ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF TURKMENISTAN

OGUZ HAN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF

TURKMENISTAN

FACULTY OF COMPUTER SCIENCES AND INFORMATION TEСHNOLOGIES

PSSUTC
Theme: The scalar product of two vectors.
Work done by a Varying force

Group: 3611

Performed by: Amangeldiyeva Ayjeren

Accepted by: Durdyhanov G.

Ashgabat 2021
 Physics is a mathematical science. The underlying concepts and principles have
a mathematical basis. Throughout the course of our study of physics, we will encounter
a variety of concepts that have a mathematical basis associated with them. While our
emphasis will often be upon the conceptual nature of physics, we will give considerable
and persistent attention to its mathematical aspect.
The motion of objects can be described by words. Even a person without a
background in physics has a collection of words that can be used to describe moving
objects. Words and phrases such as going fast, stopped, slowing down, speeding up,
and turning provide a sufficient vocabulary for describing the motion of objects. In
physics, we use these words and many more. We will be expanding upon this
vocabulary list with words such as distance, displacement, speed, velocity,
and acceleration. As we will soon see, these words are associated with mathematical
quantities that have strict definitions. The mathematical quantities that are used to
describe the motion of objects can be divided into two categories. The quantity is either
a vector or a scalar. These two categories can be distinguished from one another by their
distinct definitions:
 Scalars are quantities that are fully described by a magnitude (or
numerical value) alone.
 Vectors are quantities that are fully described by both a magnitude and a
direction.
The remainder of this lesson will focus on several examples of vector and scalar
quantities (distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration). As you proceed
through the lesson, give careful attention to the vector and scalar nature of each
quantity. As we proceed through other units at The Physics Classroom Tutorial and
become introduced to new mathematical quantities, the discussion will often begin by
identifying the new quantity as being either a vector or a scalar.
Many familiar physical quantities can be specified completely by giving a
single number and the appropriate unit. For example, “a class period lasts 50 min” or
“the gas tank in my car holds 65 L” or “the distance between two posts is 100 m.” A
physical quantity that can be specified completely in this manner is called a scalar
quantity. Scalar is a synonym of “number.” Time, mass, distance, length, volume,
temperature, and energy are examples of scalar quantities.

Scalar quantities that have the same physical units can be added or subtracted
according to the usual rules of algebra for numbers. For example, a class ending 10 min
earlier than 50 min lasts 50min−10min=40min50min−10min=40min. Similarly, a 60-cal
serving of corn followed by a 200-cal serving of donuts
gives 60cal+200cal=260cal60cal+200cal=260cal of energy. When we multiply a scalar
quantity by a number, we obtain the same scalar quantity but with a larger (or smaller)
value. For example, if yesterday’s breakfast had 200 cal of energy and today’s breakfast
has four times as much energy as it had yesterday, then today’s breakfast
has 4(200cal)=800cal4(200cal)=800cal of energy. Two scalar quantities can also be
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multiplied or divided by each other to form a derived scalar quantity. For example, if a
train covers a distance of 100 km in 1.0 h, its speed is 100.0 km/1.0 h = 27.8 m/s, where
the speed is a derived scalar quantity obtained by dividing distance by time.

Many physical quantities, however, cannot be described completely by just a

single number of physical units. For example, when the U.S. Coast Guard dispatches a
ship or a helicopter for a rescue mission, the rescue team must know not only the
distance to the distress signal, but also the direction from which the signal is coming so
they can get to its origin as quickly as possible. Physical quantities specified completely
by giving a number of units (magnitude) and a direction are called vector quantities.
Examples of vector quantities include displacement, velocity, position, force, and
torque. In the language of mathematics, physical vector quantities are represented by
mathematical objects called vectors ((Figure)). We can add or subtract two vectors, and
we can multiply a vector by a scalar or by another vector, but we cannot divide by a
vector. The operation of division by a vector is not defined. Let’s examine vector
algebra using a graphical method to be aware of basic terms and to develop a qualitative
understanding. In practice, however, when it comes to solving physics problems, we use
analytical methods, which we’ll see in the next section. Analytical methods are more
simple computationally and more accurate than graphical methods. From now on, to
distinguish between a vector and a scalar quantity, we adopt the common convention
that a letter in bold type with an arrow above it denotes a vector, and a letter without an
arrow denotes a scalar. For example, a distance of 2.0 km, which is a scalar quantity, is
denoted by d = 2.0 km, whereas a displacement of 2.0 km in some direction, which is a
vector quantity, is denoted by d.

