PHYS111

 Vector and Scalar Quantities

January 22-25, 2013

 Vector vs. Scalar Review
A library is located 0.5 mi from you.
Can you point where exactly it is?

You also
need to
know the
direction in
which you
should
walk to the
library!
 All physical quantities encountered in this text will be either a scalar or
a vector
 A vector quantity has both magnitude (value + unit) and direction
 A scalar is completely specified by only a magnitude (value + unit)
January 22-25, 2013
 Vector and Scalar Quantities
 Vectors  Scalars:
 Displacement  Distance
 Speed (magnitude of
 Velocity (magnitude and
velocity)
direction!)
 Temperature
 Acceleration  Mass
 Force  Energy
 Momentum  Time

To describe a vector we need more information than to

describe a scalar! Therefore vectors are more complex!
January 22-25, 2013
 Important Notation
 To describe vectors we will use:
 The bold font: Vector A is A

 Or an arrow above the vector: A

 In the pictures, we will always show

vectors as arrows
 Arrows point the direction

 To describe the magnitude of a

vector 
we will use absolute value
sign: A or just A,
 Magnitude is always positive , the

magnitude of a vector is equal to

the length of a vector.
January 22-25, 2013
 Properties of Vectors
 Equality of Two Vectors
 Two vectors are equal if they have the

same magnitude and the same direction

 Movement of vectors in a diagram
 Any vector can be moved parallel to

itself without being affected

 Negative Vectors
 Two vectors are negative if they have the same
magnitude but are 180° apart (opposite
 directions)
   
 
A  B; A   A  0 A

B
January 22-25, 2013
 Adding Vectors
 When adding vectors, their directions
must be taken into account
 Units must be the same
 Geometric Methods
 Use scale drawings
 Algebraic Methods
 More convenient

January 22-25, 2013

 Adding Vectors Geometrically
(Triangle

Method)
 Draw the first vector A with the
appropriate length and in the
direction specified, with respect  
to a coordinate system A B 
 Draw the next vector B with the
B
appropriate length and in the
direction specified, with respect
to a coordinate system whose 
origin is the end of vector A and 
parallel tothe coordinate system A
used for A : “tip-to-tail”.
  is drawn from the
The resultant
origin ofA to the end of the last
vector B
January 22-25, 2013
 Adding Vectors Graphically
 When you have many
vectors, just keep
repeating the process
 
A B

until all are included   

 The resultant is still A BC

drawn from the origin  

of the first vector to A B
the end of the last
vector

January 22-25, 2013

 Adding Vectors Geometrically
(Polygon

Method)  
 Draw the first vector A with A B
the appropriate length and in
the direction specified, with
respect to a coordinatesystem 
 Draw the next vector B with B
the appropriate length and in
the direction specified, with
respect to the same coordinate
system 
 Draw a parallelogram A
 The resultant is drawn as a
diagonal from the origin
   
A B  B A
January 22-25, 2013
 Vector Subtraction
 Special case of vector
addition 
 Add the negative of the B
subtracted vector
r r r r
 
A  B  A  B

A 
 Continue with standard   B
vector addition procedure AB

January 22-25, 2013

 Describing Vectors Algebraically
Vectors: Described by the number, units and direction!

Vectors: Can be described by their magnitude and direction.

For example: Your displacement is 1.5 m at an angle of 25 0.
Can be described by components? For example: your
displacement is 1.36 m in the positive x direction and 0.634 m
in the positive y direction.
January 22-25, 2013
 Components of a Vector
 A component is a part
 It is useful to use
rectangular components
These are the projections
of the vector along the x-
a cos(90   ) 
and y-axes  a sin  
a cos 

January 22-25, 2013

 Components of a Vector
 The x-component of a vector
is the projection along the x-
axis Ax
cos   Ax  A cos 
A

 The y-component of a vector

Ay
is the projection along the y-
sin   Ay  A sin 
axis A

      
A  AxThen,
 Ay A  Ax  Ay

January 22-25, 2013

 Components of a Vector
 The previous equations are valid only if θ is
measured with respect to the x-axis
 The components can be positive or negative and will
have the same units as the original vector
θ=0, Ax=A>0, Ay=0
θ=45°, Ax=A cos 45°>0, Ay=A sin 45°>0
Ax < 0 Ax > 0
θ=90°, Ax=0, Ay=A>0
Ay > 0 Ay >
θ 0 θ=135°, Ax=A cos 135°<0, Ay=A sin 135°>0
Ax < 0 Ax > 0 θ=180°, Ax=A<0, Ay=0
Ay < 0 Ay < 0 θ=225°, Ax=A cos 225°<0, Ay=A sin 225°<0
θ=270°, Ax=0, Ay=A<0
θ=315°, Ax=A cos 315°<0, Ay=A sin 315°<0
January 22-25, 2013
 More About Components
 The components are the legs of
the right triangle whose
hypotenuse is A
 Ax  A cos( )
  Ay 
A
 Ay  A sin( ) A x
2
 Ay
2
and   tan 
1

  Ax 
 A   A  2   A 2
 x y

 Ay 1 
Ay 
tan    or   tan   
Or,
 Ax  Ax 

January 22-25, 2013

 Unit Vectors
 Components of a vector are vectors
  
A  Ax  Ay
 Unit vectors i-hat, j-hat, k-hat
iˆ  x ˆj  y kˆ  z
  Unit vectors used to specify direction
 Unit vectors have a magnitude of 1
y
 Then 
j
A  Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj
i
 
x 
A Magnitude
 A x  A+ ySign
k
z Unit vector

January 22-25, 2013

 Adding Vectors Algebraically
 Consider two vectors

A  Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj

B  Bx iˆ  B y ˆj
 Then
 
A  B  ( Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj )  ( Bx iˆ  B y ˆj )
 ( Ax  Bx )iˆ  ( Ay  B y ) ˆj
  
 If C  A  B ( Ax Bx )iˆ ( Ay  B y ) ˆj
 so C x  AxA  Bx A xCy AAyy  B y
January 22-25, 2013
Example : Operations with Vectors
 Vector A is described algebraically as (-3, 5), while
vector B is (4, -2). Find the value of magnitude and
direction of the sum (C) of the vectors A and B.
 
A  3iˆ  5 ˆj B  4iˆ  2 ˆj
  
C  A  B  (3  4)iˆ  (5  2) ˆj  1iˆ  3 ˆj
Cx  1 Cy  3
2 2
C  (C x  C y )1/ 2  (12  32 )1/ 2  3.16
Cy
  tan 1
 tan 1 3  71.56
Cx
January 22-25, 2013
 Summary
�Ax  A cos( )
 Polar coordinates of vector A (A, ) �
�Ay  A sin( )
 Cartesian coordinates (Ax, Ay) �
   y
2 2
�A  Ax  A
�
 Relations between them: � A �A �
�tan     y or   tan 1 � y �
Beware of tan 180-degree ambiguity

� Ax �Ax �
�
 Unit vectors: A  Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj  Az kˆ
  
 Addition of vectors: C  A  B  ( Ax  Bx )iˆ  ( Ay  B y ) ˆj
C x  Ax  Bx C y  Ay  B y

January 22-25, 2013