A rather plane question

Geometry Level 3

Are the four points A ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) , B ( 3 , 2 , 1 ) , C ( 2 , 4 , 5 ) A(1,2,3), B(3,2,1), C(2,4,5) and D ( 2017 , 2016 , 1008 ) D(2017,2016,1008) in R 3 \mathbb{R^{3}} coplanar?

Cannot be determined Yes Only on Wednesdays No

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2 solutions

Any three points are coplanar, so first we will determine the plane shared by points A , B A,B and C C and then check to see if point D D also lies on this plane.

To find the normal to the plane shared by A , B A,B and C C we calculate the cross product of A B = ( 2 , 0 , 2 ) \vec{AB} = (2,0,-2) and A C = ( 1 , 2 , 2 ) \vec{AC} = (1,2,2) using the method described in the link to find a normal vector n = ( 4 , 6 , 4 ) \vec{n} = (4, - 6, 4) .

The plane equation is then ( x 1 , y 2 , z 3 ) ( 4 , 6 , 4 ) = 0 2 x 3 y + 2 z = 2 (x - 1, y - 2, z - 3) \circ (4, -6, 4) = 0 \Longrightarrow 2x - 3y + 2z = 2 .

Then as 2 × 2017 3 × 2016 + 2 × 1008 = 2 2 \times 2017 - 3 \times 2016 + 2 \times 1008 = 2 we can conclude that D D does lie on this plane, and thus that Y e s \boxed{Yes} , the four given points are coplanar.

Jon Haussmann
Apr 2, 2017

All four points lie on the plane 2 x 3 y + 2 z = 2 2x - 3y + 2z = 2 , so they are coplanar.

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