Module #3
VECTORS
Vectors
A scalar quantity is specified by a single value with an appropriate unit and has no direction. (example:
temperature, mass, energy etc. )
A vector quantity has both magnitude and direction. (example: displacement, velocity etc). A vector is
usually denoted by a letter with an arrow overhead (𝒙 , 𝒗)
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Properties of Vectors
1. Equality of Vectors:
Two vectors are equal if they have the same magnitude and point in the same
direction.
2. Adding Vectors:
The resultant vector is the vector that connects from the tail of a vector to the tip of another vector.
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Vector Addition
1. Commutative Law of Addition: 2. Associative Law of Addition
𝑨+𝑩=𝑩+𝑨 𝑨+ 𝑩+𝑪 = 𝑨+𝑩 +𝑪
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Negative of a Vector
The negative of a vector A is defined as the vector that when added to A gives zero for the vector sum.
𝑨 + −𝑨 = 𝟎
The vectors A and –A have the same magnitude but point in opposite directions.
Subtracting Vectors:
𝑨 − 𝑩 = 𝑨 + −𝑩
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Exercise #1
A car travels 20.0 𝑘𝑚 due north and then 30.0 𝑘𝑚 due west. Find the magnitude and direction
of the car’s resultant displacement.
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Components of a Vector
• A component of a vector is the projection of the vector on an axis.
• The projection of a vector on x-axis is its x component and the
projection on y-axis is its y component.
• The process of finding the components of a vector is called resolving a
vector.
• Once a vector has been resolved into its components along a set of
axes, the components themselves can be used in place of the vector.
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Exercise #2
A small airplane leaves an airport on an overcast day and is later sighted 215 𝑘𝑚 away in a
direction making an angle of 22° east of north. How far east and north is the airplane from the
airport when sighted?
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Unit Vector
• A unit vector is a vector that has a magnitude of exactly one and points in a particular direction.
• It lacks both dimension and unit.
• A unit vector is denoted by a lower case letter with a hat.
• Its sole purpose is to point or specify a direction.
𝑎 = 𝑎𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑎𝑦 𝑗 Vector Components
𝑏 = 𝑏𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑏𝑦 𝑗
𝑎𝑥, 𝑎𝑦 are scalar components.
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Adding Vectors by Components
𝑟 = 𝑎+𝑏
The vector 𝑟 is the same as the vector (𝑎 + 𝑏)
Each component of 𝑟 must be the same of the corresponding components of (𝑎 + 𝑏 ):
𝑟𝑥 = 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥
𝑟𝑦 = 𝑎𝑦 + 𝑏𝑦
𝑟𝑧 = 𝑎𝑧 + 𝑏𝑧
Two vectors must be equal if their corresponding components are equal.
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Exercise #3
Find the vector sum of the following three vectors:
𝑎 = 4.2 𝑚 𝑖 − 1.5 𝑚 𝑗
𝑏 = −1.6 𝑚 𝑖 + 2.9 𝑚 𝑗
𝑐 = −3.7 𝑚 𝑗
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Multiplying Vectors
Multiplying a vector by a scalar:
If we multiply a vector 𝑎 by a scalar s, we get a new vector. Its magnitude is the product of magnitude of
𝑎 and the absolute value of s. Its direction is the direction of 𝑎 if s is positive but the opposite direction is
s in negative.
Multiplying a vector by a vector:
(a) Scalar Product ( Produces a SCALAR quantity)
(b) Vector Product (Produces a VECTOR quantity)
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Multiplying Vectors
SCALAR PRODUCT
#1 𝑎 ⋅ 𝑏 = 𝑎𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜙
a is the magnitude of vector 𝑎 and b is the magnitude of vector 𝑏 ;
∅ is the angle between the vectors
#2 𝑎 ⋅ 𝑏 = (𝑎𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑎𝑦 𝑗 + 𝑎𝑧 𝑘) ∙ (𝑏𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑏𝑦 𝑗 + 𝑏𝑧 𝑘)
𝑎 ⋅ 𝑏 = 𝑎𝑥 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑦 + 𝑎𝑧 𝑏𝑧
𝒂⋅ 𝒃=𝒃⋅𝒂
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Exercise #4
What is the angle φ between 𝑎 = 3.0𝑖 − 4.0𝑗 and 𝑏 = −2.0𝑖 + 3.0𝑘?
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Multiplying Vectors
VECTOR PRODUCT (Also known as CROSS PRODUCT)
#1 The vector product of 𝑎 and 𝑏, written as 𝑎 × 𝑏, produces a third vector whose magnitude is
𝑐 = 𝑎𝑏 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙
Where 𝜙 is the smaller of the two angles between 𝑎 and 𝑏.
#2 𝑎 × 𝑏 = (𝑎𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑎𝑦 𝑗 + 𝑎𝑧 𝑘) × (𝑏𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑏𝑦 𝑗 + 𝑏𝑧 𝑘)
𝑎 × 𝑏 = 𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑧 − 𝑏𝑦 𝑎𝑧 𝑖 + 𝑎𝑧 𝑏𝑥 − 𝑏𝑧 𝑎𝑥 𝑗 + (𝑎𝑥 𝑏𝑦 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑎𝑦 )𝑘
𝒂 × 𝒃 = −(𝒃 × 𝒂)
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Exercise #5
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑎 = 3.0 𝑖 − 4.0 𝑗 and 𝑏 = −2.0 𝑖 + 3.0 𝑘
(a) Find 𝑐 = 𝑎 × 𝑏
(b) Show that 𝑐 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑎
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