If $|a| = 10, |b| = 2$ and $a \cdot b = 12$, then the value of $|\vec{a} \times \vec{b}|$ is
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → 16 ##
Here, $|a| = 10, |b| = 2$ and $a \cdot b = 12$ [given]
$∴a \cdot b = |a||b| \cos \theta$
$12 = 10 \times 2 \cos \theta$
$\Rightarrow \cos \theta = \frac{12}{20} = \frac{3}{5}$
$∴\sin \theta = \sqrt{1 - \cos^2 \theta}$
$= \sqrt{1 - \frac{9}{25}}$
$\sin \theta = \pm \frac{4}{5}$
Now, $|a \times b| = |a||b| \sin \theta$
$= 10 \times 2 \times \frac{4}{5} = 16$