NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Maths Chapter 10 – Vector Algebra Miscellaneous Exercise
Page No 458:
Question 1:
Write down a unit vector in XY-plane, making an angle of 30° with the positive direction of x-axis.
Answer:
If
is a unit vector in the XY-plane, then 


Here, θ is the angle made by the unit vector with the positive direction of the x-axis.
Therefore, for θ = 30°:

Hence, the required unit vector is
.

Question 2:
Find the scalar components and magnitude of the vector joining the points

Answer:
The vector joining the points
can be obtained by,


Hence, the scalar components and the magnitude of the vector joining the given points are respectively
and
.


Question 3:
A girl walks 4 km towards west, then she walks 3 km in a direction 30° east of north and stops. Determine the girl’s displacement from her initial point of departure.
Answer:
Let O and B be the initial and final positions of the girl respectively.
Then, the girl’s position can be shown as:

Now, we have:

By the triangle law of vector addition, we have:

Hence, the girl’s displacement from her initial point of departure is

Question 4:
If
, then is it true that
? Justify your answer.


Answer:


Now, by the triangle law of vector addition, we have
.

It is clearly known that
represent the sides of ΔABC.

Also, it is known that the sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the third side.

Hence, it is not true that
.

Question 5:
Find the value of x for which
is a unit vector.

Answer:



Hence, the required value of x is
.

Question 6:
Find a vector of magnitude 5 units, and parallel to the resultant of the vectors

Answer:
We have,

Let
be the resultant of
.



Hence, the vector of magnitude 5 units and parallel to the resultant of vectors
is


Question 7:
If
, find a unit vector parallel to the vector
.


Answer:
We have,


Hence, the unit vector along
is


Question 8:
Show that the points A (1, –2, –8), B (5, 0, –2) and C (11, 3, 7) are collinear, and find the ratio in which B divides AC.
Answer:
The given points are A (1, –2, –8), B (5, 0, –2), and C (11, 3, 7).

Thus, the given points A, B, and C are collinear.
Now, let point B divide AC in the ratio
. Then, we have:


On equating the corresponding components, we get:

Hence, point B divides AC in the ratio

Question 9:
Find the position vector of a point R which divides the line joining two points P and Q whose position vectors are
externally in the ratio 1: 2. Also, show that P is the mid point of the line segment RQ.

Answer:
It is given that
.

It is given that point R divides a line segment joining two points P and Q externally in the ratio 1: 2. Then, on using the section formula, we get:

Therefore, the position vector of point R is
.

Position vector of the mid-point of RQ =


Hence, P is the mid-point of the line segment RQ.
Question 10:
The two adjacent sides of a parallelogram are
and
.


Find the unit vector parallel to its diagonal. Also, find its area.
Answer:
Adjacent sides of a parallelogram are given as:
and


Then, the diagonal of a parallelogram is given by
.


Thus, the unit vector parallel to the diagonal is





Hence, the area of the parallelogram is
square units.

Question 11:
Show that the direction cosines of a vector equally inclined to the axes OX, OY and OZ are
.

Answer:
Let a vector be equally inclined to axes OX, OY, and OZ at angle α.
Then, the direction cosines of the vector are cos α, cos α, and cos α.

Hence, the direction cosines of the vector which are equally inclined to the axes are
.

Question 12:
Let
and
. Find a vector
which is perpendicular to both
and
, and
.






Answer:
Let
.

Since
is perpendicular to both
and
, we have:




Also, it is given that:

On solving (i), (ii), and (iii), we get:

Hence, the required vector is
.

Question 13:
The scalar product of the vector
with a unit vector along the sum of vectors
and
is equal to one. Find the value of
.




Answer:

Therefore, unit vector along
is given as:


Scalar product of
with this unit vector is 1.


Hence, the value of λ is 1.
Question 14:
If
are mutually perpendicular vectors of equal magnitudes, show that the vector
is equally inclined to
and
.




Answer:
Since
are mutually perpendicular vectors, we have


It is given that:

Let vector
be inclined to
at angles
respectively.



Then, we have:

Now, as
,
.



Hence, the vector
is equally inclined to
.


Page No 459:
Question 15:
Prove that
, if and only if
are perpendicular, given
.



Answer:

Question 16:
If θ is the angle between two vectors
and
, then
only when



(A)
(B) 


(C)
(D) 


Answer:
Let θ be the angle between two vectors
and
.


Then, without loss of generality,
and
are non-zero vectors so that
.



It is known that
.


Hence,
when
.


The correct answer is B.
Question 17:
Let
and
be two unit vectors andθ is the angle between them. Then
is a unit vector if



(A)
(B)




Answer:
Let
and
be two unit vectors andθ be the angle between them.


Then,
.

Now,
is a unit vector if
.



Hence,
is a unit vector if
.


The correct answer is D.
Question 18:
The value of
is

(A) 0 (B) –1 (C) 1 (D) 3
Answer:

The correct answer is C.
Question 19:
If θ is the angle between any two vectors
and
, then
when θisequal to



(A) 0 (B)
(C)
(D) π


Answer:
Let θ be the angle between two vectors
and
.


Then, without loss of generality,
and
are non-zero vectors, so that
.




Hence,
when θisequal to
.


The correct answer is B.