How to derive the law of cosines using vec(c) * vec(c) , where vec(c) =vec(a) −vec(b) . This is a neat way of deriving it, but I don't understand why vec(c) =vec(a) −vec(b) . What makes the vector subtraction work instead of addition ? Is vec(c) meant to illustrate a displacement between vec(b) and vec(a) ?

Anito49

Anito49

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2022-08-21

need to derive the law of cosines using c c , where c = a b . This is a neat way of deriving it, but I don't understand why c = a b . What makes the vector subtraction work instead of addition ? Is c meant to illustrate a displacement between b and a ? Again, it's really cool how it works, but I don't understand why the subtraction is meaningful in this derivation.

Answer & Explanation

Harmony Horn

Harmony Horn

Beginner2022-08-22Added 11 answers

So:
c c = | c | 2  and  ( a b ) ( a b ) = | a | 2 + | b | 2 2 ( a b )
and we know that ( a b ) = | a | | b | cos ( θ ) where θ is the angle between a and b . So defining a = | a | , b = | b | , c = | c | , we get:
c 2 = a 2 + b 2 2 a b cos ( θ )

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