Let $a, b$ and $c$ be distinct non-negative numbers. If the vectors $a \hat{i}+a \hat{j}+c \hat{k},…

Let $a, b$ and $c$ be distinct non-negative numbers. If the vectors $a \hat{i}+a \hat{j}+c \hat{k}, \hat{i}+\hat{k}$ and $c \hat{i}+c \hat{j}+b \hat{k}$ lie in a plane, then $c$ is
  1. the Geometric Mean of $a$ and $b$
  2. the Arithmetic Mean of $a$ and $b$
  3. equal to zero
  4. the Harmonic Mean of $a$ and $b$

Solution

Vector $a \hat{i}+a \hat{j}+c \hat{k}, \hat{i}+\hat{k}$ and $c \hat{i}+c \hat{j}+b \hat{k}$ are coplanar $ \begin{aligned} & \left|\begin{array}{lll} a & a & c \\ 1 & 0 & 1 \\ c & c & b \end{array}\right|=0 \Rightarrow c^2=a b \\ & \therefore a, b, c \text { are in G.P. } \end{aligned} $

Asked in: JEE Main 2005

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