Vectors in 3 Dimensions (A Level only) (OCR A Level Maths: Pure)

Exam Questions

3 hours33 questions
1
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3 marks

The coordinates of two points A and B are open parentheses 3 comma space minus 4 comma space 2 close parentheses and open parentheses space minus 5 comma space 2 comma space minus 8 space close parenthesesrespectively.
Find the distance from A to B giving your answer in the form a square root of b, where a and b are integers to be found.

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2
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4 marks

In the triangle ABCstack A B with rightwards arrow on top equals bold i plus 4 bold j minus 2 k  and  stack A C with rightwards arrow on top equals 6 bold i minus 2 bold j plus 8 k.

scAfNotO_q9-11-1-vectors-in-2-dimensions-easy-a-level-maths-pure

(i)
Find the vector stack B C with rightwards arrow on top.

(ii)
Hence, or otherwise, find the distance BC, giving your answer to three significant figures.

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3a
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3 marks

Point P has coordinatesopen parentheses space 2 comma space minus 1 comma space minus 5 space close parenthesesand point Q has coordinatesspace open parentheses negative 6 comma space minus 12 comma space 11 close parentheses.

(i)
Find the vector stack P Q with rightwards arrow on top.

(ii)
Find the distance PQ.
3b
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2 marks

Find the unit vector in the direction of stack P Q with rightwards arrow on top.

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4a
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1 mark

Point A has coordinates open parentheses negative 3 comma space 4 comma space 9 close parentheses.
The vector space stack A B with rightwards arrow on top equals open parentheses table row 4 row cell negative 5 end cell row 2 end table close parentheses space, and the vector stack C D with rightwards arrow on top equals open parentheses table row cell negative 2 space end cell row cell 2.5 end cell row cell negative 1 end cell end table close parentheses .

Find the coordinates of the point B.

4b
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2 marks

State, with a reason, whether or not the vectors stack A B with rightwards arrow on top and space stack C D with rightwards arrow on top spaceare parallel.

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5
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4 marks

The triangle P Q R has vertices P open parentheses 4 comma space minus 3 comma space 12 close parentheses comma space Q open parentheses 3 comma space minus 7 comma space 9 close parentheses and R open parentheses 7 comma space minus 9 comma space 15 close parentheses.

Find the distances P Q comma space P R and Q R and thus determine whether triangle P Q R is scalene, isosceles or equilateral.

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6
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4 marks

Vectors p and q are defined by

bold p equals 14 bold i plus left parenthesis a plus b right parenthesis bold j plus left parenthesis c minus b plus 1 right parenthesis bold k

bold q equals a bold i plus 6 bold j minus 4 bold k

Given that p = 2q, find the values of a, b and c.

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7a
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3 marks

A particle of mass 0.5 kg is acted upon by a force of open parentheses 3 bold i minus 5 bold j minus 2 bold k close parentheses space bold N. space

Use Newton’s Second Law of Motion to find:

(i)
the acceleration of the particle while the force acts,
(ii)
the magnitude of the acceleration to 3 significant figures.
7b
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2 marks

A second force now acts on the particle such that the resultant of the two forces
is open parentheses 4 bold i plus 2 bold k space close parentheses bold N.


Find the second force in the form open parentheses x bold i plus y bold j plus z bold k close parentheses space bold N.

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8a
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3 marks

Two forces act upon a particle with a mass of 10 kg:

table row cell space space bold F subscript 1 end cell equals cell open parentheses 2 bold i plus p bold j minus 8 bold k close parentheses space bold N end cell row cell bold F subscript bold 2 end cell equals cell open parentheses straight q bold i plus 3 straight q bold j plus left parenthesis straight p minus straight q right parenthesis bold k close parentheses bold space bold N end cell end table

Under the action of these two forces, the particle is in equilibrium.

(i)
Find the values of p, q.

(ii)
Explain how you can verify your answer to part (i).
8b
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5 marks

A third force, bold F subscript 3 equals open parentheses p bold i plus q bold j plus p q bold k close parentheses space straight N, is applied to the particle.

Work out:

(i)
the resultant force R now acting on the particle,
(ii)
the acceleration of the particle under the action of R,
(iii)
the magnitude of the acceleration under the action of R, giving your answer to three significant figures.

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9a
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2 marks

The diagram below shows a cube whose vertices are O, A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

MViXq8lR_q9-11-1-vectors-in-2-dimensions-easy-a-level-maths-pure

a, b and c are the vectors stack O A with rightwards arrow on top comma space stack O B with rightwards arrow on top and stack O C with rightwards arrow on top respectively.

