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Which of the following statements is/are true?

(A) The vector sum of the three sides of a triangle in order is 0⃗\vec{0}

(B) The magnitude (r)(r), direction ratios (a,b,c)(a, b, c) and direction cosines (l,m,n)(l, m, n) of any vector r⃗=ai^+bj^+ck^\vec{r} = a\hat{i} + b\hat{j} + c\hat{k} are related as l=ar,m=br,n=crl = \frac{a}{r}, m = \frac{b}{r}, n = \frac{c}{r}

(C) If θ is the angle between two vectors a⃗\vec{a} and b⃗\vec{b}, then their cross product is given as a⃗×b⃗=∣a⃗∣∣b⃗∣sin⁡θ\vec{a} \times \vec{b} = |\vec{a}||\vec{b}|\sin \theta

(D) The cross product of two vectors is commutative

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Solution

✅ Correct Option: 3

The correct statements are (A) and (B).

Explanation:

  • (A) True: By the triangle law of vector addition, if you travel along the three sides of a triangle in a continuous cyclic order, you end up exactly where you started. Therefore, the resultant displacement vector is a zero vector 0⃗\vec{0}.
  • (B) True: The direction cosines (l,m,nl, m, n) represent the cosines of the angles a vector makes with the x, y, and z axes respectively. They are explicitly defined by normalizing the direction ratios (a,b,ca, b, c) by the vector's magnitude (rr):

l=ar,m=br,n=crl = \frac{a}{r}, m = \frac{b}{r}, n = \frac{c}{r}

  • (C) False: The cross product resulting from two vectors must be a vector itself. The correct definition requires a unit vector n^\hat{n} to denote direction perpendicular to the plane:

a⃗×b⃗=∣a⃗∣∣b⃗∣sin⁡θn^\vec{a} \times \vec{b} = |\vec{a}||\vec{b}|\sin\theta \hat{n}

  • (D) False: The cross product is anti-commutative. Changing the order of multiplication reverses the direction of the resulting vector:

a⃗×b⃗=−(b⃗×a⃗)\vec{a} \times \vec{b} = -(\vec{b} \times \vec{a})

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