Overview

Any Picture you think it can

represent this chapter
 Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Convert decimal numbers to and from scientific notation using positive and negative
exponents
2. Recognize the SI units
3. Identify and use Prefixes
4. Convert between units
5. Understand the Cartesian coordinate system.
6. Define vector quantity.
7. Differentiate between vector and scalar quantities.
8. Resolve any vector and find its components.
9. Calculate the magnitude and direction of vectors.
10. Identify the unit vectors ( magnitude and direction) on three axes.
11. Write a vector in a unit vector notation.
12. Add vectors by components.
13. Multiply vectors by a scalar (either +ve or - ve no.).
14. Calculate the scalar product of two vectors
15. Calculate the vector product of two vectors
 Outline
1.6 VECTORS
SI UNIT
1.3
SYSTEM What is a Vector ? (Difference
between vector and scalar quantity)

Cartesian Coordinate System

(2D &3D)
Chapter (1)
1.2 Resolve vectors and find their
components
WORKING WITH Vector Length and
NUMBERS Direction
Unit Vector (write a vector in a unit
vector notation)
Vector addition using
components
Multiplication of Vectors with a
Scalar
Vectors multiplication (Scalar
product)

Chapter 2 3
 Working with numbers (Scientific Notation)

❑ Dealing with really big numbers or really small numbers can be difficult.

To deal with big and small numbers we use

scientific notation:

Number = mantissa x 10exponent

➢ The mantissa is usually chosen so that it has one digit preceding the
decimal point, but not always.
e.g. 3.00x108.

❑ Multiplication and division are simplified using scientific notation:

e.g. (7x1027)(7x109) = 49x1036
Extra Exercise

❑ Big number: 35.6x10+8 m

3560000000.0 m ➔ 3.56x10+9 m

0.492x10-5 s
❑ Small number:
49.2x10-7 s

0.00000492 s ➔ 4.92x10-6 s
Extra Exercise

Express 0.00592 in scientific notation.

a) 5.92 × 103
b) 5.92 × 10−3
c) 5.92 × 10−2
d) 5.92 × 10−5
e) 5.92 × 105
 SI Unit System

■ The international system of units is abbreviated SI:

– Used for scientific work around the world.
■ The seven base units are:

Based on the General Conference on Weight and Measurements in 1971

 Derived Units

■ Units for all other physical quantities are derived from the seven base
units.
– For example: velocity =length/time=m/s

■ Some derived units that are used often are given names.
– Often named for famous physicists
– For example: Force=mg= kg m/s2 = newton (N)
 Prefix

Prefix Symbol Factor

❑ Prefix represents a Tera- T 1012
certain power of 10, to Giga- G 109
be used as a Mega- M
multiplication factor. 106
Kilo- K 103
❑ Attaching a prefix to Centi- c 10-2
an (SI) unit has the Milli- m 10-3
effect of multiplying by
Micro- μ 10-6
the associated factor
Nano- n 10-9
Pico- p 10-12
Extra Exercise

Prefix Symbol Factor

Tera- T 1012
Giga- G 109
Mega- M 106
Kilo- K 103
Centi- c 10-2
Milli- m 10-3
Micro- μ 10-6
Nano- n 10-9
Pico- p 10-12
Unit conversion

Prefix Symbol Factor

Tera- T 1012
Giga- G 109
Mega- M 106
Kilo- K 103
Centi- c 10-2
Milli- m 10-3
Micro- μ 10-6
Nano- n 10-9
Pico- p 10-12
Extra Exercise

A section of a river can be approximated as a rectangle that is 20 m

wide and 30 m long. Express the area of this river in square
kilometers.

a) 600 km2
b) 6 km2
c) 6 × 10−2 km2
d) 6 × 10−4 km2
e) 6 × 10+4 km2
 Cartesian Coordinate System

■ A Cartesian coordinate system is defined as

a set of two or more axes with angles of 90°
between each them. Hence, they are
perpendicular or orthogonal to one another.

■ In a one-dimensional coordinate system, we

have one axis (e.g 𝑥):
On the Y- axis
The position of a point can be written as
P=(P𝑥 ) Positive
direction ● P𝒚 =+3 cm

origin 0

The point P has the x-coordinate Negative

P𝑥 = - 2.5 cm direction
 Cartesian Coordinate System

■ We can define a two-dimensional coordinate

system:
▪ By typically labelling the horizontal axis 𝑥 and the
vertical axis 𝑦.
▪ We can then specify any point P (position) in 2-
dimensional space by specifying its coordinates
P = (P𝑥 , P𝑦 ) P = (3, 4)

■ We can define a three-dimensional coordinate

system:
▪ By typically labelling the horizontal axis x, the
vertical axis y and the third orthogonal axis z.
▪ We can then specify any point P (position) in 3-
dimensional space by specifying its coordinates
P = (Px, Py, Pz)
P = (3, 4, 3)
 What is a Vector ?
(Difference between vector and scalar quantities)

Vector quantities

PHYSICAL
QUANTITIES
magnitude direction

scalar Quantites Example

magnitude Displacement
Velocity

Example
Speed
Temperature
time
 What is a Vector?

