Question

Find the "length " of the "vectors" (a) \((2,0,4,6,5)\), (b) \((-5,1,5,3,-2)\).

Short answer

The lengths are 9 and 8 respectively.

Step-by-step solution

- Understand the Formula for Vector Length

The length (or magnitude) of a vector \(\textbf{v} = (v_1, v_2, ..., v_n)\) is given by the formula: \(\text{Length} = \sqrt{v_1^2 + v_2^2 + ... + v_n^2}\).

- Calculate the Length of Vector (2,0,4,6,5)

Substitute the components of the vector \((2,0,4,6,5)\) into the formula. Compute the squares of each component and sum them up: \(2^2 + 0^2 + 4^2 + 6^2 + 5^2 = 4 + 0 + 16 + 36 + 25\). The sum is \81\. Now take the square root: \sqrt{81} = 9\. Therefore, the length of the vector \(2,0,4,6,5\) is \9\.

- Calculate the Length of Vector (-5,1,5,3,-2)

Substitute the components of the vector \((-5,1,5,3,-2)\) into the formula. Compute the squares of each component and sum them up: \((-5)^2 + 1^2 + 5^2 + 3^2 + (-2)^2 = 25 + 1 + 25 + 9 + 4\). The sum is \64\. Now take the square root: \sqrt{64} = 8\. Therefore, the length of the vector \((-5,1,5,3,-2)\) is \8\.

Key concepts

Vector Magnitude Formula

The length or magnitude of a vector is a measure of how long the vector is. This concept is essential in many areas of mathematics and physics. The formula to determine the length of a vector \(\textbf{v} = (v_1, v_2, ..., v_n)\) involves the square root of the sum of the squares of its components. Written in mathematical terms, it looks like this: \[ \text{Length} = \sqrt{v_1^2 + v_2^2 + ... + v_n^2} \].
This formula allows for calculating the magnitude regardless of how many dimensions the vector has. For instance, in a 3-dimensional space, the length formula is \[ \text{Length} = \sqrt{v_1^2 + v_2^2 + v_3^2} \].
Understanding the formula is crucial because it enables us to quantify the vector's size, giving us a single value that represents its total effect.

Vector Components

A vector can be broken down into its components, which are essentially the values that correspond to each dimension. For example, a 5-dimensional vector like \(2,0,4,6,5\) has components 2, 0, 4, 6, and 5, each representing a value along a specific axis or dimension.
These components are crucial for calculations like finding the vector's length. To use the vector magnitude formula, we must account for each of these components individually by squaring them, summing the squares, and then taking the square root of the sum.
Consider the vector component calculation for the vector \(2,0,4,6,5\). We square each component: \2^2, 0^2, 4^2, 6^2,\ and \5^2\. We then sum these values to get the final result. Similarly, we do this for any vector, no matter the number of components.

Pythagorean Theorem

The Pythagorean theorem is a fundamental principle in geometry that relates the lengths of the sides of a right triangle. It states that in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides: \[ c^2 = a^2 + b^2 \].
Although this theorem is often applied in 2-dimensional geometry, its concept extends to higher dimensions and is used in the vector magnitude formula. In essence, the formula for vector length is a multi-dimensional extension of the Pythagorean theorem.
Think of each component of a vector as one side of a right-angled triangle. When you square these components and sum them up, you are essentially finding the squared length of the hypotenuse in multiple dimensions. This approach is why the vector magnitude formula generalizes the Pythagorean theorem to n-dimensional space.