Vector Calculus

Curl and Divergence

The vector dierential operator (del operator) is dened as
=
_

x
_
i +
_

y
_
j +
_

z
_
k.
If F(x, y, z) = P (x, y, z) i + Q(x, y, z) j + R(x, y, z) k is a vector eld on R
3
and the partial
derivatives of P, Q and R all exist, then we dene the cross product and the dot product between
the del operator and the vector eld F as the curl of F, and the divergence of F, respectively.
The curl of F is
curl F = F =

i j k

z
P Q R

=
_
R
y

Q
z
_
i +
_
P
z

R
x
_
j +
_
Q
x

P
y
_
k.
Curl is a vector whose components are the circulation of the vector eld perpendicular to the
component direction at a point in the vector eld. Circulation around a normal is the sums of the
variations of the each eld component in the direction perpendicular to that eld component and
the normal direction. The curl vector itself is the normal around which the greatest circulation
exists for that point in the vector eld.
A vector eld F is called a conservative vector eld if it is the gradient of some scalar function,
i.e., if there exists a function f such that F = f. In this situation f is called a potential
function for F. If F is conservative (or irrotational ), then curl F = 0.
The divergence of F is
div F = F =
_

x
,

y
,

z
_
[P, Q, R] =
P
x
+
Q
y
+
R
z
.
Divergence is the total variation of a vector eld at a point in space.
If div F = 0, then F is called incompressible or solenoidal.
1. Find (i) the curl and (ii) the divergence of the vector eld.
(a) F(x, y, z) = xi + yj + zk
(b) F(x, y, z) = x
2
yi + yz
2
j + x
2
zk
(c) F(x, y, z) = y
2
zi x
2
yzk
(d) F(x, y, z) = sin xi + cos xj + z
2
k
2. Determine whether or not the given vector eld is conservative. If it is conservative, nd
a function f (x, y, z) such that F(x, y, z) = f (x, y, z).
(a) F(x, y, z) = yi + xj +k
(b) F(x, y, z) = xi + yj + xk
(c) F(x, y, z) = cos yi + sin xj + tan zk
(d) F(x, y, z) = yzi + (y
2
+ xz) j + xyk
1
Parameter Equations of Straight Lines
The equations for a straight line that joining from P
0
(x
0
, y
0
, z
0
) to P
1
(x
1
, y
1
, z
1
) are
_
_
_
x(t) = x
0
+ (x
1
x
0
) t
y (t) = y
0
+ (y
1
y
0
) t
z (t) = z
0
+ (z
1
z
0
) t
, where 0 t 1.
1. Find the parametric equations for the line that joining point A to B.
(a) A(2, 1, 8), B (6, 0, 3)
(b) A(1, 0, 5), B (4, 3, 3)
(c) A(3, 1, 1), B (3, 2, 6)
(d) A(2, 7, 5), B (4, 2, 5)
Line Integral
If f (x, y) is dened on a smooth curve C, C = {(x, y) | x = x(t) , y = y (t) , a t b}, then the
following formula can be used to evaluate the line integral:
_
C
f (x, y) ds =
_
b
a
f (x(t) , y (t))

_
dx
dt
_
2
+
_
dy
dt
_
2
dt.
The line integrals of f along C with respect to x and y:
_
C
f (x, y) dx =
_
b
a
f (x(t) , y (t)) x

(t) dt and
_
C
f (x, y) dy =
_
b
a
f (x(t) , y (t)) y

(t) dt.
Line integral with density function f (x, y) means the mass of the curve C. For f (x, y) = 1,
the line integral means the length of C.
Procedure for evaluating the line integrals
_
C
f (x, y) ds:
I. Find the parametric equations for the curve C.
II. Find ds and substitute the parametric equations into f.
III. Substitute the new information into the integral and compute it.
Let F(x, y, z) = [P (x, y, z) , Q(x, y, z) , R(x, y, z)] be a continuous vector eld dened on a
smooth curve C given by a vector function, directional vector, r (t) = [x(t) , y (t) , z (t)] with
a t b. The line integral of F along C is
_
C
F dr =
_
b
a
F(r (t)) r

