Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2018/7/c/solution

A plane through with nonzero normal vector consists of the position vectors satisfying . Thus , with . When is a unit vector, is the signed distance from the origin in the direction ; for an unnormalized normal vector, that distance is . The displacement within the plane is perpendicular to .
The cross product of the two normal vectors is , so their intersection of two planes has direction . Eliminating gives , and substitution then gives . Thus the Cartesian constraints and parametric equation of a straight line are
There is no valid division by a zero component in a symmetric ratio form; retaining explicitly handles that component.

New to topics? Read the docs here!