A Level Maths Notes: FP3 – The Cross Product
The cross product of two vectors
and
is
also a vector, at right angles to the other two with
magnitude
where
is
the angle between the two vectors.
The cross product of the two vectors can be written as the determinant of a matrix:
If
and
then
For example if
and
then

As shown above, if the order of the vectors is reversed, the sign of the cross product changes.