Polygon Method

The Polygon Method is otherwise known as the tip-to-tail method. This method is more
convenient than the parallelogram method when more than two vectors are to be added
graphically. The following are the steps to be followed using the polygon method.

1. Represent each vector quantity by an arrow drawn to scale.

2. Starting from the origin, draw the first vector he rectangular coordinate system,
accounting properly its direction
3. Connect the tail of the second vector to the head of the first vector. Connect the tail of
the third vector to the head of the second vector. You may continue drawing the vectors
head to tail until you draw the last vector to be added.
4. The resultant will close the figure formed by connecting the vectors. This resultant is
drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector.
5. Measure the length of the arrow representing the resultant. Determine the magnitude
of the resultant from the scale used.
6. Use a protractor to determine the direction of the resultant.

Note: If there are only two vectors to be added, the polygon that will be formed is a
triangle. In this case, the polygon method is otherwise known as the triangle method.

Sample Problem:

You are out for an early walk. You walk 5.0 m, south and 12.0 m, east. Then, you
decided to walk farther and go 4.0, southwest and 6.0 m, west. (a) How far are you now from
your starting point and in what direction? (b) Would you have arrived at the same spot had you
taken the steps in this order: 12.0 m, east; 4.0 m, southeast; 5.0 m, south; and 6.0 m, west? Use
the polygon method to determine the answer.

Solution:

Let A= 5.0 m, south; B = 12.0 m, east; C = 4.0 m, southwest; and D= 6.0 m, west. In the
figure below, (a) shows the polygon formed by adding the displacements in the order of A + B +
C + D. In (b), the displacements are added in the order of B + C + A + D. Changing the order of
adding displacements does not affect the resultant. This is a consequence of commutativity of
vectors when added together. From the scale used (width of 1 square in a graphing paper ( ) =
1 m), the resultant is approximately 8.0 m and its direction is approximately 68⁰ south of east.
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