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MathsMediumClass 12

Cross Product — Area, perpendicular vector

Vectors

12

JEE Qs

8%

Hard

60

min

Master both the algebraic (determinant form) and geometric (area, perpendicularity, right-hand rule) interpretations of the cross product for diverse problem-solving.

🧮 Key Formulas

a x b = |a||b|sin(theta) n_hat
If a = a_x i_hat + a_y j_hat + a_z k_hat and b = b_x i_hat + b_y j_hat + b_z k_hat, then a x b = det([[i_hat, j_hat, k_hat], [a_x, a_y, a_z], [b_x, b_y, b_z]])
|a x b| = sqrt((a_y b_z - a_z b_y)^2 + (a_z b_x - a_x b_z)^2 + (a_x b_y - a_y b_x)^2)
Area of parallelogram with adjacent sides a and b is |a x b|
Area of triangle with adjacent sides a and b is (1/2) |a x b|
A unit vector perpendicular to both a and b is n_hat = (a x b) / |a x b|

✅ Key Points for JEE

  • 1The cross product a x b results in a vector perpendicular to *both* a and b, whose direction is given by the right-hand thumb rule.
  • 2The magnitude |a x b| geometrically represents the area of the parallelogram formed by vectors a and b as adjacent sides.
  • 3Cross product is anti-commutative (a x b = - (b x a)) and distributive over vector addition (a x (b + c) = a x b + a x c).
  • 4If two non-zero vectors a and b are parallel or collinear, their cross product a x b = 0, which is a useful test for collinearity.
  • 5To find a vector perpendicular to a plane containing three points A, B, C, first form two vectors using these points (e.g., AB_vector and AC_vector), then calculate their cross product.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

  • Incorrectly applying the right-hand rule to determine the direction of the cross product vector.
  • Making sign errors or calculation mistakes when expanding the determinant form of the cross product.
  • Forgetting the factor of (1/2) when calculating the area of a triangle, or using the formula for parallelogram area instead.
  • Confusing the properties and results of the cross product (vector result) with the dot product (scalar result).

📝 Practice Questions

See all

Q10.Let →a and →b be two unit vectors such that the angle between them is . If λ→a + 2→b and 3→a −λ→b are 3 perpendicular to each other, then the number of values of λ in [−1, 3] is : (1) 2 (2) 1 (3) 0 (4) 3 e 1 x x loge α

2025·MCQEasy

Q10.Let the arc AC of a circle subtend a right angle at the centre O. If the point B on the arc AC , divides the arc −−−length of arc AB 1 → → → AC such that length of arc BC = 5 , and OC = αOA + βOB , then α + √2(√3 −1)β is equal to (1) 2√3 (2) 2 −√3 (3) 5√3 (4) 2 + √3 f ∘g is

2025·Multi conceptHard

Q23.Let →c be the projection vector of →b = λ^i + 4^k, λ > 0, on the vector →a = ^i + 2^j + 2^k. If |→a + →c| = 7, then the area of the parallelogram formed by the vectors →b and →c is ________

2025·NumericalMedium

Q4. Let a line pass through two distinct points P(−2, −1, 3) and Q , and be parallel to the vector 3^i + 2^j + 2^k. If the distance of the point Q from the point R(1, 3, 3) is 5 , then the square of the area of △PQR is equal to : (1) 148 (2) 136 (3) 144 (4) 140

2025·MCQMedium

Q12.Let →a = 3^i −^j + 2^k, b =→a× (^i −2^k) and→c= b × ^k. Then the projection of→c−2^j on →a is : (1) 2√14 (2) √14 (3) 3√7 (4) 2√7

2025·MCQMedium

Q48.Two particles are located at equal distance from origin. The position vectors of those are represented by ¯A = 2^i + 3n^j + 2^k and ¯B = 2^i −2^j + 4p^k, respectively. If both the vectors are at right angle to each other, the value of n−1 is _____ .

2025·NumericalEasy

NCERT Chapters

  • Class 12 Mathematics Ch 10: Vector Algebra

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