Linear combination of vectors

Express a vector as a linear combination of given basis vectors, or find coefficients in such an expression by equating components.

10 questions · Moderate -0.4

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OCR MEI C4 Q2
5 marks Moderate -0.8
2 Vectors \(\mathbf { a }\) and \(\mathbf { b }\) are given by \(\mathbf { a } = 2 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k }\) and \(\mathbf { b } = 4 \mathbf { i } - 2 \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k }\).
Find constants \(\lambda\) and \(\mu\) such that \(\lambda \mathbf { a } + \mu \mathbf { b } = 4 \mathbf { j } - 3 \mathbf { k }\).
OCR MEI M1 2012 June Q3
3 marks Easy -1.3
3 The vectors \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) are given by $$\mathbf { P } = 5 \mathbf { i } + 4 \mathbf { j } , \quad \mathbf { Q } = 3 \mathbf { i } - 5 \mathbf { j } , \quad \mathbf { R } = - 8 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } .$$
  1. Find the vector \(\mathbf { P } + \mathbf { Q } + \mathbf { R }\).
  2. Interpret your answer to part (i) in the cases
    (A) \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) represent three forces acting on a particle,
    (B) \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) represent three stages of a hiker's walk.
OCR MEI Paper 1 2024 June Q4
4 marks Moderate -0.8
4 The vectors \(\mathbf { v } _ { 1 }\) and \(\mathbf { v } _ { 2 }\) are defined by \(\mathbf { v } _ { 1 } = 2 \mathrm { a } \mathbf { i } + \mathrm { bj }\) and \(\mathbf { v } _ { 2 } = b \mathbf { i } - 3 \mathbf { j }\) where \(a\) and \(b\) are constants. Given that \(3 \mathbf { v } _ { 1 } + \mathbf { v } _ { 2 } = 22 \mathbf { i } - 9 \mathbf { j }\), find the values of \(a\) and \(b\).
OCR MEI Paper 3 2020 November Q4
3 marks Standard +0.8
4 Fig. 4 shows the regular octagon ABCDEFGH . \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{a13f7a05-e2d3-4354-a0c7-ef7283eff514-05_689_696_301_239} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Fig. 4}
\end{figure} \(\overrightarrow { \mathrm { AB } } = \mathbf { i } , \overrightarrow { \mathrm { CD } } = \mathbf { j }\), where \(\mathbf { i }\) is a unit vector parallel to the \(x\)-axis and \(\mathbf { j }\) is a unit vector parallel to the \(y\)-axis. Find an exact expression for \(\overrightarrow { \mathrm { BC } }\) in terms of \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\).
Edexcel C4 Q5
12 marks Moderate -0.8

& \mathbf { r } = \left( \begin{array} { l } a
6
3 \end{array} \right)
Edexcel C4 Q7
15 marks Moderate -0.5
7
0
- 3 \end{array} \right) + \lambda \left( \begin{array} { c } 5
4
- 2 \end{array} \right)
& \mathbf { r } = \left( \begin{array} { l } a
6
3 \end{array} \right) + \mu \left( \begin{array} { c } - 5
OCR MEI M1 Q1
3 marks Easy -1.3
1 The vectors \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) are given by $$\mathbf { P } = 5 \mathbf { i } + 4 \mathbf { j } , \quad \mathbf { Q } = 3 \mathbf { i } - 5 \mathbf { j } , \quad \mathbf { R } = - 8 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j }$$
  1. Find the vector \(\mathbf { P } + \mathbf { Q } + \mathbf { R }\).
  2. Interpret your answer to part (i) in the cases
    (A) \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) represent three forces acting on a particle,
    (B) \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) represent three stages of a hiker's walk.
OCR MEI M1 Q2
3 marks Easy -1.3
2 The vectors \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) are given by $$\mathbf { P } = 5 \mathbf { i } + 4 \mathbf { j } , \quad \mathbf { Q } = 3 \mathbf { i } - 5 \mathbf { j } , \quad \mathbf { R } = - 8 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j }$$
  1. Find the vector \(\mathbf { P } + \mathbf { Q } + \mathbf { R }\).
  2. Interpret your answer to part (i) in the cases
    (A) \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) represent three forces acting on a particle,
    (B) \(\mathbf { P } , \mathbf { Q }\) and \(\mathbf { R }\) represent three stages of a hiker's walk.
Edexcel AEA 2024 June Q5
15 marks Challenging +1.8
5. \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{a8e9db6b-dfad-4278-82d8-a8fa5ba61008-14_300_1043_251_513} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 2}
\end{figure} Figure 2 shows a sketch of a hexagon \(O A B C D E\) where
-the interior angle at \(O\) and at \(C\) are each \(60 ^ { \circ }\) -the interior angle at each of the other vertices is \(150 ^ { \circ }\) -\(O A = O E = B C = C D\) -\(A B = E D = 3 \times O A\) Given that \(\overrightarrow { O A } = \mathbf { a }\) and \(\overrightarrow { O E } = \mathbf { e }\) determine as simplified expressions in terms of \(\mathbf { a }\) and \(\mathbf { e }\)
  1. \(\overrightarrow { A B }\)
  2. \(\overrightarrow { O D }\) The point \(R\) divides \(A B\) internally in the ratio \(1 : 2\)
  3. Determine \(\overrightarrow { R C }\) as a simplified expression in terms of \(\mathbf { a }\) and \(\mathbf { e }\) The line through the points \(R\) and \(C\) meets the line through the points \(O\) and \(D\) at the point \(X\) .
  4. Determine \(\overrightarrow { O X }\) in the form \(\lambda \mathbf { a } + \mu \mathbf { e }\) ,where \(\lambda\) and \(\mu\) are real values in simplest form.
OCR MEI C4 2013 June Q5
6 marks Standard +0.3
The points A, B and C have coordinates \(A(3, 2, -1)\), \(B(-1, 1, 2)\) and \(C(10, 5, -5)\), relative to the origin O. Show that \(\overrightarrow{OC}\) can be written in the form \(\lambda\overrightarrow{OA} + \mu\overrightarrow{OB}\), where \(\lambda\) and \(\mu\) are to be determined. What can you deduce about the points O, A, B and C from the fact that \(\overrightarrow{OC}\) can be expressed as a combination of \(\overrightarrow{OA}\) and \(\overrightarrow{OB}\)? [6]