INTODUCTION

In Physics, we classify quantities into vectors and

scalars. The quantities which have both magnitude and
direction are called vectors. Examples are velocity,
force, displacement, weight, acceleration, etc. The
quantities which have only magnitude and no direction
are called scalar quantities. Examples are mass, volume,
speed, time etc.

Types
of
Vectors
List
There
are 10
types
of
vectors in mathematics which are:
Zero Vector
A zero vector is a vector when the magnitude of the vector is
zero and the starting point of the vector coincides with the
terminal point.

Unit Vector
A vector which has a magnitude of unit length is called a unit
vector. Suppose if
x→
is a vector having a magnitude x then the unit vector is
denoted by x̂ in the direction of the vector
x→
and has the magnitude equal to 1.
∴
x^=x→|x|

Position Vector
If O is taken as reference origin and P is an arbitrary point in
space then the vector
OP→
is called as the position vector of the point.
Position vector simply denotes the position or location of a
point in the three-dimensional Cartesian system with respect
to a reference origin.

Co-initial Vectors
The vectors which have the same starting point are called co-
initial vectors.

The vectors
AB→
and
AC→
are called co-initial vectors as they have the same starting
point.

Like and Unlike Vectors

The vectors having the same direction are known as like
vectors. On the contrary, the vectors having the opposite
direction with respect to each other are termed to be unlike
vectors.

Co-planar Vectors
Three or more vectors lying in the same plane or parallel to
the same plane are known as co-planar vectors.

Collinear Vectors
Vectors that lie along the same line or parallel lines are known
to be collinear vectors. They are also known as parallel
vectors.
Two vectors are collinear if they are parallel to the same line
irrespective of their magnitudes and direction. Thus, we can
consider any two vectors as collinear vectors if and only if
these two vectors are either along the same line or these
vectors are parallel to each other in the same direction or
opposite direction. For any two vectors to be parallel to one
another, the condition is that one of the vectors should be a
scalar multiple of another vector. The below figure shows the
collinear vectors in the opposite direction.

Equal Vectors
Two or more vectors are said to be equal when their
magnitude is equal and also their direction is the same.
The two vectors shown above, are equal vectors as they have
both direction and magnitude equal.

Displacement Vector
If a point is displaced from position A to B then the
displacement AB represents a vector
AB→
which is known as the displacement vector.

Negative of a Vector
If two vectors are the same in magnitude but exactly opposite
in direction then both the vectors are negative of each other.
Assume there are two vectors a and b, such that these vectors
are exactly the same in magnitude but opposite in direction
then these vectors can be given by
a=–b
 ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
OF VECTORS

The addition of vectors is not as straightforward as the

addition of scalars. Vectors have both magnitude and
direction, and one cannot simply add two vectors to obtain
their sum. To better understand this, let us consider an
example of a car travelling 10 miles North and 10 miles
South. Here, the total distance travelled is 20 miles, but the
displacement is zero. The North and South displacements are
each vector quantities, and the opposite directions cause the
individual displacements to cancel each other out. In this
article, let us explore ways to carry out the addition and
subtraction of vectors.

Vector Addition:Triangle, Parallelogram and Polygon Law of

Vectors
As already discussed, vectors cannot be added algebraically.
Following are a few points to remember while adding vectors:
 Vectors are added geometrically and not algebraically.
 Vectors whose resultant have to be calculated behave
independently.
 Vector Addition is nothing but finding the resultant of a
number of vectors acting on a body.
 Vector Addition is commutative. This means that the
resultant vector is independent of the order of vectors.
A→+B→=B→+A→
Triangle Law of Vector Addition
The vector addition is done based on the triangle law. Let us
see what the triangle law of vector addition is:
Suppose there are two vectors, a and b.
Draw a line AB representing vector a with A as the tail and B
as the head. Draw another line BC representing vector b with
B as the tail and C as the head. Now join the line AC with A
as the tail and C as the head. The line AC represents the
resultant sum of the vectors a and b.

The line AC represents the resultant sum of the vectors a and

b.
a→+b→

The magnitude of vectors a and b is:

a2 + b2 + 2ab cos θ
Where,
a = magnitude of vector a
b = magnitude of vector b
θ = angle between vector a and b
Let the resultant make an angle of Φ with vector a, then:
tanϕ=b sin θa + b cos θ
Let us understand this using an example. Suppose two vectors
have equal magnitude A, and they make an angle θ with each
other. Now, to find the magnitude and direction of the
resultant, we will use the formulas mentioned above.
Let the magnitude of the resultant vector be B.
B=A2 + A2 + 2AA cos θ=2 A cos θ2
Let’s say that the resultant vector makes an angle Ɵ with the
first vector.
tan ϕ=A sin θA + A cos θ=tan θ2
Or,
θ=θ/2

Parallelogram Law of Vector Addition

The vector addition may also be understood by the law of
parallelogram. The law states, “If two vectors acting
simultaneously at a point are represented in magnitude and
direction by the two sides of a parallelogram drawn from a
point, their resultant is given in magnitude and direction by
the diagonal of the parallelogram passing through that point.”
According to this law, if two vectors, P and Q, are represented
by two adjacent sides of a parallelogram pointing outwards, as
shown in the figure below, then the diagonal drawn through
the intersection of the two vectors represent the resultant.
In the Parallelogram Law of Vector Addition, the magnitude
of the resultant is given by:
(AC)2=(AE)2+(EC)2
or R2=(P+Qcosθ)2(Qsinθ)2
or R=(P2+Q2)+2PQcosθ
The direction of the resultant vector is determined as follows:
tan⁡ϕ=CEAE=Qsin⁡θP+Qcos⁡θ
θ=tan−1⁡[Qsin⁡θP+Qcos⁡θ]

Polygon Law of Vector

According to the polygon law of vector addition, if the
number of vectors can be represented in magnitude and
direction by the sides of a polygon taken in the same order,
then their resultant is represented by magnitude and direction
such that the closing side of the polygon is taken in the
opposite direction.
Let vector A, vector B, vector C and vector D be the four
vectors for which the resultant has to be obtained.
Consider triangle OKL, in which the vectors A and B are
represented by sides OK, KL and are taken in the same order.
Therefore, from the triangle law of vector addition, we know
that the closing side OL is considered in the opposite direction
such that it represents the resultant vector OR and KL.
Therefore,
OK→+KL→=OL→..eq.1
From the triangle law of vector addition, we know that
triangle OLM can be expressed as vector OM is the resultant
of the vectors OL and LM.
That is,
OL→+LM→=OM→
From eq.1,
OK→+KL→+LM→=OM→..eq.2
Again, applying the triangle law of vector addition to triangle
OMN,
OM→+MN→+ON→
From eq.2, we get,
OK→+KL→
LM→+MN→=ON→..eq.3
Therefore,
OK→=A→
KL→,B→
LM→,C→
MN→,D→
Considering vector ON=vector R, the equation becomes
A→+B→+C→+D→=R→

Vector Subtraction
The subtraction of two vectors is similar to
addition. Suppose vector a is to be
subtracted from vector b.
vector a – vector b can be said as the
addition of vectors a and -b. Thus, the
addition formula can be applied as:
a→–b→=a2 + b2 − 2ab cos θ
vector (-b) is nothing but vector b reversed in
direction.
 IMPORTANCE OF VECTORS:
1. Vectors are the most basic and important part of
Calculus.
2. We represent 3-dimensional space using vectors.
3. We do 3D geometry completely using the properties of
vectors.
4. Any problem in science which has to deal with the
direction component has to be done with the help of
vectors.
Hence we can conclude that vectors are an important tool
to study science and understanding the fundamentals of
nature.