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Exercise 9

Avg difficulty 2.5

In this exercise, we will look at how different forms of component function's dependence on our variables will change the divergence of the vector field. For each of the vector fields given below, decide if the divergence of the vector field must be zero and write a sentence or two to justify your decision.

  1. F⃗=f(x)ı^+g(y)k^+ȷ^+h(z)ȷ^\begin{gathered} \vF=f(x)\vi+g(y)\vk+\vj+h(z)\vj \end{gathered}

  2. G⃗=f(x)ı^+f(y)k^+ȷ^+f(z)ȷ^\begin{gathered} \vG=f(x)\vi+f(y)\vk+\vj+f(z)\vj \end{gathered}

  3. H⃗=f(y,z)ı^+g(x,z)k^+ȷ^+h(x,y)ȷ^\begin{gathered} \vH=f(y,z)\vi+g(x,z)\vk+\vj+h(x,y)\vj \end{gathered}

  4. A⃗=g(x,y)ı^−g(x,y)k^+ȷ^+h(z)ȷ^\begin{gathered} \vA=g(x,y)\vi-g(x,y)\vk+\vj+h(z)\vj \end{gathered}

  5. B⃗=g(x,y)ı^−g(y,x)k^+ȷ^+h(z)ȷ^\begin{gathered} \vB=g(x,y)\vi-g(y,x)\vk+\vj+h(z)\vj \end{gathered}

Long, Keller & Schlicker, Active Calculus Multivariable, §13.7 The Divergence of a Vector Field, Exercise 9

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Adapted from Active Calculus Multivariable © 2013–2026 Nicholas Long, Mitchel T. Keller, and Steven Schlicker. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Active Calculus Multivariable. Imported at revision 692c03c.