Suppose you tell a friend on a camping trip that you have discovered a terrific
fishing hole 6 km from your tent. It is unlikely your friend would be able to find the
hole easily unless you also communicate the direction in which it can be found with
respect to your campsite. You may say, for example, “Walk about 6 km northeast from
my tent.” The key concept here is that you have to give not one but two pieces of
information—namely, the distance or magnitude (6 km) and the direction (northeast).

Displacement is a general term used to describe a change in position, such as

during a trip from the tent to the fishing hole. Displacement is an example of a vector
quantity. If you walk from the tent (location A) to the hole (location B), as shown
in (Figure), the vector →DD→, representing your displacement, is drawn as the arrow
that originates at point A and ends at point B. The arrowhead marks the end of the
vector. The direction of the displacement vector →DD→ is the direction of the arrow.
The length of the arrow represents the magnitude D of vector →DD→. Here, D = 6 km.
Since the magnitude of a vector is its length, which is a positive number, the magnitude
is also indicated by placing the absolute value notation around the symbol that denotes
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the vector; so, we can write equivalently that D≡|→D|D≡|D→|. To solve a vector
problem graphically, we need to draw the vector →DD→ to scale. For example, if we
assume 1 unit of distance (1 km) is represented in the drawing by a line segment of
length u = 2 cm, then the total displacement in this example is represented by a vector
of length d=6u=6(2cm)=12cmd=6u=6(2cm)=12cm, as shown in (Figure). Notice that
here, to avoid confusion, we used D=6kmD=6km to denote the magnitude of the actual
displacement and d = 12 cm to denote the length of its representation in the drawing.

Figure The displacement vector from point A (the initial position at the campsite) to
point B (the final position at the fishing hole) is indicated by an arrow with origin at
point A and end at point B. The displacement is the same for any of the actual paths
(dashed curves) that may be taken between points A and B.

Figure A displacement →DD→ of magnitude 6 km is drawn to scale as a vector of

length 12 cm when the length of 2 cm represents 1 unit of displacement (which in this
case is 1 km).

Suppose your friend walks from the campsite at A to the fishing pond at B and
then walks back: from the fishing pond at B to the campsite at A. The magnitude of the
displacement vector →DABD→AB from A to B is the same as the magnitude of the
displacement vector →DBAD→BA from B to A (it equals 6 km in both cases), so we
can write  DAB=DBA=DBA. However, vector →DABD→AB is not equal to
vector →DBAD→BA because these two vectors have different
directions: →DAB≠→DBAD→AB≠D→BA. In (Figure), vector →DBAD→BA would
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be represented by a vector with an origin at point B and an end at point A, indicating
vector →DBAD→BA points to the southwest, which is exactly 180°180° opposite to
the direction of vector →DABD→AB. We say that
vector →DBAD→BA is antiparallel to vector →DABD→AB and
write →DAB=−→DBAD→AB=−D→BA, where the minus sign indicates the
antiparallel direction.

Two vectors that have identical directions are said to be parallel vectors—
meaning, they are parallel to each other. Two parallel vectors →AA→ and →BB→ are
equal, denoted by →A=→BA→=B→, if and only if they have equal magnitudes |→A|
=|→B||A→|=|B→|. Two vectors with directions perpendicular to each other are said to
be orthogonal vectors. These relations between vectors are illustrated in (Figure).

