Let an angle between the vectors a and b be (2pi)/3. If |b|=2|a|, and the vectors a+xb and a-b are at right angles, then the value of x is equal to (2)/(3) / (2)/(5) / (1)/(3) / (1)/(5)?

limunom623

limunom623

Answered question

2022-11-05

Let an angle between the vectors a and b be 2 π 3 . If | b | = 2 | a | , and the vectors a + x b and a−b are at right angles, then the value of x is equal to 2 3 / 2 5 / 1 3 / 1 5 ?
My attempt: b 2 = 4 a 2 . Also,
a 2 + | a | | b | 2 x | a | | b | 2 b 2 = 0
a 2 + | a | 2 | a | 2 x | a | 2 | a | 2 4 a 2 = 0
1 + 1 x 4 = 0
x = 2
But it doesn't match with the options.

Answer & Explanation

Prezrenjes0n

Prezrenjes0n

Beginner2022-11-06Added 19 answers

There might be a problem with your dot product.
We have
( a + x b ) ( a b ) = a 2 a b + x   a b x   b 2 = 0 a 2 + ( x 1 ) ( 2 a 2 cos 2 π 3 ) 4 x a 2 = 0
1 ( x 1 ) 4 x = 0 x = 2 5

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