How Do Vectors Solve Real-World Problems?

In summary, the conversation covers various mathematical problems and concepts, including the spread of a communicable disease, the motion of an airplane, and the intersection of planes. The Ministry of Health has determined that the maximum percent of a city's population infected by a disease is given by the equation P(t) = 10te^-0.1t, where t represents the number of days after detection. Next, the conversation discusses the resultant groundspeed and direction of an airplane encountering a wind while traveling at a speed of 850 km/h at an angle of N40°E. Then, the conversation addresses the intersection of a perpendicular line and a plane, as well as the distance from a given point to the plane. Finally, the conversation explains
  • #1
JLindsayLj
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1. The Ministry of Health has determined that t day after the detection of a communicable disease, the percent P of a city’s population that will be affected is given by the equation P (t) = 10te^-0.1t 1 ≤ t ≥ 15. How many days after detection will the maximum percent of the population are infected?

2. An air plane starts out traveling 40°E of N (N40°E) at a speed of 850 km/h. It encounters a wind of 120 km/h blowing from the east; find the resultant groundspeed and the direction of the plane.

3. Determine the intersection of the perpendicular line drawn from the point A(-5, 3, 7) to the plane v = (0, 0, 2) + t(-1, 1, 3) + s(2, 0, -3) and determine the distance from point A to the plane.

4. Explain why there is one and only scalar equation of a given plane, whereas there are many different parametric and vector equations for the plane.

5. Discuss the intersection of the three planes given below. Give a geometric interpretation of the system and its solution, and also state whether the system has no solution, a unique solution, or an infinite number of solutions.

4x - 6y + 2z = 10
2x – 3y + z = 0
2x – 18y -8z = 0
 
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  • #2
Welcome to PF!

Hi JLindsayLj! Welcome to PF! :wink:

Show us what you've tried, and where you're stuck, and then we'll know how to help! :smile:
 

1. What are some common real-world applications of vectors?

Vectors are used in a variety of fields, such as physics, engineering, and computer graphics. They can be used to represent forces, velocities, and displacements in physical systems. In engineering, vectors are used to calculate the direction and magnitude of forces acting on structures. In computer graphics, vectors are used to create 3D models and animations.

2. How do you find the magnitude and direction of a vector?

The magnitude of a vector is equal to the length of the vector, and can be found using the Pythagorean theorem. The direction of a vector can be found by taking the inverse tangent of the y-component over the x-component. This is also known as finding the vector's angle or bearing.

3. What is the difference between a scalar and a vector?

A scalar is a quantity that has only magnitude, while a vector is a quantity that has both magnitude and direction. For example, speed is a scalar quantity, while velocity (speed with direction) is a vector quantity. Scalars can be added and subtracted, but vectors must be added and subtracted using vector algebra.

4. How are vectors used in navigation and mapping?

Vectors are used in navigation and mapping to represent distances and directions. For example, a map may use vectors to show the direction and distance between two cities. Vectors can also be used to calculate the shortest distance between two points on a curved surface, such as the Earth's surface.

5. What are some common operations performed on vectors?

Some common operations performed on vectors include adding, subtracting, and multiplying by a scalar (a single number). Vectors can also be normalized (converted to a unit vector with a magnitude of 1), or projected onto another vector. In addition, the dot product and cross product are two important vector operations used in physics and mathematics.

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