JEE Main & Advanced Mathematics Vector Algebra Question Bank Scaler or Dot product of two vectors and its application

  • question_answer
    Let a, b and c be vectors with magnitudes 3, 4 and 5 respectively and a + b + c = 0, then the values of                 a.b + b.c + c.a  is           [IIT 1995; DCE 2001; AIEEE 2002; UPSEAT 2002; Kerala (Engg.) 2005]

    A)             47

    B)             25

    C)             50

    D)             ? 25

    Correct Answer: D

    Solution :

               \[\because \] \[\mathbf{a}+\mathbf{b}+\mathbf{c}=0\]                    Squaring both sides, we get            \[|\mathbf{a}{{|}^{2}}+|\mathbf{b}{{|}^{2}}+|\mathbf{c}{{|}^{2}}+\,2(\mathbf{a}\,.\,\mathbf{b}+\mathbf{b}\,.\,\mathbf{c}\,+\mathbf{c}\,.\,\mathbf{a})=0\]                    \[\Rightarrow 2(\mathbf{a}\,.\,\mathbf{b}+\mathbf{b}\,.\,\mathbf{c}+\mathbf{c}\,.\,\mathbf{a})=-\,(9+16+25)\]                                 \[\Rightarrow \,\mathbf{a}\,.\,\mathbf{b}+\mathbf{b}\,.\,\mathbf{c}+\mathbf{c}\,.\,\mathbf{a}=-25.\]


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