Figure  Various relations between two vectors →AA→ and →BB→.

(a) →A≠→BA→≠B→ because A≠BA≠B. (b) →A≠→BA→≠B→ because they are not
parallel and A≠BA≠B. (c) →A≠−→AA→≠−A→ because they have different directions
(even though |→A|=|−→A|=A)|A→|=|−A→|=A). (d) →A=→BA→=B→ because they
are parallel and have identical magnitudes A = B. (e) →A≠→BA→≠B→ because they
have different directions (are not parallel); here, their directions differ by 90°90°—
meaning, they are orthogonal.

Algebra of Vectors in One Dimension

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Vectors can be multiplied by scalars, added to other vectors, or subtracted from other
vectors. We can illustrate these vector concepts using an example of the fishing trip
seen in (Figure).

Figure  Displacement vectors for a fishing trip. (a) Stopping to rest at point C while
walking from camp (point A) to the pond (point B). (b) Going back for the dropped
tackle box (point D). (c) Finishing up at the fishing pond.

Suppose your friend departs from point A (the campsite) and walks in the
direction to point B (the fishing pond), but, along the way, stops to rest at some
point C located three-quarters of the distance between A and B, beginning from
point A ((Figure)(a)). What is his displacement vector →DACD→AC when he reaches
point C? We know that if he walks all the way to B, his displacement vector relative
to A is →DABD→AB, which has magnitude DAB=6kmDAB=6km and a direction of
northeast. If he walks only a 0.75 fraction of the total distance, maintaining the
northeasterly direction, at point C he must be 0.75DAB=4.5km0.75DAB=4.5km away
from the campsite at A. So, his displacement vector at the rest point C has
magnitude DAC=4.5km=0.75DABDAC=4.5km=0.75DAB and is parallel to the
displacement vector →DABD→AB. All of this can be stated succinctly in the form of
the following vector equation:

In a vector equation, both sides of the equation are vectors. The previous
equation is an example of a vector multiplied by a positive scalar
(number) α=0.75α=0.75. The result, →DACD→AC, of such a multiplication is a new
vector with a direction parallel to the direction of the original vector →DABD→AB.

In general, when a vector →AA→ is multiplied by a positive scalar αα, the

result is a new vector →BB→ that is parallel to →AA→:
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 The magnitude |→B| of this new vector is obtained by multiplying the
magnitude |→A||A→| of the original vector, as expressed by the scalar equation:

In a scalar equation, both sides of the equation are numbers. (Figure) is a scalar

equation because the magnitudes of vectors are scalar quantities (and positive numbers).
If the scalar αα is negative in the vector equation (Figure), then the magnitude |→B||
B→| of the new vector is still given by (Figure), but the direction of the new
vector →BB→ is antiparallel to the direction of →AA→. These principles are
illustrated in (Figure)(a) by two examples where the length of vector →AA→ is 1.5
units. When α=2α=2, the new vector →B=2→AB→=2A→ has
length B=2A=3.0unitsB=2A=3.0units (twice as long as the original vector) and is
parallel to the original vector. When α=−2α=−2, the new
vector →C=−2→AC→=−2A→ has length C=|−2|A=3.0unitsC=|−2|A=3.0units (twice
as long as the original vector) and is antiparallel to the original vector.

Figure Algebra of vectors in one dimension. (a) Multiplication by a scalar. (b) Addition

of two vectors (→R(R→ is called the resultant of vectors →AA→ and →B)B→). (c)
Subtraction of two vectors (→D(D→ is the difference of
vectors →AA→ and →B)B→).

Now suppose your fishing buddy departs from point A (the campsite), walking in the
direction to point B (the fishing hole), but he realizes he lost his tackle box when he
stopped to rest at point C (located three-quarters of the distance between A and B,
beginning from point A).

