 + b^2}a2+b2​ where v=<a,b>v = <a, b>v=<a,b>.

How to calculate the direction of a vector?

tan(θ)=vertical componenthorizontal componenttan(θ)= \frac{\text{vertical component}}{\text{horizontal component}}tan(θ)=horizontal componentvertical component​

What is the formula for finding the derivative of r(t)=<f(t),g(t)>r(t) = <f(t), g(t)>r(t)=<f(t),g(t)>?

r′(t)=<f′(t),g′(t)>r'(t) = <f'(t), g'(t)>r′(t)=<f′(t),g′(t)>

How do you find the velocity vector given a position vector r(t)r(t)r(t)?

v(t)=r′(t)v(t) = r'(t)v(t)=r′(t)

What is the Pythagorean theorem?

a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2a2+b2=c2

How to find the horizontal component of a vector given magnitude and direction?

horizontal component = magnitude * cos(θ)

How to find the vertical component of a vector given magnitude and direction?

vertical component = magnitude * sin(θ)

How to find the unit vector?

u^=v⃗∣v⃗∣\hat{u} = \frac{\vec{v}}{|\vec{v}|}u^=∣v∣v​

How to calculate the dot product of two vectors?

a⃗⋅b⃗=∣a⃗∣∣b⃗∣cos(θ)\vec{a} \cdot \vec{b} = |\vec{a}||\vec{b}|cos(\theta)a⋅b=∣a∣∣b∣cos(θ)

How to calculate the angle between two vectors?

θ=cos−1(a⃗⋅b⃗∣a⃗∣∣b⃗∣)\theta = cos^{-1}(\frac{\vec{a} \cdot \vec{b}}{|\vec{a}||\vec{b}|})θ=cos−1(∣a∣∣b∣a⋅b​)

How to find r′(t)r'(t)r′(t) given r(t)=<4t2,7t7>r(t) = <4t^2, 7t^7>r(t)=<4t2,7t7>?

Step 1: Differentiate the horizontal component: d/dt(4t2)=8td/dt (4t^2) = 8td/dt(4t2)=8t. Step 2: Differentiate the vertical component: d/dt(7t7)=49t6d/dt (7t^7) = 49t^6d/dt(7t7)=49t6. Step 3: Combine the derivatives: r′(t)=<8t,49t6>r'(t) = <8t, 49t^6>r′(t)=<8t,49t6>.

How to find the velocity vector at a specific time ttt given the position vector r(t)r(t)r(t)?

Step 1: Find the derivative of the position vector, r′(t)r'(t)r′(t), which gives the velocity vector v(t)v(t)v(t). Step 2: Substitute the given time ttt into the velocity vector v(t)v(t)v(t) to find the velocity at that specific time.

How to find the tangent vector to a curve defined by a vector-valued function at a given point?

Step 1: Find the derivative of the vector-valued function, r′(t)r'(t)r′(t). Step 2: Evaluate r′(t)r'(t)r′(t) at the value of ttt corresponding to the given point. This gives the tangent vector at that point.

How to determine if two vector-valued functions are parallel at a given point?

Step 1: Find the derivatives of both vector-valued functions. Step 2: Evaluate the derivatives at the given point. Step 3: Check if one vector is a scalar multiple of the other. If so, they are parallel.

How to find the angle between two vector-valued functions at a given point?

Step 1: Find the derivatives of both vector-valued functions. Step 2: Evaluate the derivatives at the given point to obtain the tangent vectors. Step 3: Use the dot product formula to find the angle between the tangent vectors: cos⁡(θ)=a⃗⋅b⃗∣a⃗∣∣b⃗∣\cos(\theta) = \frac{\vec{a} \cdot \vec{b}}{|\vec{a}||\vec{b}|}cos(θ)=∣a∣∣b∣a⋅b​.

How to find the points where a vector-valued function has a horizontal tangent?

Step 1: Find the derivative of the vector-valued function, r′(t)=<f′(t),g′(t)>r'(t) = <f'(t), g'(t)>r′(t)=<f′(t),g′(t)>. Step 2: Set the vertical component of the derivative equal to zero, g′(t)=0g'(t) = 0g′(t)=0, and solve for ttt. Step 3: Substitute the values of ttt back into the original vector-valued function r(t)r(t)r(t) to find the corresponding points.

How to find the points where a vector-valued function has a vertical tangent?

Step 1: Find the derivative of the vector-valued function, r′(t)=<f′(t),g′(t)>r'(t) = <f'(t), g'(t)>r′(t)=<f′(t),g′(t)>. Step 2: Set the horizontal component of the derivative equal to zero, f′(t)=0f'(t) = 0f′(t)=0, and solve for ttt. Step 3: Substitute the values of ttt back into the original vector-valued function r(t)r(t)r(t) to find the corresponding points.

How to find the arc length of a curve defined by a vector-valued function over an interval [a,b][a, b][a,b]?

Step 1: Find the derivative of the vector-valued function, r′(t)r'(t)r′(t). Step 2: Find the magnitude of the derivative, ∣r′(t)∣|r'(t)|∣r′(t)∣. Step 3: Integrate the magnitude of the derivative over the interval [a,b][a, b][a,b]: ∫ab∣r′(t)∣dt\int_{a}^{b} |r'(t)| dt∫ab​∣r′(t)∣dt.

How to find the unit tangent vector to a curve defined by a vector-valued function?

Step 1: Find the derivative of the vector-valued function, r′(t)r'(t)r′(t). Step 2: Find the magnitude of the derivative, ∣r′(t)∣|r'(t)|∣r′(t)∣. Step 3: Divide the derivative by its magnitude to obtain the unit tangent vector: T(t)=r′(t)∣r′(t)∣T(t) = \frac{r'(t)}{|r'(t)|}T(t)=∣r′(t)∣r′(t)​.

How to find the acceleration vector at a specific time ttt given the position vector r(t)r(t)r(t)?

Step 1: Find the first derivative of the position vector, r′(t)r'(t)r′(t), which gives the velocity vector v(t)v(t)v(t). Step 2: Find the derivative of the velocity vector, v′(t)v'(t)v′(t), which gives the acceleration vector a(t)a(t)a(t). Step 3: Substitute the given time ttt into the acceleration vector a(t)a(t)a(t) to find the acceleration at that specific time.