(t) dt =
_
C
P dx + Qdy + Rdz =
_
C
[Px

(t) + Qy

(t) + Rz

(t)] dt.
The work done, W, by the force eld F in moving a particle along the curve C can be dened
as
Work Done = W =
_
C
F dr.
Procedure for evaluating the line integrals
_
C
F dr:
I. Find the directional vector r (t) for the curve C.
2
II. Substitute r (t) into F and compute r

(t).
III. Substitute the new information into the integral and compute it.
1. Evaluate the line integral, where C is the given curve.
(a)
_
C
xy ds, C is the line segment joining (1, 1) to (2, 3)
(b)
_
C
xy
2
z ds, C is the line segment from (1, 0, 1) to (0, 3, 6)
(c)
_
C
xds, C: x = t
3
, y = t, 0 t 1
(d)
_
C
xy
4
ds, C is the right half of the circle x
2
+ y
2
= 16
(e)
_
C
_
x 2y
2
_
dy, C is the arc of the parabola y = x
2
from (2, 4) to (1, 1)
(f)
_
C
xy dx + (x y) dy, C consists of line segments from (0, 0) to (2, 0) and from (2, 0)
to (3, 2)
(g)
_
C
yz dy + xy dz, C: x =

t, y = t, z = t
2
, 0 t 1
2. Evaluate the line integral
_
C
F dr, where C is given by the vector function r (t).
(a) F(x, y) = x
2
yi xyj, r (t) = t
3
i + t
4
j, 0 t 1
(b) F(x, y) = e
x
i + xyj, r (t) = t
2
i + t
3
j, 0 t 1
(c) F(x, y, z) = xi zj + yk, r (t) = 2ti + 3tj t
2
k, 1 t 1
(d) F(x, y, z) = (y + z) i x
2
j 4y
2
k, r (t) = ti + t
2
j + t
4
k, 0 t 1
3. A thin wire is bent into the shape of a semicircle x
2
+ y
2
= 4, x 0. If the density is a
constant k, nd the mass and center of mass of the wire.
4. Find the mass and center of mass of a thin wire in the shape of a quarter-circle x
2
+y
2
= r
2
,
x 0, y 0, if the density function is (x, y) = x + y.
5. Find the work done by the force eld F(x, y) = xsin yi +yj on a particle that moves along
the parabola y = x
2
from (1, 1) to (2, 4).
6. Find the work done by the force eld F(x, y, z) = xzi +yxj +yzk on a particle that moves
along the curve r (t) = t
2
i t
3
j + t
4
k, 0 t 1.
Greens Theorem
Let C be a positive oriented, piecewise smooth, simple closed curve on the xy-plane and let D
be the region bounded by C. If P (x, y) and Q(x, y), where F(x, y) = [P (x, y) , Q(x, y)], have
continuous partial derivatives on an open region that contains D, then
_
C
F dr =
_
C
P dx + Qdy =
_
C
P dx + Qdy =
__
D
_
Q
x

P
y
_
dA.
3
1. Evaluate the line integral by two methods: (i) directly and (ii) using Greens Theorem.
(a)
_
C
x
2
y dx + xy
3
dy, where C is the square with vertices (0, 0), (1, 0), (1, 1), and (0, 1)
(Figure 27)
(b)
_
C
xdx x
2
y
2
dy, where C is the triangle with vertices (0, 0), (1, 1), and (0, 1)
(Figure 28)
(c)
_
C
(x + 2y) dx + (x 2y) dy, where C consists of the arc of the parabola y = x
2
from
(0, 0) to (1, 1) followed by the line segment from (1, 1) to (0, 0) (Figure 29)
(d)
_
C
_
x
2
+ y
2
_
dx + 2xy dy, where C consists of the arc of the parabola y = x
2
from
(0, 0) to (2, 4) followed by the line segments from (2, 4) to (0, 4) and from (0, 4) to
(0, 0) (Figure 30)
0
1
0 1
x
y
D