Find vectors space stack O F space with rightwards arrow on topand stack O G with rightwards arrow on top.

9b
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3 marks
(i)
Explain why vector stack G E with rightwards arrow on top equals bold a.

(ii)
Show that stack O F with rightwards arrow on top plus stack F E with rightwards arrow on top equals stack O G with rightwards arrow on top plus stack G E with rightwards arrow on top and thus, state the vector stack O E with rightwards arrow on top.

9c
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3 marks

A has the coordinates (5, 0, 0).
Find the exact distance of OE.

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1
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3 marks

The coordinates of points A and B are open parentheses negative 2 comma space 5 comma space minus 7 close parentheses and open parentheses negative 7 comma space k comma space 3 close parentheses respectively.  Given that the distance from A to B is 5 square root of 14 units, find the possible values of k.

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2
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5 marks

In the triangle ABCstack A B with rightwards arrow on top equals negative 2 bold i plus 3 bold j minus bold k space and  stack A C with rightwards arrow on top equals negative 5 bold i minus 4 bold j minus 7 bold k.

q1-11-1-vectors-in-2-dimensions-hard-a-level-maths-pureShow that angle B A C equals 81.9 degree to 1 d.p.

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3a
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3 marks

Point R has coordinates open parentheses negative 1 comma space 5 comma space 14 close parentheses and point S has coordinatesspace open parentheses 7 comma space minus 2 comma space 12 close parentheses.

Find:

(i)
the vector stack R S with rightwards arrow on top,
(ii)
the unit vector in the direction of stack R S with rightwards arrow on top.
3b
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2 marks

Find the angle stack R S with rightwards arrow on top makes with the positive y-axis.

3c
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2 marks

The vector  stack T U with rightwards arrow on top equals negative 24 bold i plus 21 bold j plus 6 bold k.

Explain, giving a reason for your answer, whether the vectors stack R S with italic rightwards arrow on top and stack T U with rightwards arrow on top are parallel.

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4
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4 marks

The triangle PQR has vertices P open parentheses 12 comma space 3 comma space minus 3 close parentheses, space Q open parentheses 7 comma space minus 8 comma space k space close parenthesesand R open parentheses 3 comma space 3 comma space minus 12 close parentheses.  Given that P Q R is an equilateral triangle, find the value of k.

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5
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3 marks

Vectors a and b are defined by 

table row cell space bold a end cell equals cell negative 12 bold i minus 7 bold j plus 15 bold k bold space space end cell row bold b equals cell 4 p bold i plus open parentheses p q r plus 2 q r minus p close parentheses bold j minus p q bold k space end cell end table

Given that bold a equals bold b, find the values of p, q and r.

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6a
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3 marks

A particle of mass 0.4 kg is acted upon by a force of open parentheses negative 2 bold i plus 6 bold j plus 10 bold k close parentheses space straight N

Find:

(i)
the acceleration of the particle while the force acts,
(ii)
the magnitude of the acceleration to 3 s.f.

6b
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4 marks

A second force with a magnitude of 10 square root of 3 space straight N now acts on the particle. The resultant of the two forces is parallel to the vector j and has a magnitude of 8 N.

Find this second force, giving your answer in the form open parentheses x bold i plus y bold j plus z bold k close parentheses space straight N.

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7a
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2 marks

Three forces act upon a particle with a mass of 5 kg:

table row cell space bold space bold F subscript 1 end cell equals cell open parentheses 3 bold i minus 7 bold j plus straight p bold k close parentheses space straight N space end cell row cell space bold F subscript 2 end cell equals cell open parentheses straight q bold i plus 3 bold j minus bold k space close parentheses straight N space space end cell row cell bold F subscript 3 end cell equals cell open parentheses negative 2 bold i plus straight r bold j minus 5 bold k close parentheses straight N end cell end table

Under the action of those three forces, the particle is in equilibrium.

Find the values of p, q and r.

7b
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5 marks

The third force is doubled, so that the three forces now acting on the particle are F1, F2 and 2F3

Work out:

(i)
the resultant force R now acting on the particle.
(ii)
the acceleration of the particle under the action of R.
(iii)
the magnitude of the acceleration found in (ii), giving your answer as an exact value.

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8a
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2 marks

The diagram below shows a cube whose vertices are O, A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

q9-11-1-vectors-in-2-dimensions-easy-a-level-maths-pure

a, b and c are the vectors stack O A with rightwards arrow on top comma space stack O B with rightwards arrow on top and stack O C with rightwards arrow on top respectively.

Find vectors stack O E with rightwards arrow on top and stack A G with rightwards arrow on top.

