Scalars and Vectors

SCALARS AND
VECTORS
B. SCALARS & VECTORS
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you shall be able to:
• tell the different vector and scalar
quantities;
• draw the representation of vector
quantities;
• perform addition of vectors;
• rewrite a vector into components; and
• calculate the magnitude and direction of
vectors.
What is a Scalar quantity?
→A scalar quantity is a physical quantity
that can be completely specified by a
single number together with an
appropriate unit of measurement.
→Scalar quantities are often referred to
simply as Scalars.
What are the different scalar quantities?
Table 2.1: Scalar quantities
Scalar Unit
Distance Meter
Time Second
Speed Meter/second
Work Joules
Energy Joules
Density Kilogram/cu. meter
Volume Cubic meter
Temperature ℃, ℉, °K
What is a Vector quantity?
→A vector quantity or simply vector is a
physical quantity that can be completely
specified by a magnitude and direction.
→The general “magnitude” term is referred
to here is always a non-negative scalar
quantity.
→The magnitude of any vector can be
thought of as the „size‟ or „length‟ of that
vector.
→This is represented by an arrow whose
length represents the magnitude (how
far, how strong etc, depending on the
type of vector) and the arrow head
represents the direction which is often
specified by an angle.
Figure 2.1: Scalar & Vector representation

7
What are the different vector quantities?
Vector Unit
Displacement Meter
Velocity Meter/second
Acceleration Meter/square second
Force Newton
Weight Newton
Momentum Kilogram-meter/second
Table 2.2: Vector quantities
ADDING AND SUBTRACTING VECTORS
Two vector quantities of the same
type (e.g. two displacements) may be
added together to produce another vector
quantity of the same type. This operation
is called Vector Addition.
Figure 2.2: The points O, P, Q, R, S and their locations

in the (x, y) plane.
𝐐𝐎 + 𝐎𝐒 = 𝐐𝐒
→The left – hand side of the equation
contains a new kind of quantity – the
sum of two vectors.
→Thus this equation is an example of
vector addition and the vector 𝐐𝐒 on the
right – hand side is said to be the vector
sum or resultant of 𝐐𝐎 and 𝐎𝐒.
→The magnitude of the vector sum or
resultant can be calculated using the
Pythagorean Theorem
𝐚𝟐 = 𝐛𝟐 + 𝐜 𝟐
a
c
𝛉
b
Where:
a = vector sum/resultant
b & c = two vectors
→The direction of the resultant can be
calculated using the basic trigonometric
function
𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜
𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝛉 = =
𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛
Examples on Adding & Subtracting
Vectors
Complete the following vector sums.
1. 𝐎𝐒 + 𝐒𝐏 = 𝐎𝐏
2. 𝐏𝐒 + 𝐒𝐑 = 𝐏𝐑
3. 𝐏𝐒 + 𝐒𝐑 + 𝐑𝐐 = 𝐏𝐑 +𝐑𝐐 = 𝐏𝐐
4. 𝐏𝐒 + 𝐒𝐑 + 𝐑𝐐 = 𝐏𝐒 +𝐒𝐐 = 𝐏𝐐
→So far, all the examples of vector
addition that we have considered have
involved vectors that are „head – to – tail‟
like 𝐎𝐒 and 𝐒𝐏, but remember, a vector
is completely specified by its magnitude
and direction; the endpoints are
insignificant.
→Points such as O, P, Q, R and S merely
provide a convenient way of specifying
vectors, the vectors themselves could
just as easily be represented by bold –
face letters, such as the u and v shown
in Figure 2.3 together with their sum w.
𝐎𝐒 + 𝐒𝐏 = 𝐎𝐏 𝐮+𝐯=𝐰
Figure 2.3: Two vectors u and v together with their

sum w.
→Figure 2.4 shows
just such a vector, t.
Even though t is
shown in a different
location from v, the
fact that t = v means
that it is correct to
Figure 2.4: The vectors
write 𝐮 + 𝐭 = 𝐰 v and t are equal.
So what is the general rule for adding
two vectors?
→The answer is illustrated graphically in
Figure 2.5 and may be summarized in
the following triangle rule for vector
addition.
The Triangle Rule
→Let vectors a and b be represented by
appropriate arrows (or directed line
segments). If the arrow representing b is
drawn from the head of the arrow
representing a, then an arrow from the
tail of a to the head of b represents the
vector sum a+b, marked c in the figure.
Figure 2.5: The Triangle Rule

