Find Ratio ||v||/||u|| for u and v

  • Thread starter Thread starter Whiz
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Ratio
Whiz
Messages
20
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



For u = (−1, 2, 1) and v = (3, 3, 6) find the ratio ||v|| / ||u||

Homework Equations



|| u || = (u^2 + u2^2 + ...un^2)^.5

The Attempt at a Solution



I found the || u || to be 6^(1/2) and || v || to be 54^(1/2)
Therefore the ratio should be 54^(1/2) divided by 6^(1/2), which calculates to 3. It turns out the answer is incorrect. Can anyone show me where I went wrong?

Thanks.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Nowhere.
 
I agree. The ratio is 3.

\frac{\sqrt{54}}{\sqrt{6}}~=~\frac{3\sqrt{6}}{\sqrt{6}}=~3
 
Okay thanks. I'll have to tell my instructor about it.
 
Before you do, make sure that the problem you posted here is exactly the same as in your book or wherever this problem came from.
 
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