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Algebra of Vectors in Two Dimensions

When vectors lie in a plane—that is, when they are in two dimensions—they can
be multiplied by scalars, added to other vectors, or subtracted from other vectors in
accordance with the general laws expressed by (Figure), (Figure), (Figure),
and (Figure). However, the addition rule for two vectors in a plane becomes more
complicated than the rule for vector addition in one dimension. We have to use the laws
of geometry to construct resultant vectors, followed by trigonometry to find vector
magnitudes and directions. This geometric approach is commonly used in navigation
((Figure)). In this section, we need to have at hand two rulers, a triangle, a protractor, a
pencil, and an eraser for drawing vectors to scale by geometric constructions.

For a geometric construction of the sum of two vectors in a plane, we follow

the parallelogram rule. Suppose two vectors →AA→ and →BB→ are at the arbitrary
positions shown in (Figure). Translate either one of them in parallel to the beginning of
the other vector, so that after the translation, both vectors have their origins at the same
point. Now, at the end of vector →AA→ we draw a line parallel to vector →BB→ and
at the end of vector →BB→ we draw a line parallel to vector →AA→ (the dashed lines
in (Figure)). In this way, we obtain a parallelogram. From the origin of the two vectors
we draw a diagonal that is the resultant →RR→ of the two
vectors: →R=→A+→BR→=A→+B→ ((Figure)(a)). The other diagonal of this
parallelogram is the vector difference of the two vectors →D=→A−→BD→=A→−B→,
as shown in (Figure)(b). Notice that the end of the difference vector is placed at the end
of vector →AA→.

Figure The parallelogram rule for the addition of two vectors. Make the parallel
translation of each vector to a point where their origins (marked by the dot) coincide
and construct a parallelogram with two sides on the vectors and the other two sides
(indicated by dashed lines) parallel to the vectors. (a) Draw the resultant
vector →RR→ along the diagonal of the parallelogram from the common point to the
opposite corner. Length R of the resultant vector is not equal to the sum of the
magnitudes of the two vectors. (b) Draw the difference
vector →D=→A−→BD→=A→−B→ along the diagonal connecting the ends of the
vectors. Place the origin of vector →DD→ at the end of vector →BB→ and the end
(arrowhead) of vector →DD→ at the end of vector →AA→. Length D of the difference
vector is not equal to the difference of magnitudes of the two vectors.
It follows from the parallelogram rule that neither the magnitude of the resultant
vector nor the magnitude of the difference vector can be expressed as a simple sum or
difference of magnitudes A and B, because the length of a diagonal cannot be expressed
as a simple sum of side lengths. When using a geometric construction to find
magnitudes |→R||R→| and |→D||D→|, we have to use trigonometry laws for triangles,
7
which may lead to complicated algebra. There are two ways to circumvent this algebraic
complexity. One way is to use the method of components, which we examine in the
next section. The other way is to draw the vectors to scale, as is done in navigation, and
read approximate vector lengths and angles (directions) from the graphs. In this section
we examine the second approach.

If we need to add three or more vectors, we repeat the parallelogram rule for the
pairs of vectors until we find the resultant of all of the resultants. For three vectors, for
example, we first find the resultant of vector 1 and vector 2, and then we find the
resultant of this resultant and vector 3. The order in which we select the pairs of vectors
does not matter because the operation of vector addition is commutative and associative
(see (Figure) and (Figure)). Before we state a general rule that follows from repetitive
applications of the parallelogram rule, let’s look at the following example.

