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The sum of two unit vectors is a unit vector. The difference of the two unit vectors is of magnitude ?
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Explanation of Sum and Difference of Unit Vectors


Sum of Two Unit Vectors

Let us assume that two unit vectors are represented by a and b, then their sum is:

a + b = c

As per the question, c is also a unit vector:

|c| = 1

Therefore, we can write:

|a + b| = 1

Squaring both sides:

(a + b) . (a + b) = 1

Expanding the equation:

|a|² + 2a . b + |b|² = 1

Since a and b are unit vectors, we can write:

|a|² + 2a . b + |b|² = 1 + 1

Or,

2 + 2a . b = 2

Therefore, a . b = 0

This shows that the two unit vectors are perpendicular to each other.


Difference of Two Unit Vectors

Let us assume that two unit vectors are represented by a and b, then their difference is:

a - b = c

As per the question, we need to find the magnitude of c:

|c| = |a - b|

Using the distance formula, we can write:

|a - b| = √[(a₁-b₁)² + (a₂-b₂)² + (a₃-b₃)²]

As both a and b are unit vectors, their magnitude is 1:

Therefore,

|a - b| = √[(1-1)² + (1-1)² + (1-1)²]

Or,

|a - b| = √[0] = 0

Therefore, the magnitude of the difference of two unit vectors is 0.
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