Question
The projections of a directed line segment on the co-ordinate axes are 6, -3, 2. Find its length and direction cosines.
Solution
Let l, m, n be the direction cosines of the line and let the length of the line segment be r.
∵ projection of the line segment on the axes are 6, - 3, 2
∴ l r = 6, m r = – 3, n r = 2
Squaring and adding, we get,
(l2 + m2 + n2) r2 = 36 + 9 + 4
∴ r2 = 49 ⇒ r = 7 length of line = 7 units.
and direction cosines of line are