Suppose you plan a vacation trip in Florida. Departing from Tallahassee, the
state capital, you plan to visit your uncle Joe in Jacksonville, see your cousin Vinny in
Daytona Beach, stop for a little fun in Orlando, see a circus performance in Tampa, and
visit the University of Florida in Gainesville. Your route may be represented by five
displacement vectors →A,A→, →BB→, →CC→, →DD→, and →EE→, which are
indicated by the red vectors in (Figure). What is your total displacement when you reach
Gainesville? The total displacement is the vector sum of all five displacement vectors,
which may be found by using the parallelogram rule four times. Alternatively, recall
that the displacement vector has its beginning at the initial position (Tallahassee) and its
end at the final position (Gainesville), so the total displacement vector can be drawn
directly as an arrow connecting Tallahassee with Gainesville (see the green vector
in (Figure)). When we use the parallelogram rule four times, the resultant →RR→ we
obtain is exactly this green vector connecting
Drawing the resultant vector of many vectors can be generalized by using the
following tail-to-head geometric construction. Suppose we want to draw the resultant
vector →RR→ of four vectors →AA→, →BB→, →CC→, and →DD→ ((Figure)(a)).
We select any one of the vectors as the first vector and make a parallel translation of a
second vector to a position where the origin (“tail”) of the second vector coincides with
the end (“head”) of the first vector. Then, we select a third vector and make a parallel
translation of the third vector to a position where the origin of the third vector coincides
with the end of the second vector. We repeat this procedure until all the vectors are in a
head-to-tail arrangement like the one shown in (Figure). We draw the resultant
vector →RR→ by connecting the origin (“tail”) of the first vector with the end (“head”)
of the last vector. The end of the resultant vector is at the end of the last vector. Because
the addition of vectors is associative and commutative, we obtain the same resultant
vector regardless of which vector we choose to be first, second, third, or fourth in this
construction.

8
Scalar Product of Vectors
The scalar product (also called the dot product and inner product) of vectors A and B is
written and defined as follows
A·B = | A | | B | cos (θ)
where | A | is the magnitude of vector A , | B | is the magnitude of vector B and θ is the
angle made by the two vectors. The result of a scalar product of two vectors is a scalar
quantity.
For vectors given by their components: A = (Ax , Ay, Az) and B = (Bx , By, Bz), the
scalar product is given by
A·B = AxBx + AyBy + AzBz
Note that if θ = 90°, then cos(θ) = 0 and therefore we can state that: Two vectors, with
magnitudes not equal to zero, are perpendicular if and only if their scalar product is
equal to zero.

Fig1. - Angle between vectors and scalar product.

The scalar product may also be used to find the cosine and therefore the angle between
two vectors

cos (θ) = A·B / | A | | B |

9
Work Done By Varying Force Definition

All the forces that are encountered in day-to-day life are nearly not constant, they are
variable in nature which means they can be directly or linearly increasing or decreasing,
etc., and when those variable forces are supposed to do the work by displacing an object
to a distance then that work is called work done by variable forces or varying force.

Integration is the only major tool to overcome the drawback of calculation of work done
by varying forces.

In everyday life, people use terms like work and energy to explain various contexts. In
everyday life, they also comment on work that can be done mentally. But to define
things in Physics, work is said to be done if any muscular force is applied on a body and
it displaces that body in the direction of the applied force. There should be some
displacement for work to be counted.

As explained earlier that maximum forces that exist in nature are variable in nature so if
the force F\left( x \right)F(x) (variable) displaces the body from {x_i}xito {x_f}xf, then
finding the area under the graph is not directly possible. So, taking the help of
summation or integration,

The forces which limit the movement of the components in its setup are called
constraint forces. These forces restrict or make velocity zero in the direction where they
might be applied.

To understand, take some examples like rotating a stone tied with string. In this
example, the centripetal force will act inwards as that is a uniform circular motion.
Here, the velocity of the stone is perpendicular to the force so the work done here is
zero.

Consider the example of a book placed on a table. Human force is applied on the book,
an equal and opposite force is applied by the table on the book also, this is called the
constraint forces. Until the human force applied on the book is greater than the
constraint force of the table, the book will not displace. But even after displacement, in
Physics, it is said that no work is done.

Using Integration to Calculate the Work Done by Variable Forces

A force is said to do work when it acts on a body so that there is a displacement of the
point of application in the direction of the force. Thus, a force does work when it results
in movement.

