If are mutually perpendicular vectors of equal magnitudes, show that the vector is equally inclined to and .
Let be three mutually perpendicular vectors of equal magnitude. We define a new vector . To show that is equally inclined to , we must prove that the angle between and each vector is the same.
Since the vectors are mutually perpendicular, their dot products are zero:
Also, let the equal magnitudes be . We first find the dot product of with :
Similarly, calculating for the other vectors, we get and . Next, we find the magnitude of the vector . We have:
Thus, .
Using the formula for the angle between two vectors,
we find the cosine of the angle between and . Let be the angle between and . Then,
Similarly, the cosines of the angles between and , and and are also . Since the cosine values are equal, the angles are equal.
∴ The vector is equally inclined to and .
Explanation
The solution relies on the properties of mutually perpendicular vectors (dot product is zero) and the formula for the angle between two vectors derived from the provided context. By calculating the dot product of the resultant vector with each individual vector and comparing their magnitudes, we establish that the cosine of the angles is identical, proving the vectors are equally inclined.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Define the resultant vector and state the given conditions: and .
Step 2: Calculate the dot product of with , , and . For example, . Similarly, and .
Step 3: Calculate the magnitude of : .
Step 4: Apply the angle formula for each vector .
Step 5: Show that is in all three cases, concluding that the angles are equal.