Examples on Triangle Rule
Sketch and label some simple diagrams
showing how the Triangle Rule can be
used to find the following vector sums.
Refer to Figure 2.6.
a. A + B
b. C + D
c. E + F
Figure 2.6: Vector Addition

Answers:
a.
B
A
C =𝐀+𝐁
Answers:
b.
E =𝐂+𝐃
D
C
Answers:
c.
G =𝐄+𝐅
E
F
→An alternative but equivalent method of
adding vectors graphically is provided by
parallelogram rule. This has no real
advantages over the triangle rule, but it
is preferred by some authors. It is
illustrated in Figure 2.7 and may be
stated as follows.
The Parallelogram Rule
→Let vectors a and b be represented by
appropriate arrows (or directed line
segments). If the arrows representing a
and b are drawn from a common point O
so they form two sides of a
parallelogram, when the parallelogram is
completed an arrow from O along the
diagonal of the parallelogram represents
the vector sum a + b, marked c in the
figure.
Figure 2.7: The Parallelogram Rule

Figure 2.8: (a) Two vectors (b) Vector Sum (c) Vector
Difference
𝐚 + −𝐛
This quantity is usually more written as
𝐚−𝐛
and is called the Vector Difference of a
and b.
COMPONENTS OF VECTORS
Imagine a ball released from rest on a
perfectly smooth inclined plane, as shown
in Figure 2.9a.
What will happen to the ball immediately
after release?
Figure 2.9. (a) A ball of weight W, released from rest on

an inclined plane. (b) The component vectors of W,
parallel and normal to the plane.
Anyone familiar with Newton‟s Laws of
Motion would say that the acceleration of
the ball must be caused by a force
pointing down the plane.
But what is the origin of the force causing
the acceleration?
But what is the origin of the force causing
the acceleration?
→The only „downward‟ force that acts on
the ball is its weight, W – the force that
arises from the action of gravity on the
ball‟s mass – and that force acts
vertically downwards, not parallel to the
plane.
So where does the accelerating force come
from?
→The weight W of the ball can be regarded
as the sum of two other forces as shown
in Figure 2.9b, and we can write
𝐖 = 𝐅𝟏 + 𝐅𝟐 .
→The force 𝐅𝟏 that is parallel to the plane
causes the acceleration, while the force
𝐅𝟐 , that is normal (at right angles) to the
plane stops the ball from leaving the
plane and accounts for the difference
between W and 𝐅𝟏 .
→This process of splitting a given vector
into constituent parts at right angles to
each other is called (Orthogonal)
Resolution; we speak of resolving the
vector into its (orthogonal) Component
Vectors along the chosen directions.
One problem you
might be asked to
solve is illustrated in
Figure 2.10.
Figure 2.10. A given

