Final answer:
The angle θAB between vectors A and B is calculated using the dot product and magnitudes of both vectors, then the inverse cosine function to determine the angle in degrees.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the angle θAB between vectors A and B, we must use the dot product of vectors A and B along with the magnitude of both vectors. The dot product A·B is given by the sum of the products of the respective components of vectors A and B:
A·B = Ax × Bx + Ay × By + Az × Bz = 2×(-3) + 1×(0) + (-4)×1 = -6 + 0 - 4 = -10
The magnitudes of vectors A and B are given by |A| = √(Ax² + Ay² + Az²) and |B| = √(Bx² + By² + Bz²), respectively. Thus:
|A| = √(2² + 1² + (-4)²) = √(4 + 1 + 16) = √21
|B| = √((-3)² + 0² + 1²) = √(9 + 0 + 1) = √10
Now we can calculate the angle using the formula:
cos(θ) = (A·B) / (|A| × |B|)
cos(θ) = -10 / (√21 × √10)
θ = cos⁻¹(-10 / (√21 × √10))
To find the angle θ, we take the inverse cosine of the result. Remember, the angle will be between 0° and 180°. The final step is to carry out the calculation on a calculator to determine the angle between vectors A and B.