Name: Gabriel Jovan Buenaventura & Alyanna Romina P. Santos Date: Nov.

3, 2021

Activity No. and Title: 1 – Vectors

Topics: Vector Addition and Components of Vectors

Introduction
How did ancient sea captains keep their ships on course throughout their voyages? They used dead reckoning to figure out where they
were going. Do you think that they followed the sun, the shoreline or even the stars? Yes, they did. However, by knowing the speed,
time, and course of their travel, they could determine where and approximately when they would arrive, which was a great advantage!
Columbus—and most other sailors of his era—used dead reckoning to navigate. With dead reckoning, navigators find their positions
by estimating the course and distance they have sailed from known points. Starting from a known point, such as a port, a navigator
measures out the course and distance from that point on a chart, pricking the chart with a pin to mark the new position. These early
navigators used math to help them find their way and stay on course when wind, current and other factors affected their journeys.
Unfortunately, Columbus never reached the destination where he thought he would end up. Why do you think that happened? How
accurate is dead reckoning?
Vectors are arrows that represent two pieces of information: a magnitude value (the length of the arrow) and a directional value (the
way the arrow is pointed). In terms of movement, the information contained in the vector is the distance traveled and the direction
traveled. Vectors give us a graphical method to calculate the sum of several simultaneous movements. If movement is affected by only
one variable (represented by vector A or B), then a vessel would arrive at the end of that vector. If movement is affected by two variables
(represented by the sum of A and B), then a vessel's final position can be found by linking the two vectors together.

Figure 1 Vectors illustrate the final position of vessel’s voyage

 Vector Voyage

USA (NY)
3.5

USA (FL) 4
 Vector Voyage

Cuba 3
Discussion Question
1. Should sailors worry about wind and current when traveling long distances?
Due to the wind and current, ship may lead to a different location or route. So, yes. They should.

2. Should a navigator pay attention to wind? To current?

If the navigator does not pay mind to the wind and to the current; their ship will get lost in a different destination. So the answer would
be a yes.

3. Vectors have many real-life applications, give an example, and explain its importance in our daily life
For instance, the satellites that orbit the Earth in space is due to the momentum of the satellite and the gravity of the Earth, causing
an orbit. Those are the two vectors that maintain the satellite's orbit to keep it working and doing its intended purpose. Satellites are
important in predicting the weather and possessing an accurate weather forecast. It estimates the sea and ice levels, foresees the
pollution level and the likes to take action as soon as possible and spread awareness so that it would not leave a severe impact on
humanity.

Reference:
[1] Vector voyage! - activity. TeachEngineering.org. (2021, October 5). Retrieved October 11, 2021, from
https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_navigation_lesson02_activity1.