Where to use dot product?and cross product? What does it mean?

Dear Student ,
The dot product, also called the scalar product, of two vectors is a number (scalar quantity) obtained by performing a specific operation on the vector components.

Mathematically it is defined as,

Where θ is the angle between the two vectors.

Example:

Suppose a force of 10 N along east displaces a body of mass 5 kg towards North-east by 10 m. What would be the work done?

Solution:

The cross product is the vector product of two vectors. The cross product of two vectors is always perpendicular to the plane on which the two vectors lies.

It is given by,

Example:

 Suppose you apply a force of 10 N to the door horizontally to rotate it about a vertical axis passing through the hinge. You apply the force at a distance 2 m from the hinge. What is the torque?


Regards

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