4
0
1
0 1
x
y
D
1

3
Figure 27 Figure 28
0
1
0 1
x
y
D

2
0
4
0 2
x
y
D

1

3
Figure 29 Figure 30
2. Use Greens Theorem to evaluate the line integral along the given positively oriented curve.
(a)
_
C
_
y + e

x
_
dx +
_
2x + cos y
2
_
dy, where C is the boundary of the region enclosed
by the parabolas y = x
2
and x = y
2
(Figure 31)
(b)
_
C
_
y
2
tan
1
x
_
dx + (3x + sin y) dy, where C is the boundary of the region enclosed
by the parabolas y = x
2
and the line y = 4 (Figure 32)
4
(c)
_
C
2xy dx + x
2
dy, where C is the cardioid r = 1 + cos (Figure 33)
(d)
_
C
F dr, where F(x, y) = (y
2
x
2
y) i +xy
2
j and C consists of the circle x
2
+y
2
= 4
from (2, 0) to
_
2,

2
_
and the line segments from
_
2,

2
_
to (0, 0) and from (0, 0)
to (2, 0) (Figure 34)
(e)
_
C
F dr, where F(x, y) = x
3
yi + x
4
j and C is the curve x
4
+ y
4
= 1 (Figure 35)
0
1
0 1
x
y
D
C
4
0 2 2
x
y
D
C
1
1
2
x
y
D
C
Figure 31 Figure 32 Figure 33
0
1
0 2
x
y
D
C
1
1
1 1
x
y
D
C
Figure 34 Figure 35
3. Use Greens Theorem to nd the work done by the force F(x, y) = x(x + y) i + xy
2
j in
moving a particle from the origin along the x-axis to (1, 0), then along the line segment
to (0, 1), and then back to the origin along the y-axis. (Figure 36)
0
1
0 1
x
y
D
C
2
0 2 2
x
y
D
C
Figure 36 Figure 37
5
4. A particle starts at the point (2, 0), moves along the x-axis to (2, 0), and then along the
semicircle y =

4 x
2
to the starting point. Use Greens Theorem to nd the work done
on this particle by the force eld F(x, y) = xi + (x
3
+ 3xy
2
) j. (Figure 37)
5. Can we apply Greens Theorem to nd
_
C
F dr with F(x, y) =
_
x
x
2
+ y
2
,
y
x
2
+ y
2
_
and
C: x
2
+ y
2
= 1?
(2006 Exam)
Parametric Equations for Surfaces and Surface Areas
Similar to the parametric equations for lines, we have to nd a two parameters vector function
r (u, v) to describe a surface, i.e., r (u, v) = x(u, v) i+y (u, v) j+z (u, v) k. If a smooth parametric
surface S is given by r (u, v), then the surface area of S is
A(S) =
__
D
r
u
r
v
dA,
where D is the domain for u and v, i.e., (u, v) D.
For the special case of a surface S with equation z = f (x, y), where (x, y) lies in D and f has
continuous partial derivatives, then the surface area of S is
A(S) =
__
D

1 +
_
z
x
_
2
+
_
z
y
_
2
dA.
1. Find a parametric representation for the surface.
(a) The upper half of the ellipsoid 3x
2
+ 2y
2
+ z
2
= 1 (Figure 38)
(b) The part of the elliptic paraboloid y = 6 3x
2
2z
2
that lies in front of the xz-plane
(c) The part of the sphere x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
= 4 that lies above the cone z =
_
x
2
+ y
2
(d) The part of the plane z = x + 3 that lies inside the cylinder x
2
+ y
2
= 1
x
y
z
z =
_
1 3x
2
2y
2
x
y
z
S
Figure 38 Figure 39
2. Find the area of the given surface.
(a) The part of the plane x + 2y + z = 4 that lies inside the cylinder x
2
+ y
2
= 4
(b) The part of the surface z = x + y
2
that lies above the triangle with vertices (0, 0),
(1, 1), and (0, 1)
6
(c) The surface with parametric equations x = uv, y = u + v, z = u v, u
2
+ v
2
1
(d) The helicoid (or spiral ramp) with vector equation r (u, v) = ucos vi + usin vj + vk,
0 u 1, 0 v (Figure 39)
Surface Integrals
If the surface S is a graph of a function of two variable, i.e., z = g (x, y) and (x, y) D, then
the surface integral with density function f (x, y, z) is
__
S
f (x, y, z) dS =
__
D
f (x, y, g (x, y))

