Rotating Vectors Homework: Fill in the Blanks

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    Rotating Vectors
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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem related to rotating vectors, specifically focusing on interpreting blank spaces in a matrix representation. Participants are trying to clarify the meaning of these blanks in the context of rotation matrices.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants express confusion about the nature of the blank spaces, questioning whether they represent zeroes or ones. There is also a mention of visibility issues related to color contrast in the matrix representation.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided input regarding the interpretation of the blank spaces as zeroes. Additionally, there is a discussion about the properties of rotation matrices, including their determinants, which suggests a deeper exploration of the topic.

Contextual Notes

There are constraints related to visibility due to color contrast, which affects the interpretation of the matrix. The discussion also touches on the distinction between rotation and reflection in the context of matrix determinants.

g.lemaitre
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Homework Statement


This is an answer to a problem involving rotating vectors

Screenshot2012-07-18at42030AM.png


I can't figure out what the blank spaces mean. Are there 0's there? Are there 1's? Help.
 
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They are zeroes.
 
good, thanks.
 
g.lemaitre said:

Homework Statement


This is an answer to a problem involving rotating vectors

Screenshot2012-07-18at42030AM.png


I can't figure out what the blank spaces mean. Are there 0's there? Are there 1's? Help.

clamtrox said:
They are zeroes.

And the reason you can't see them is they are the same tannish-brown color as the background. I can see them because I'm colorblind. :smile:
 
LCKurtz said:
And the reason you can't see them is they are the same tannish-brown color as the background. I can see them because I'm colorblind. :smile:

:)

You can easily figure this out: all rotation matrices have determinant of 1 (so they are what's called orthogonal matrices). In fact, you can see that this matrix has determinant of -1, so technically it's not a rotation but some combination of reflection and rotation.
 

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