Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Dot Product
The dot product of two vectors is a scalar value that is calculated by multiplying their corresponding components and summing the results. It is given by the formula A·B = Ax * Bx + Ay * By. The dot product is crucial for finding the angle between vectors, as it relates to the cosine of the angle through the equation A·B = |A| |B| cos(θ).
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Magnitude of a Vector
The magnitude of a vector is a measure of its length and is calculated using the formula |A| = √(Ax² + Ay²) for a two-dimensional vector A = (Ax, Ay). Understanding how to compute the magnitude is essential for determining the angle between vectors, as it is used in the dot product formula to normalize the vectors.
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Angle Between Vectors
The angle between two vectors can be found using the relationship cos(θ) = (A·B) / (|A| |B|). This formula allows us to derive the angle θ by taking the inverse cosine (arccos) of the dot product divided by the product of the magnitudes of the vectors. This concept is fundamental in vector analysis and applications in physics and engineering.
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