_
z
x
_
2
+
_
z
y
_
2
+ 1 dA.
Surface integrals can be considered as the mass of a thin sheet which has the shape of the surface
S and the density at point (x, y, z) is f (x, y, z).
Procedure to evaluate the surface integral
__
S
f (x, y, z) dS:
I. Find the limits for x and y in the region D (transformation for x and y may be necessary).
II. Substitute z = g (x, y) into f and compute dS.
III. Substitute the new information into the integral and compute it.
Suppose that a surface S has a vector equation r (u, v), then the surface integral becomes
__
S
f (x, y, z) dS =
__
D
f (r (u, v)) r
u
r
v
dA.
If F is a continuous vector eld dened on an oriented surface S with unit normal vector n,
then the surface integral of F over S is
__
S
F dS =
__
S
F ndS.
For parametric surface, the surface integral of F over S is
__
S
F dS =
__
D
F (r
u
r
v
) dA.
The surface integral
__
S
F dS is called the ux of F across S.
1. Evaluate the given surface integral.
(a)
__
S
y dS, where S is the part of the plane 3x+2y +z = 6 that lies in the rst octant
(Figure 19)
7
(b)
__
S
xz dS, where S is the triangle ABC with vertices A(1, 0, 0), B (0, 1, 0), and
C (0, 0, 1)
(c)
__
S
xdS, where S is the surface y = x
2
+ 4z, 0 x 2, 0 z 2
(d)
__
S
yz dS, where S is the part of the plane z = y + 3 that lies inside the cylinder
x
2
+ y
2
= 1
2. Find the ux of F across S by evaluating the surface integral
__
S
F dS for the given
vector eld F and the given oriented surface S.
(a) F(x, y, z) = e
y
i + ye
x
j + x
2
yk; S is the part of the paraboloid z = x
2
+ y
2
that lies
above the square 0 x 1, 0 y 1 and has upward orientation
(b) F(x, y, z) = xi + xyj + xzk; S is the part of the plane 3x + 2y + z = 6 that lies in
the rst octant (Figure 19)
(c) F(x, y, z) = xi yj + z
2
k; S is the part of the cone z =
_
x
2
+ y
2
between the
planes z = 1 and z = 2 with upward orientation (Figure 40)
(d) F(x, y, z) = xi + yj + zk; S is the sphere x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
= 9
(e) F(x, y, z) = yi + xj + 3zk; S is the hemisphere z =
_
16 x
2
y
2
with upward
orientation
x
y
z
S
Figure 40
The Fundamental Theorem for Line Integrals
Recall the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus can be written as
_
b
a
F

(x) dx = F (b) F (a) ,

where F

is continuous on [a, b].

If F is a conservative continuous vector eld on an open connected region D, i.e., F = f, then
the following theorem can be regarded as the fundamental theorem for line integrals:
_
C
F dr =
_
C
f dr = f (r (b)) f (r (a)) ,
where f is a dierentiable function of two or three variables and r (t) is the directional vector
with a t b.
8
If
_
C
F dr is independent of path in D, then F is a conservative vector eld on D.
1. Find nd a function f such that F = f and evaluate
_
C
F dr along the given curve C.
(a) F(x, y) = xi + yj; C is the arc of the parabola y = x
2
from (1, 1) to (3, 9)
(b) F(x, y) = 2xy
3
i + 3x
2
y
2
j; C: r (t) = sin ti + (t
2
+ 1) j, 0 t

