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Length of (1, 1, 1)

Step by step, with the reason for every step · Dot product and length · Linear Algebra

Step by step

The question

Question: find the length of (1, 1, 1).

v = [1; 1; 1]

The length of v, written with double bars, is Pythagoras in more directions: square every entry, add, then take the square root.

‖v‖ = √(entries squared, added)

1 Square and add

Every entry squared.

‖v‖ = √12 + 12 + 12

Careful!

The entries are squared first, then added.

Adding the entries themselves is not the length.

Careful: not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 ✗

The squares: 1 + 1 + 1.

‖v‖ = √1 + 1 + 1

Added: 3.

‖v‖ = √3

2 Take the square root

3 Check

Let's check: the length squared must give back 3.

It does.

So the answer is right!

(√3)² = 3

Let's look back.

First: square and add.

Then: take the square root.

Last: check.

Answer
‖v‖ = √3

Your turn

Try this one yourself, then check:

Length of [1; 2; 1]
Show the answer
‖v‖ = √6

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