8b
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2 marks

Let P be a point on OE, and let Q be a point on AG.

Explain why the vectors stack O P with rightwards arrow on top and stack O Q with rightwards arrow on top can be expressed in the forms 

table row cell stack O P with rightwards arrow on top end cell equals cell lambda stack O E space with rightwards arrow on top space end cell row cell stack O Q with rightwards arrow on top end cell equals cell bold a plus mu stack A G with rightwards arrow on top end cell end table

where lambda and mu  are constants with 0 less or equal than lambda less or equal than 1 and 0 less or equal than mu less or equal than 1 

8c
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4 marks

By solving the equation stack O P with rightwards arrow on top equals stack O Q with rightwards arrow on top, using your results from (a) and (b), show that the diagonals OE and AG intersect each other, and determine the ratios into which they are cut by the point of intersection.

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1
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3 marks

The coordinates of points A and B are open parentheses negative 1 comma space 3 comma space 14 space close parenthesesand open parentheses 2 k comma space 3 k comma space 13 close parentheses respectively. Given that the distance from A to B is space square root of 163 space end rootunits, and that k is an integer, find the value of k.

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2a
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5 marks

In the triangle ABCstack A B with rightwards arrow on top equals 7 bold i plus bold j minus bold k space and  stack A C with rightwards arrow on top equals negative 2 bold i plus 5 bold k.

 

7R8LyPS9_q1-11-1-vectors-in-2-dimensions-hard-a-level-maths-pure

Show that angle B A C equals 119.6 degree to 1 d.p.

2b
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2 marks

Hence find the area of triangle ABC, giving your area to 3 s.f.

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3a
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3 marks

Point R has position vectorbold space bold i plus 6 bold j minus 2 bold k bold spaceand point S has position vector 10 bold i plus 13 bold k.

Find the unit vector in the direction of stack R S with rightwards arrow on top.

3b
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2 marks

Find the angle stack R S with rightwards arrow on top makes with the negative z-axis.

3c
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2 marks

The vector stack space T U with rightwards arrow on top equals negative 12 bold i plus 8 bold j minus 20 bold k.

Explain, giving a reason for your answer, whether the vectors stack R S with rightwards arrow on top andspace stack T U space with rightwards arrow on top are parallel.

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4
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4 marks

The triangle PQR has vertices P open parentheses 2 comma space minus 3 comma space 1 close parentheses, space Q open parentheses negative 1 comma space minus 4 comma space 3 space close parenthesesand R open parentheses k comma space 0 comma space 3 close parentheses.  Given that PQR is isosceles, and that k greater than 1, find the value of k.

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5
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4 marks

Vectors a and b are defined by 

bold a equals open parentheses p plus 1 close parentheses bold i minus 7 bold j plus open parentheses q minus 3 p close parentheses bold k space space
bold b equals 5 bold i plus open parentheses 14 q plus r close parentheses bold j plus open parentheses 1 minus 2 r close parentheses bold k  

Given that bold a equals bold b, find the values of p, q and r.

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6a
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3 marks

A particle of mass 0.5 kg is acted upon by a force ofspace open parentheses 12 bold i minus 4 bold j plus p bold k close parentheses space straight N

Given that the magnitude of the acceleration experienced by the particle under the influence of this force is 26 m s-2, find the possible values of p.

6b
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2 marks

An additional second force with a magnitude of qk N now acts on the particle, where  q less than 0.   Under the influence of the resultant of the two forces, the particle now experiences an acceleration of magnitude 8 square root of 10 space end root straight m space straight s to the power of negative 2 end exponent.

Explain why this additional information shows that p greater than 0.

6c
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3 marks

Hence find the value of q.

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7a
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4 marks

Three forces act upon a particle with a mass of 5 kg:

table row cell space bold space bold F subscript 1 end cell equals cell open parentheses r bold i plus 5 bold j plus open parentheses r minus p close parentheses bold k close parentheses space straight N space space end cell row cell bold F subscript 2 end cell equals cell open parentheses open parentheses p plus q close parentheses bold i minus 3 p bold j plus 7 bold k close parentheses space straight N space space end cell row cell bold F subscript 3 end cell equals cell open parentheses negative bold i plus r bold j minus 2 q bold k close parentheses space straight N end cell end table

Under the action of those three forces, the particle is in equilibrium.

Find the values of p, q and r.

7b
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5 marks

A new force, F4, is added.  Under the combined action of the four forces, the particle experiences an acceleration with a magnitude of  2.2 m s-2, in the same direction as the vectorbold space bold italic i minus bold j plus 3 bold k.

