Calculus (3rd Edition)

Published by W. H. Freeman
ISBN 10: 1464125260
ISBN 13: 978-1-46412-526-3

Chapter 13 - Vector Geometry - 13.4 The Cross Product - Exercises - Page 677: 26

Answer

Only (b) $\left\{ {{\bf{w}},{\bf{v}},{\bf{u}}} \right\}$ and (c) $\left\{ {{\bf{v}},{\bf{u}},{\bf{w}}} \right\}$ form a right-handed system.

Work Step by Step

Recall that three vectors $\left\{ {{\bf{a}},{\bf{b}},{\bf{c}}} \right\}$ forms a right-handed system if the direction of ${\bf{c}}$ is determined by the right-hand rule, that is, when the fingers of your right hand curl from ${\bf{a}}$ to ${\bf{b}}$, your thumb points to the direction of ${\bf{c}}$. Refer to Figure 17 and using the right-hand rule: only (b) $\left\{ {{\bf{w}},{\bf{v}},{\bf{u}}} \right\}$ and (c) $\left\{ {{\bf{v}},{\bf{u}},{\bf{w}}} \right\}$ form a right-handed system.
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