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LEARNING AS ONE NATION

Expanded Project General Physics LAS_31

SHS LEARNING ACTIVITY

Name: Score/Mark:
Grade and Section: Date:
Strand:  STEM  ABM  HUMSS  ICT (TVL Track)
Subject:
Type of Activity:  Concept Notes  Skills: Exercise/Drill  Illustration
 Performance Task  Essay/Report  Others:
Activity Title: Scalar and Vector Products
Learning Target: To define scalar and vector products
References: M.V. Bernido, CVIF DLP Learning Activities
(Author, Title, Pages) Images from Creative Commons, unmodified, CC BY-SA
To describe the movement of objects and the behavior of fields such as the
gravitational and electromagnetic fields, it is very convenient to use mathematical
objects called vectors. These quantities have both magnitude and direction and
were introduced in Junior High School. For example, forces are vectors.
The magnitude of a vector is a scalar which only has magnitude. For
example, you may push a box eastward with a force of 2 newtons. Then the
magnitude is simply 2 N.
We also learned that vectors are not added or subtracted like ordinary
numbers or scalars. We need to consider their directions. That is why we use the
tail-to-tip method for a pictorial way of adding vectors. We could also use the
component method for an analytical way of adding vectors.
This time, we define multiplication of vectors since we need this to
describe quantities such as work, and characteristics of the electric and magnetic
fields which we will take up in the next semester.
There are two basic ways of multiplying vectors; one gives a product which
is a scalar, the other gives a product which is also a vector.
Definition of Scalar or Dot Product:
For two vectors, 𝒂
⃗⃗ and ⃗𝒃⃗ , their scalar or dot product is obtained by
multiplying their magnitudes then multiplying by the cosine of the angle 𝜃
between them. The product is a scalar.

⃗ ⋅ ⃗𝒃 = |𝒂
𝒂 ⃗ |𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽 = 𝒂 𝒃 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽
⃗ | |𝒃 𝜃

Definition of Vector or Cross Product:

For two vectors, 𝒂
⃗ and 𝒃 ⃗ , the magnitude of their vector or cross
product is obtained by multiplying their magnitudes then multiplying by the sine
of the angle 𝜃 between them. The magnitude is a scalar.

⃗ × ⃗𝒃| = |𝒂
|𝒂 ⃗ |𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽 = 𝒂 𝒃 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
⃗ | |𝒃

The direction of the vector product is obtained by applying the right-

hand rule in two ways. One is to align the four fingers of
the right hand with the first vector, then
curling these toward the direction of the
second vector. The thumb, at a right
angle to the four fingers, points in the
direction of the vector product. The
other way is also shown.