■ Vectors are mathematical description of quantities which have

magnitude and direction.
■ The magnitude of a vector is a non-negative number often associated
with a physical unit.
■ Vectors have a starting point (tail) and an ending point (arrow) which
points to a specific direction.
■ Vectors are denoted by a letter with a small horizontal arrow pointing to
the right above it (x ) OR with a BOLD letter 𝐱.
■ Vector quantities are important in physics.
 Resolve a vector and find its components

▪ Resolving a vector is the process of finding its components.

▪ A component is the projection of the vector on an axis.
➢ for example, 𝑎𝑥 is the component of vector a on (or along) the x
axis and 𝑎𝑦 , is the component along the y axis.

▪ We know from mathematics that: ▪ We know from mathematics that:

𝑎 𝑎𝑦
𝑐𝑜𝑠ϴ = 𝑎𝑥 𝑐𝑜𝑠α = 𝑎
𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑥
𝑠𝑖𝑛ϴ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛α =
𝑎 𝑎
 Resolve a vector and find its components

A more general way of finding vector components the

angle is measured with respect to x-axis

՜ ՜ 𝒂𝒙 : +𝒗𝒆, 𝒂𝒚 : +𝒗𝒆
𝒃𝒙 : −𝒗𝒆, 𝒃𝒚 : +𝒗𝒆 𝑏 𝑎 𝒂𝒙 = 𝑎 cos 𝜃1
𝒃𝒙 = −𝑏 cos 𝜃2 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒚 = 𝑎 sin 𝜃1
𝒃𝒚 = 𝑏 sin 𝜃2
𝒃𝒙 𝜃2 𝜃1 𝒂𝒙
𝒄𝒙 𝜃3 𝜃4 𝒅𝒙
𝒄𝒚 𝒅𝒚
՜ ՜
𝒄𝒙 : −𝒗𝒆, 𝒄𝒚 : −𝒗𝒆 𝑐 𝑑 𝒅𝒙 : +𝒗𝒆, 𝒅𝒚 : −𝒗𝒆
𝒄𝒙 = −𝑐 cos 𝜃3 𝒅𝒙 = 𝑑 cos 𝜃4
𝒄𝒚 = −𝑐 sin 𝜃3 𝒅𝒚 = −𝑑 sin 𝜃4
 Resolve a vector and find its components

More general ways of finding vector component

Angle is measured with respect to y-axis

𝒃𝒙 : −𝒗𝒆, 𝒃𝒚 : +𝒗𝒆
՜ ՜ 𝒂𝒙 : +𝒗𝒆, 𝒂𝒚 : +𝒗𝒆
𝑏 𝑎 𝒂𝒙 = 𝑎 sin 𝜃1
𝒃𝒙 = −𝑏 sin 𝜃2 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒚
𝒂𝒚 = 𝑎 cos 𝜃1
𝒃𝒚 = 𝑏 cos 𝜃2 𝜃2 𝜃1
𝒃𝒙 𝒂𝒙
𝒄𝒙 𝒅𝒙
𝜃3 𝜃4
𝒄𝒚 𝒅𝒚
՜ ՜
𝒄𝒙 : −𝒗𝒆, 𝒄𝒚 : −𝒗𝒆 𝑐 𝑑 𝒅𝒙 : +𝒗𝒆, 𝒅𝒚 : −𝒗𝒆
𝒄𝒙 = −𝑐 sin 𝜃3 𝒅𝒙 = 𝑑 sin 𝜃4
𝒄𝒚 = −𝑐 cos 𝜃3 𝒅𝒚 = −𝑑 cos 𝜃4
Resolve a vector and find its components
 How to express a vector

How to express a Vector?

Magnitude-angle notation Unit vector notation

(Vector length and direction)
𝑎റ = 𝑎𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝑎𝑦 𝑗Ƹ + 𝑎𝑧 𝑘෠
𝑎 ,𝜃

vector components
 Vector Length and Direction

■ Knowing the components of a vector, we can calculate its length and direction.

■ Vectors in 2 dimensions (most important case)

The length The direction

(using Pythagorean theorem)

Resolve a vector and find its components

ϴ- ϴ+
Exercise 1.77 (Page 30)

A vector 𝐶Ԧ has components 𝐶𝑥 = 34.6 m and 𝐶𝑦 = − 53.5 m.

Find the vector’s length and angle with the x-axis.
Exercise 1.77 (Page 30)

A vector 𝐶Ԧ has components 𝐶𝑥 = 34.6 m and 𝐶𝑦 = − 53.5 m.

Find the vector’s length and angle with the x-axis.
Extra Exercise
Extra Exercise
 Vector Length and Direction

• Finding the components. • Writing a vector in magnitude - angle

notation

Vector resolving
 How to express a vector

How to express a Vector?