2
(c) F(x, y, z) = 2xy
3
z
4
i + 3x
2
y
2
z
4
j + 4x
2
y
3
z
3
k; C: x = t, y = t
2
, z = t
3
, 0 t 2
(d) F(x, y, z) = (2xz + sin y) i + xcos yj + x
2
k; C: r (t) = cos ti + sin tj + tk, 0 t 2
2. Show that the line integral is independent of path and evaluate the integral.
(a)
_
C
2xsin y dx +
_
x
2
cos y 3y
2
_
dy; C is any path from (1, 0) to (5, 1)
(b)
_
C
_
2y
2
12x
3
y
3
_
dx +
_
4xy 9x
4
y
2
_
dy; C is any path from (1, 1) to (3, 2)
Divergence Theorem
Let E be a simple solid region whose boundary surface S has positive (outward) orientation.
Let F be a vector eld whose component functions have continuous partial derivatives on an
open region that contains E. Then
__
S
F dS =
___
E
div FdV .
1. Evaluate the ux of F across S, the surface integral
__
S
FdS by two methods: (i) directly
and (ii) using Divergent Theorem.
(a) F(x, y, z) = 3y
2
z
3
i + 9x
2
yz
2
j 4xy
2
k; S is the surface of the cube with vertices
(1, 1, 1) (Figure 41)
(b) F(x, y, z) = 3xyi + y
2
j x
2
y
4
k; S is the surface of the tetrahedron with vertices
(0, 0, 0), (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), and (0, 0, 1) (Figure 42)
x
y
z
x
y
z
Figure 41 Figure 42
9
2. Use the Divergence Theorem to calculate the ux of F across S.
(a) F(x, y, z) = x
2
yi x
2
zj + yz
2
k; S is the surface of the rectangular box bounded by
the planes x = 0, x = 3, y = 0, y = 2, z = 0, and z = 1
(b) F(x, y, z) = z cos yi + xsin zj + xzk; S is the surface of the tetrahedron bounded by
the planes x = 0, y = 0, z = 0, and 2x + y + z = 2
(c) F(x, y, z) = ye
z
2
i + y
2
j + e
xy
k; S is the surface of the solid bounded by the cylinder
x
2
+ y
2
= 9 and the planes z = 0 and z = y 3
(d) F(x, y, z) = (y sin z) i +(z sin x) j +3zk; S is the surface of the solid bounded by the
hemisphere z =
_
4 x
2
y
2
and the plane z = 0
Stokes Theorem
Let S be an oriented piecewise-smooth surface that is bounded by a simple, close, piecewise-
smooth boundary curve C with positive orientation. Let F be a vector eld whose components
have continuous partial derivatives on an open region that contains S. Then
_
C
F dr =
__
S
curl F dS =
__
D
curl F (r
u
r
v
) dA.
1. Use Stokes Theorem to evaluate
__
S
curl F dS.
(a) F(x, y, z) = xyzi + xj + e
xy
cos zk, S is the hemisphere x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
= 1, z 0,
oriented upward (Figure 43)
(b) F(x, y, z) = y
2
zi + xzj + x
2
y
2
k, S is the part of the paraboloid z = x
2
+ y
2
that lies
inside the cylinder x
2
+ y
2
= 1, oriented upward (Figure 44)
(c) F(x, y, z) = (x + tan
1
yz) i + y
2
zj + zk, S is the part of the hemisphere
x =
_
9 y
2
z
2
that lies inside the cylinder y
2
+ z
2
= 4, oriented in the direction
of the positive x-axis (Figure 45)
(d) F(x, y, z) = yi +zj +xk, S is the part of the plane x+y +z = 1 that lies in the rst
octant, oriented upward (Figure 46)
10
x
y
z
S
C
x
y
z
S
C
Figure 43 Figure 44
x
y
z
x
y
z
Figure 45 Figure 46
2. Use Stokes Theorem to evaluate
_
C
F dr. In each case C is oriented counterclockwise
as viewed from above.
(a) F(x, y, z) = xzi+2xyj+3xyk, C is the boundary of the part of the plane 3x+y+z = 3
in the rst octant
(b) F(x, y, z) = z
2
i + y
2
j + xyk, C is the triangle with vertices (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), and
(0, 0, 2)
(c) F(x, y, z) = 2zi +4xj +5yk, C is the curve of intersection of the plane z = x+4 and
the cylinder x
2
+ y
2
= 4
(d) F(x, y, z) = xi + yj + (x
2
+ y
2
) k, C is the boundary of the part of the paraboloid
z = 1 x
2
y
2
in the rst octant
3. Calculate the integral
__
S
curl F ndS where,
(a) F(x, y, z) = yi + x
2
j + z
3
k and S the surface x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
= 1,
1
2
z 1;
(b) F(x, y, z) = yzi + (xz + 2x) j + xyk and S the surface x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
= 4, z 0,
by applying (i) the Divergence theorem and (ii) the Stokes theorem.
(2008 Quiz)
11