The work done by a constant force of magnitude F on a point that moves a

displacement Δx in the direction of the force is simply the product
10
In the case of a variable force, integration is necessary to calculate the work done. For
example, let’s consider work done by a spring. According to the Hooke’s law the
restoring force (or spring force) of a perfectly elastic spring is proportional to its
extension (or compression), but opposite to the direction of extension (or compression).
So the spring force acting upon an object attached to a horizontal spring is given by:

that is proportional to its displacement (extension or compression) in the x direction

from the spring’s equilibrium position, but its direction is opposite to the x direction.
For a variable force, one must add all the infinitesimally small contributions to the work
done during infinitesimally small time intervals dt (or equivalently, in infinitely small
length intervals dx=vxdt). In other words, an integral must be evaluated:

This is the work done by a spring exerting a variable force on a mass moving from
position xo to x (from time 0 to time t). The work done is positive if the applied force is
in the same direction as the direction of motion; so the work done by the object on
spring from time 0 to time t, is:

in this relation FaFa is the force acted upon spring by the object. FaFa and FsFs are in

fact action- reaction pairs; and WaWa is equal to the elastic potential energy stored in
spring.

Using Integration to Calculate the Work Done by Constant Forces

The same integration approach can be also applied to the work done by a constant force.
This suggests that integrating the product of force and distance is the general way of
determining the work done by a force on a moving body.

Consider the situation of a gas sealed in a piston, the study of which is important in
Thermodynamics. In this case, the Pressure (Pressure =Force/Area) is constant and can
be taken out of the integral:

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Another example is the work done by gravity (a constant force) on a free-falling object
(we assign the y-axis to vertical motion, in this case):

Notice that the result is the same as we would have obtained by simply evaluating the
product of force and distance.

Units Used for Work

The SI unit of work is the joule (J), which is defined as the work done by a force of one
newton moving an object through a distance of one meter.

Non-SI units of work include the erg, the foot-pound, the foot-pound, the kilowatt hour,
the liter-atmosphere, and the horsepower-hour.

Work Is Moving an Object

We do work on objects when we move them. Pick your cat up off the couch, and you've
done work on it. Lift your friend's TV into a moving truck, and you've done work on it.
When we first learned about work, we were told that the amount of work done on an
object is equal to the force on that object over the distance it is displaced. Simplified,
we can write this equation as work = force x distance.
This sounds pretty good, right? But there's a problem here. Think about lifting that TV
or picking up your cat. Is the amount of lifting you do constant as you move the object?
Probably not. Even if you try really hard to apply a steady force on that object, it's still
somewhat variable over the time you apply it.
This complicates things a bit, because calculating the amount of work done is not as
straightforward. For example, let's say you move a box across the floor, but the amount
of force you apply decreases as you go along. For this variable force, we're going to
need more than just a simple equation. But before we dive into that, let's look at work
on the graph to help us understand what we're actually calculating.

References
Scalar (or Dot) Product of Two Vectors
https://www.toppr.com/guides/maths/vector-algebra/scalar-dot-product-
of-two-vectors/
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Scalars and Vectors
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-1/Scalars-and-
Vectors
Scalars and Vectors
https://www.toppr.com/guides/physics/motion-in-a-plane/scalars-and-
vectors/
Work done by a variable force
https://www.vedantu.com/physics/work-done-by-a-variable-force
Module 3 -- Work done by a Varying force and Work along a Changing Path
https://scripts.mit.edu/~srayyan/PERwiki/index.php?title=Module_3_--
_Work_done_by_a_Varying_force_and_Work_along_a_Changing_Path
Work by a Variable Force using Integration
https://www.intmath.com/applications-integration/7-work-variable-
force.php

Contents

1. Algebra of Vectors in One Dimension......................................................4

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2 The scalar product.....................................................................................9
3. Work Done By Varying Force Definition...............................................10
4. Using Integration to Calculate the Work Done by Variable Forces.......10
5. Units Used for Work...............................................................................12
6. Work Is Moving an Object......................................................................12
References...............................................................................................13

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