Analyzing Angles in Intersecting Planes

00:00 10 marks

  • Exam Style - Paper 2
  • SL & HL
  • Tier 3
  • Vectors
  • Trigonometry
  • 3D geometry
  • Dot product
  • Normal vectors
  • Angle between planes

In a 3D architectural model, several planes represent different walls and roofs. Consider three planes defined by the equations:

Plane P1: x + y + z = 6
Plane P2: 2x – y + 3z = 4
Plane P3: -x + 4y – z = 2

Your task is divided into two parts:

(a) Identify which two of these planes intersect along a line that forms a non-right angle with each other. Provide a brief explanation for your choice.

(b) For the pair you identified in part (a), compute the acute angle between the two intersecting planes using the formula for the angle between planes: \(\cos\theta = \frac{|\mathbf{n}_1 \cdot \mathbf{n}_2|}{\|\mathbf{n}_1\|\,\|\mathbf{n}_2\|}\), where \(\mathbf{n}_1\) and \(\mathbf{n}_2\) are the normal vectors of the respective planes.

Part a

5 minutes 4 marks

Question

Given the three planes:

– Plane P1: \(x + y + z = 6\) with normal vector \(\mathbf{n}_1 = (1, 1, 1)\),
– Plane P2: \(2x – y + 3z = 4\) with normal vector \(\mathbf{n}_2 = (2, -1, 3)\), and
– Plane P3: \(-x + 4y – z = 2\) with normal vector \(\mathbf{n}_3 = (-1, 4, -1)\),

identify which two planes intersect along a line forming a non-right angle. Provide your reasoning based on the normal vectors of the planes.



Hint Hint

Hint

Examine the dot products of the normal vectors to determine if any pair are not perpendicular.

  • Answer Answer

Complete Answer

The planes P1 and P2 are the chosen pair since their normal vectors \( (1, 1, 1) \) and \( (2, -1, 3) \) are not perpendicular, indicating a non-right angle between them.

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Part b

7 minutes 6 marks

Question

Using the pair of planes P1: \(x + y + z = 6\) and P2: \(2x – y + 3z = 4\), calculate the acute angle between these two intersecting planes. Use the formula:

\(\cos\theta = \frac{|\mathbf{n}_1 \cdot \mathbf{n}_2|}{\|\mathbf{n}_1\|\,\|\mathbf{n}_2\|}\).

Show all your calculation steps.



Hint Hint

Hint

Calculate the magnitudes of the normals for P1 and P2 and then use the cosine inverse function.

  • Answer Answer

Complete Answer

\(\theta = 52.2^\circ\)

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