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jabber024
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Homework Statement
vector A = 3U-V
vector B = U+2V
U and V are vectors
|U| = 3|V|
Given that vector A and vector B are perpendicular vectors, find the angle between vector U and vector V.
Homework Equations
A*B = |A||B|cos(∠AB)
A*A = |A|^2
The Attempt at a Solution
Since A and B are perpendicular to each other that means that the dot product will equate zero because cos 90 deg = 0.
So substituting in the vectors I end up with something like
(3U-V)*(U+2V) = 0 = 3U*U + 5U*V - 2V*V
Given that any vector dot product itself gives you the magnitude of the vector squared and that we are trying to figure out the angle UV:
U*U = |U|^2
U*V = |U||V|cosθ
V*V = |V|^2
3U*U + 5U*V - 2V*V = 3|U|^2 + 5|U||V|cosθ - 2|V|^2
Rearrange: cosθ = (2|V|^2 - 3|U|^2)/(5|U||V|)
Substitute in |U| = 3|V| and you get -25/15. I can't get the inverse cos of a number greater than 1 and I can't figure out where I went wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated.