9/30/2018

PH-125 Applied Physics

Lecture – 2
Vectors

Vectors
 Vector represents the value/magnitude and direction of
any field/quantity/measurement

Usman Younis

1
 9/30/2018

Displacement Vector
 If a particle moves from a point P1 to a point P2, we can represent
the change of position graphically by an arrow, or directed line
segment, from P1 to P2
 The directed line segment is the displacement vector of the
particle

Usman Younis

Vector Addition
 The net displacement vector is the directed line segment
from the initial position P1 to the final position P3
 This vector C is the sum of the individual displacements:
C=A+B
 The sum of two vectors is usually called the resultant of
these vectors

Example 1
Page 73 of Book
Usman Younis

2
 9/30/2018

Vector Addition

 The vector sum A + B; the resultant is C. (a) The two vectors

A and B. (b) Addition of A and B by the tail-to-head method.
(c) Addition of A and B by the parallelogram method.

Usman Younis

Cumulative Law of Vector addition

 The order in which the two vectors are added makes no

difference to the final result
 A+B=B+A
 The magnitude of the resultant of two vectors is usually
less than the sum of the magnitudes of the vectors
 if C = A + B
 then C ≤ A + B

Usman Younis

3
 9/30/2018

Parallel Vectors

Usman Younis

Vector Subtraction
A − B = A + (−B)

Usman Younis

4
 9/30/2018

Negative and
Multiples

Usman Younis

Usman Younis

5
 9/30/2018

Position Vector

 The position of a point can

be represented by a
displacement vector from
the origin to that point
 Its called position vector

Usman Younis

Components of a
Vector
 A vector A has both magnitude
and direction
 Magnitude of A is written as A
 Vector A can be represented in
Cartesian (rectangular in the
figure) coordinates as:

A𝑥 = 𝐀 cos 𝜃
A𝑦 = 𝐀 sin 𝜃 𝐴= A2𝑥 + A2𝑦

Example 2 of the Book

Page 78
Usman Younis

6
 9/30/2018

Unit Vectors
 The position vector and other vectors can
be expressed in terms of unit vectors
along the coordinate axes
 The unit vectors along the x, y, and z axes
are designated by i, j, and k
 The magnitude of these vectors is 1; that
is, |i| = 1, |j| = 1, and |k| = 1
A = A𝑥 𝐢 + A𝑦 𝐣 + A 𝑧 𝐤

𝐴= A2𝑥 + A2𝑦 + A2𝑧

A𝑥 i + A𝑦 j + A𝑧 𝐤
𝑨=
A2𝑥 + A2𝑦 + A2𝑧
Usman Younis

Example 3 of the Book

Page 80
Usman Younis

7
 9/30/2018

Vector Multiplication

Dot Product
 The dot product (also called the scalar product) of two
vectors A and B is denoted by A.B
 This quantity is simply the product of the magnitudes
of the two vectors and the cosine of the angle between
them
A∙B = AB cos𝜙
 The number will be positive if Φ < 90, negative if Φ <
90, and zero if Φ = 90
 Dot product is commutative
A∙B = B.A
Usman Younis

Vector Multiplication Example 5 of the Book

Page 83

Dot Product

Since

A∙B = A𝑥 B𝑥 + A𝑦 B𝑦

A∙B = A𝑥 B𝑥 + A𝑦 B𝑦 + A𝑧 B𝑧

Similarly

Usman Younis

8
 9/30/2018

Vector Multiplication
Cross Product
 In contrast to the dot product of two
vectors, which is a scalar, the cross
product (also called the vector
product) of two vectors is a vector
 The magnitude of this vector is equal
to the product of the magnitudes of
the two vectors and the sine of the
angle between them

C = A×B
A×B = − B×A
C = AB sin𝜙

Usman Younis

Vector Multiplication
Cross Product
 If the vectors A and B are
parallel, then their cross
product is zero, Φ = 0

Usman Younis

9
 9/30/2018

Vector Multiplication
Cross Product

A = A 𝑥 𝐢 + A𝑦 𝐣 + A𝑧 𝐤

B = B𝑥 𝐢 + B𝑦 𝐣 + B𝑧 𝐤

Example 6 of the Book

Page 85
Usman Younis

Usman Younis

10