Find F4, giving your answer in the form x bold i plus y bold j plus z bold k where x, y and z are given as exact values.  Be sure to include the correct units in your answer.

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8
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9 marks

The diagram below shows a cube whose vertices are O, A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

q9-11-1-vectors-in-2-dimensions-easy-a-level-maths-pure

a, b and c are the vectors stack O A with rightwards arrow on top comma space stack O B with rightwards arrow on top andspace stack O C with rightwards arrow on top spacerespectively.

Using vector methods, prove that the diagonals CD and BF bisect each other.

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1
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3 marks

The coordinates of points A and B areopen parentheses space 5 comma space 0 comma space minus 1 space close parenthesesand open parentheses k comma space minus 2 comma space 3 k close parentheses respectively. Given that the distance from A to B is 6 square root of k units, and that point B lies at a distance of square root of 14 units from the origin, find the value of k.

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2
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8 marks

In the parallelogram ABCD, AB is parallel to CD, and BC is parallel to AD.

q2-11-2-vectors-in-3-dimensions-vh-a-level-maths-pure

Given that stack A B with rightwards arrow on top equals 3 bold i minus bold j minus 2 bold k  and  stack A D with rightwards arrow on top equals 7 bold i minus bold j plus 4 bold k,  find the area of the parallelogram.  Give your answer correct to 3 s.f.

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3a
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5 marks

The vector stack R S with rightwards arrow on top equals x bold i minus 9 bold j plus 3 bold k makes an angle with the positive x-axis.

Show that x squared equals fraction numerator 90 over denominator tan squared theta end fraction.

3b
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4 marks

Given that theta is acute and that cos space theta equals 4 over 5 , find a unit vector in the direction of stack R S with rightwards arrow on top.

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4
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6 marks

A, B, C and D are the vertices of a regular tetrahedron.

q4-11-2-vectors-in-3-dimensions-vh-a-level-maths-pure

The coordinates of points A comma space B comma space C and D are open parentheses 1 comma space 1 comma space 1 close parentheses, open parentheses negative 8 comma space 10 comma space 1 close parentheses, open parentheses negative 3 comma space 6 comma space minus 10 close parentheses and open parentheses negative 2 k comma space 13 comma space k close parentheses respectively.  Find the coordinates of point D.

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5
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5 marks

Vectors a and b are defined by 

table row cell space bold a end cell equals cell p q bold i minus 24 bold j plus 9 r bold k space space end cell row bold b equals cell 6 bold i plus p minus r bold j plus p minus 3 q bold k space end cell end table

Given that bold a equals 3 bold b, and that r greater than 0, find the values of p, q and r.

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6a
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3 marks

A particle of mass 0.2 kg is acted upon by a force of open parentheses negative 3 bold i plus p bold j plus 4 bold k close parentheses space straight N

Given that the magnitude of the acceleration experienced by the particle under the influence of this force is 65 m s-2, find the possible values of p.

6b
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5 marks

An additional second force with a magnitude of qj N now acts on the particle, where  q greater than 0.   Under the influence of the resultant of the two forces, the particle now experiences an acceleration of magnitude fraction numerator 5 square root of 221 over denominator 2 end fraction space straight m space straight s to the power of negative 2 end exponent.

Find the possible values of q.

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7a
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5 marks

For this question, the unit vectors i and j point in the directions east and north respectively, while the unit vector k points vertically upwards.

A robotic submarine has a mass of 750 kg and is originally moving in a level direction such that the k component of its velocity is zero. In addition to gravity, the forces acting on the submarine are the combined thrust and lift T from its propeller and manoeuvring planes, its buoyancy B, and the water resistance W.  These forces, in newtons, are given by:

table row bold T equals cell 600 bold i minus 750 bold j minus 120 bold k bold space bold space end cell row bold B equals cell 7360 bold k space space end cell row bold W equals cell negative 500 bold i plus 600 bold j plus 50 bold k end cell end table

Taking the acceleration due to gravity to be g equals 9.8 spacems-2, find the magnitude of the acceleration of the submarine.  Give your answer accurate to 3 s.f.

7b
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3 marks

Determine whether the submarine is rising or sinking in the water and determine the angle its acceleration makes with the vector k.  Give your answer accurate to 1 d.p.

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8
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11 marks

The diagram below shows a cuboid whose vertices are O, A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

q8-11-2-vectors-in-3-dimensions-vh-a-level-maths-pure

P is a point on the diagonal OE that divides OE in the ratio a space colon space b, where a greater than b.

 

Show that if line segment BP is extended it will intersect FE, and show that FE is divided in the ratio open parentheses a minus b close parentheses space colon space b by the point of intersection.

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