Precalculus: Concepts Through Functions, A Unit Circle Approach to Trigonometry (3rd Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32193-104-1
ISBN 13: 978-0-32193-104-7

Chapter 8 - Polar Coordinates; Vectors - Section 8.7 The Cross Product - 8.7 Assess Your Understanding - Page 652: 62

Answer

See the proof below.

Work Step by Step

Our aim is to prove that $||u\times v||=||u||\ ||v||\sin{\theta}$ We know that $||u\times v||^2=||u||^2 \ ||v||^2 -(u \cdot v)^2$ and $u \cdot v =||u|| ||v|| \cos \theta $ Therefore, $||u \times v|| =\sqrt {||u \times v||^2}\\=\sqrt {||u|^2 ||v||^2 -(u \cdot v)^2}\\=\sqrt {||u||^2 \ ||v||^2 -||u||^2 ||v||^2 \cos^2 \theta}\\=\sqrt {||u||^2 ||v||^2 (1-\cos^2 \theta)}\\=\sqrt {||u||^2 ||v||^2 \sin^2 \theta)}\\=||u|| \ ||v|| \sin \theta$ Thus, the result has been proved.
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