Revision notes for Oxford AQA IGCSE Maths Vectors Proof Questions. Open the guide for explanations and worked examples. Written against the Oxford AQA IGCSE Maths (9260) specification, so the content matches what's examinable rather than general Maths background.
Vectors Proof Questions
What you'll learn
How to write position vectors using two base vectors such as aaa and bbb.
How to handle points that divide a line in a given ratio.
How to prove that three points are on the same straight line.
How to use collinearity to find an unknown vector on an extended line.
1. Vector basics you need first
In these questions, you usually start from a fixed point called OOO. You then describe every other point by its position from OOO.
Definition
Vector and position vector
A vector has a size and a direction.
AB⃗\vec{AB}AB means the movement from point A to point B.
A position vector gives the position of a point from the origin, for example OA⃗\vec{OA}OA.
The most important rule is:
AB⃗=OB⃗−OA⃗\vec{AB}=\vec{OB}-\vec{OA}AB=OB−OA
Think: end minus start.
Example
Finding a midpoint position vector
Suppose OA⃗=4a\vec{OA}=4aOA=4a and OB⃗=7b\vec{OB}=7bOB=7b. Point N is the midpoint of AB. Find AB⃗\vec{AB}AB and ON⃗\vec{ON}ON.
Use end minus start to find AB⃗\vec{AB}AB.
AB⃗=7b−4a\vec{AB}=7b-4aAB=7b−4a
Since N is halfway from A to B, add half of AB⃗\vec{AB}AB to OA⃗\vec{OA}OA.
If P is measured from A, use the AP part of the ratio. In AP:PB=m:nAP:PB=m:nAP:PB=m:n, P is mm+n\frac{m}{m+n}m+nm of the way from A to B.
Example
Finding the value of k
In triangle OAB, OA⃗=2a\vec{OA}=2aOA=2a and OB⃗=5b\vec{OB}=5bOB=5b. Point P lies on AB so that AP:PB=2:3AP:PB=2:3AP:PB=2:3. Given that OP⃗=k(3a+5b)\vec{OP}=k(3a+5b)OP=k(3a+5b), find kkk.
First find the vector from A to B.
AB⃗=5b−2a\vec{AB}=5b-2aAB=5b−2a
Since AP:PB=2:3AP:PB=2:3AP:PB=2:3, P is 25\frac{2}{5}52 of the way from A to B.
If AP:PB=2:3AP:PB=2:3AP:PB=2:3, do not use 35\frac{3}{5}53 from A. The 3 parts are from P to B, not from A to P.
3. Proving three points are on the same straight line
Three points on one straight line are called collinear.
To prove collinearity, you usually show that two vectors are scalar multiples of each other.
Definition
Scalar multiple
A scalar is an ordinary number. If one vector is a scalar multiple of another, such as AD⃗=λAE⃗\vec{AD}=\lambda\vec{AE}AD=λAE, then the two vectors are parallel and lie along the same line.
The target is to compare vectors that start from the same point.
Key Idea
Same start point, same line
To prove A, D and E are collinear, try to show AD⃗=λAE⃗\vec{AD}=\lambda\vec{AE}AD=λAE, or AE⃗=λAD⃗\vec{AE}=\lambda\vec{AD}AE=λAD, for some number λ\lambdaλ.
Example
A parallelogram collinearity proof
OABC is a parallelogram with adjacent sides OA⃗=3a\vec{OA}=3aOA=3a and OB⃗=3b\vec{OB}=3bOB=3b. Point D lies on OC so that OD:DC=2:1OD:DC=2:1OD:DC=2:1. Point E is the midpoint of BC. Show that A, D and E lie on one straight line.
In a parallelogram, the diagonal position vector is found by adding the adjacent sides.
OC⃗=3a+3b\vec{OC}=3a+3bOC=3a+3b
Since OD:DC=2:1OD:DC=2:1OD:DC=2:1, D is 23\frac{2}{3}32 of the way from O to C.
Since AE⃗=32AD⃗\vec{AE}=\frac{3}{2}\vec{AD}AE=23AD, the vectors are scalar multiples. Therefore A, D and E are collinear.
Common Mistake
Comparing position vectors directly
To prove A, D and E are collinear, do not compare OD⃗\vec{OD}OD and OE⃗\vec{OE}OE. That would only tell you about a line through O. Use vectors such as AD⃗\vec{AD}AD and AE⃗\vec{AE}AE.
4. Regular hexagon vector facts
In a regular hexagon, the centre-to-vertex vectors are very useful. If two adjacent position vectors are ppp and qqq, the next vertex can often be written using q−pq-pq−p.
The diagram shows the common pattern.
For a regular hexagon PQRSTU with centre O:
If OP⃗=p\vec{OP}=pOP=p and OQ⃗=q\vec{OQ}=qOQ=q, then OR⃗=q−p\vec{OR}=q-pOR=q−p.
Opposite vertices have opposite position vectors, so OT⃗=−q\vec{OT}=-qOT=−q and OS⃗=−p\vec{OS}=-pOS=−p.
Example
Proving collinearity in a regular hexagon
PQRSTU is a regular hexagon with centre O. Let OP⃗=p\vec{OP}=pOP=p and OQ⃗=q\vec{OQ}=qOQ=q. Point N is the midpoint of QR. Point Y lies on PQ extended beyond Q, with PQ:QY=3:2PQ:QY=3:2PQ:QY=3:2. Prove that T, N and Y are collinear.
Since TY⃗=43TN⃗\vec{TY}=\frac{4}{3}\vec{TN}TY=34TN, T, N and Y are on the same straight line.
5. Using collinearity to find an unknown vector
Sometimes the question tells you that three points are collinear, and you must find an unknown vector. The method is the same, but you introduce an unknown scalar.
Tip
Let the extension be unknown
If E is on OB extended, write something like BE⃗=xb\vec{BE}=xbBE=xb. Then OE⃗=OB⃗+BE⃗\vec{OE}=\vec{OB}+\vec{BE}OE=OB+BE.
Example
Finding a vector on an extension
In triangle OAB, OA⃗=8a\vec{OA}=8aOA=8a and OB⃗=3b\vec{OB}=3bOB=3b. Point C lies on OA so that OC:CA=3:1OC:CA=3:1OC:CA=3:1. Point D lies on AB so that AD:DB=1:2AD:DB=1:2AD:DB=1:2. The line OB is extended to E. Given that C, D and E are collinear, find BE⃗\vec{BE}BE.