vector a and a line AB.
The problem is to resolve vector a into two
component vectors, one parallel to AB, the
other normal to AB.
→To solve the problem, just use the
parallelogram rule („rectangle rule‟).
Construct a rectangle like the one shown
in Figure 11, with a as its diagonal and
one side parallel to AB.
→Call the component vectors parallel and
normal to AB, respectively, ap and an.
applying basic trigonometry to the
rectangle, you should then be able to see
that the magnitudes of the two
orthogonal component vectors are:
𝐚𝐩 = 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛉 𝐚𝐧 = 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛉
Examples on Components of Vectors
A. Resolving vectors into component
vectors relative to the given lines:
1.
a=10 m
𝛉 = 𝟑𝟎° A B
1. Solution:
𝐚𝐧
a=10 m
𝛉 = 𝟑𝟎° A B
𝐚𝐩
1. Solution:
ap = a cos θ an = a sin θ
ap = 10 cos 30° an = 10 sin 30°
𝐚𝐩 = 𝟖. 𝟔𝟔 𝐦 𝐚𝐧 = 𝟓 𝐦
2.
b= 𝟓0 N
4𝟎° A B
𝟓𝟎°
2. Solution:
𝐛𝐧
4𝟎° b= 𝟓0 N
A B
𝟓𝟎°
𝐛𝐩
2. Solution:
bp = b cos θ bn = b sin θ
bp = 50 cos 50° bn = 50 sin 50°
𝐛𝐩 = 𝟑𝟐. 𝟏𝟒 𝐍 𝐛𝐧 = 𝟑𝟖. 𝟑𝟎 𝐍
2. Alternative Solution
bp = b sin θ bn = b cos θ
bp = 50 sin 40° bn = 50 cos 40°
𝐛𝐩 = 𝟑𝟐. 𝟏𝟒 𝐍 𝐛𝐧 = 𝟑𝟖. 𝟑𝟎 𝐍
3.
c= 𝟏𝟖 𝐦/𝐬
B
𝟔𝟎°
A
3. Solution:
𝐜𝐧 c= 𝟏𝟖 𝐦/𝐬
B
𝟔𝟎°
𝐜𝐩
A
3. Solution:
cp = c cos θ cn = c sin θ
cp = 18 cos 60° cn = 18 sin 60°
𝐜𝐩 = 𝟗 𝐦/𝐬 𝐜𝐧 = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟓𝟗 𝐦/𝐬
B. Resolving vectors
using the
Cartesian Plane.
4. OP
5. SR
4. Solution:
𝐎𝐏𝐩 = 𝟐 𝐦 to the East
or to the right
𝐎𝐏𝐧 = 𝟐 𝐦 to the
North or upward
5. Solution:
𝐒𝐑 𝐩 = 𝟐 𝐦 to the
West or to the left
𝐒𝐑 𝐧 = 𝟒 𝐦 to the
North or upward
C. Calculating the magnitude and
direction of the resultant vector:
6. An airplane flying east at 310 m/s has
a 45 m/s tailwind. What is the
resultant velocity of the plane?
6. Solution:
Angle Calculation:
310 m/s 45 m/s θ =all directions
Magnitude Calculation: are headed East
V = 310 + 45 θ = due East or at 0°
V = 355 m/s
Resultant Velocity:
𝐕 = 𝟑𝟓𝟓 𝐦 𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝟎°
7. You left your house to visit a friend.
You got in your car, drove 40 miles
east, then got on a highway and went
50 miles north. What is your resultant
vector?
7. Solution: Magnitude Calculation:
a2 = b 2 + c 2
2 2
V= V1 + V2
V
50 miles V = 40 2 + 50 2
𝛉
V = 4100
40 miles V = 64.03 miles
7. Solution:
Angle Calculation: Resultant Velocity:
tan θ =
opposite
=
50 𝐕 = 𝟔𝟒. 𝟎𝟑 mi at
adjacent 40 𝟓𝟏. 𝟑𝟒°
−1 50
θ= tan
40
θ = 51.34°
8. An airplane flies at 30° North of East
with a velocity of 200 km/hr. It then
flies toward North with a velocity of 150
km/hr. What is the resultant velocity of
the airplane?
8. Solution:
8. Solution:
Vector Parallel Component Normal Component
V1 V1p = V1 cos 30° V1n = V1 sin 30°

V1p = 200 cos 30° V1n = 200 sin 30°
V1p = 173.21 V1n = 100
V2 V2p = 0 V2n = 150
V 𝐕𝐩 = 𝟏𝟕𝟑. 𝟐𝟏 𝐕𝐧 = 𝟐𝟓𝟎
8. Solution:
Magnitude Computation:
2 2
V= Vp + Vn
V = 173.21 2 + 250 2
V = 304.14 kph
8. Solution:
Angle Computation: Resultant Velocity:
opposite Vn
tan θ = = 𝐕 = 𝟑𝟎𝟒. 𝟏𝟒 kph at
adjacent Vp
𝟓𝟓. 𝟐𝟖°
−1 250
θ = tan
173.21
θ = 55.28°

Scalars and Vectors

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Scalars and Vectors

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SCALARS AND

Figure 2.1: Scalar & Vector representation

Figure 2.2: The points O, P, Q, R, S and their locations

Figure 2.3: Two vectors u and v together with their

Figure 2.5: The Triangle Rule

Figure 2.6: Vector Addition

Figure 2.7: The Parallelogram Rule

Figure 2.9. (a) A ball of weight W, released from rest on

Figure 2.10. A given

V1 V1p = V1 cos 30° V1n = V1 sin 30°

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