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Multiple Choice
If is a unit vector, and and are also unit vectors, which of the following is always true about the dot products and ?
A
Both and are always equal to .
B
Both and are always negative.
C
Both and are always equal to .
D
Both and are between and , inclusive.
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Verified step by step guidance
1
Recall that the dot product of two vectors \( \mathbf{a} \) and \( \mathbf{b} \) is defined as \( \mathbf{a} \cdot \mathbf{b} = \|\mathbf{a}\| \|\mathbf{b}\| \cos \theta \), where \( \theta \) is the angle between the vectors.
Since \( \mathbf{u} \), \( \mathbf{v} \), and \( \mathbf{w} \) are all unit vectors, their magnitudes are \( \|\mathbf{u}\| = \|\mathbf{v}\| = \|\mathbf{w}\| = 1 \). Substitute these into the dot product formula to get \( \mathbf{u} \cdot \mathbf{v} = \cos \theta_{uv} \) and \( \mathbf{u} \cdot \mathbf{w} = \cos \theta_{uw} \).
Understand that the cosine of any angle \( \theta \) lies between \( -1 \) and \( 1 \), inclusive. This means \( -1 \leq \cos \theta \leq 1 \).
Therefore, the dot products \( \mathbf{u} \cdot \mathbf{v} \) and \( \mathbf{u} \cdot \mathbf{w} \) must also lie between \( -1 \) and \( 1 \), inclusive, because they are equal to the cosine of the angles between the vectors.
Conclude that the only statement always true about these dot products is that both \( \mathbf{u} \cdot \mathbf{v} \) and \( \mathbf{u} \cdot \mathbf{w} \) are between \( -1 \) and \( 1 \), inclusive.