Addition of vectors with triangle vertices

ddtozone
Messages
8
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



If A, B, and C are the vertices of a triangle, find the following.
(A→B) + (B→C) + (C→A)


The answer has to be given like this:

_____ i + _____ j

2. Homework Equations (I think?)
a+b=b+a
a+(b+c)=(a+b)+c
a+0=a
a+(-a)=0
c(a+b)=ca+cb
(c+d)a=ca+da
(cd)a=c(da)
1a=a

The Attempt at a Solution



I'm not even sure what kind of solution this should look like. My best guess would be
<A+B+C>i + <A+B+C>j
Any better, more sensible ideas? Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The vector connecting A to B is given by the vector (B-A), where B and A are the coordinates of the points. Add up all three terms. What do you get?
 
Oh okay, so it all cancels out and comes to 0. That makes sense. Thank you!
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
Back
Top