vectors

[Vindhya]

Please guide me in solving this problem:Find 'n' in the unit vector 1/10(4 icap+8 jcap+n kcap). The answer at which I arrived is root 20 but the one given in the book is root 0.002 .Please tell me if I am correct and if i am wrong guide me in solving this problem.

Edited October 3, 2010 by Vindhya

[timo]

Your solution is correct. But note that:

- You might have misread the original question. Check that what you presented as a question is what actually is asked for.

- In the future, please add your calculation to your question. It helps the people to understand what you are doing and possibly point out errors in it. Also, the more information you provide, the more likely it is that someone helps you. Usually, it is far easier to go through someone's calculation than to first solve the problem, then compare to the result the person got, and then start guessing what might have gone wrong.

[Vindhya]

Your solution is correct. But note that:

- You might have misread the original question. Check that what you presented as a question is what actually is asked for.

- In the future, please add your calculation to your question. It helps the people to understand what you are doing and possibly point out errors in it. Also, the more information you provide, the more likely it is that someone helps you. Usually, it is far easier to go through someone's calculation than to first solve the problem, then compare to the result the person got, and then start guessing what might have gone wrong.

 

Thank you timo ,from next time onwards i will keep this in my mind .I checked the original question but that is same as the question i typed. I wanted to add my calculations but i didn't know how to type the root ,from next time i will add my calculations.

[timo]

Something that most people would understand is "sqrt(x)" to denote the square root of x. Of course, "root(x)" would also be understood. Since [math] \sqrt x = x^{1/2} [/math], "x^(1/2)" would be understood, too.

[the tree]

It's also helpful to use the forum's LaTeX feature. Click on the images to see how it's done.

 

[math]| \tfrac{1}{10}(4 \hat i + 8 \hat j + n \hat k) | = 1[/math]

 

[math]| \tfrac{1}{10}(4 \hat i + 8 \hat j + \sqrt {20} \hat k) | = 1 [/math]

Edited October 5, 2010 by the tree