Magnitude-angle notation Unit vector notation

(Vector length and direction)
𝑎റ = 𝑎𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝑎𝑦 𝑗Ƹ + 𝑎𝑧 𝑘෠
𝑎 ,𝜃

vector components
 Unit Vectors (write a vector in the unit vector notation)

■ Unit vectors are a set of special vectors that make the math
associated with vectors easier
■ Unit vectors have magnitude 1 and are directed along the main
axes of the coordinate system.
■ Its only purpose is to specify a direction
■ It has no unit.
■ The unit vectors in the positive directions of the x, y and z axes
෡
are labeled 𝒊,Ƹ 𝒋,Ƹ and 𝒌.
■ In Cartesian coordinates, the unit vectors are:
𝑖Ƹ =
𝑗Ƹ =
𝑘෠ =
▪ We can write the vector in a unit vector notation
Extra Exercise

71°

63°
Extra Exercise

71°

63°

1) The unit vector notation is represented as: 𝐴റ = 𝐴𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐴𝑦 𝑗Ƹ

𝐴റ = 𝐴 cos 30 𝑖Ƹ + A sin 30 ෡𝑗
𝐴റ = 75 cos 30 𝑖Ƹ + 75 sin 30 ෡𝑗 = 64.9 𝑖Ƹ + 37.5෡𝑗

𝐵 = −𝐵 sin 71 𝑖Ƹ + B cos 71 ෡𝑗
𝐵 = −60 sin 71 𝑖Ƹ + 60 cos 71 ෡𝑗 = −56.7 𝑖Ƹ + 19.5 ෡𝑗

𝐶റ = −𝐶 cos 52 𝑖Ƹ − C sin 52 ෡𝑗
𝐶 = −25cos(52) 𝑖Ƹ − 25 sin 52 ෡𝑗 = −15.3 𝑖Ƹ − 19.7 ෡𝑗

𝐷 = 𝐷 sin 63 𝑖Ƹ − D cos 63 ෡𝑗
𝐷 = 90 sin 63 𝑖Ƹ − 90 cos 63 ෡𝑗 = 80.19 𝑖Ƹ − 40.85 ෡𝑗
 Vector Addition using Components

■ Adding vectors using the component method:

𝐶Ԧ = 𝐶𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐶𝑦 𝑗Ƹ + 𝐶𝑧 𝑘෠

Note: this can also be applied to vector subtraction

Exercise: 1.68 (Page 30)

71°

63°

Vector x-component y-component

𝐴Ԧ 64.9 37.5

𝐵 – 56.7 19.5

𝐶Ԧ – 15.3 – 19.7

𝐷 80.19 – 40.85
Exercise: 1.68 (Page 30)

71°

63°

Solution:
a) 𝐴Ԧ + 𝐵 + 𝐶Ԧ + 𝐷 =
Vector x-component y-component

𝐴Ԧ 64.9 37.5
+ +
𝐵 – 56.7 19.5
+ +
𝐶Ԧ – 15.3 – 19.7
+ +
𝐷 80.19 – 40.85

73.09 – 3.55

𝐴Ԧ + 𝐵 + 𝐶Ԧ + 𝐷 = 73.09 𝑖Ƹ − 3.55 𝑗Ƹ
Exercise: 1.68 (Page 30)

71°

63°

Solution:
a) 𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 + 𝐷 =
Vector x-component y-component

𝐴Ԧ 64.9 37.5
– –
𝐵 – 56.7 19.5

+ +
𝐷 80.19 – 40.85

201.79 – 22.85

𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 + 𝐷 = 201.79 𝑖Ƹ − 22.85 𝑗Ƹ
b) 𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 + 𝐷 = 201.79 𝑖Ƹ − 22.85 𝑗Ƹ

𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 + 𝐷 = (201.79)2 +(−22.85)2 = 203.08

−1
−22.85
𝜃 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛 = −6.46𝑜
201.79
71°

63°
 Multiplication of a Vector with a Scalar

Multiplication of a vector with Multiplication of a vector with a

a positive scalar
results in another vector that
points in the same direction but
has a magnitude that is the
product of the scalar and the
magnitude of the original vector.
negative scalar
results in another vector that points
in the opposite direction but has a
magnitude that is the absolute
value of the product of the
negative scalar and the magnitude
of the original vector.
Multiplication of a Vector with a Vector

Multiplying a vector by a vector

Scalar product Vector product

(or Dot product) (or Cross product)

will produce a will produce a

scalar new vector
 Scalar Product (dot product)

■ It is sometimes called the dot product.

■ The scalar vector product is defined as:

■ In terms of Cartesian coordinates:

■ If the two vectors form a 90°angle, the scalar product is zero.

If 𝛼 = 90o ➔ 𝐴Ԧ ⋅ 𝐵 = 0
■ We can use the scalar product to find the angle between two vectors in
terms of their Cartesian coordinates:
Exercise: 1.15 (Page 28)

For the two vectors 𝐴റ = 2𝑖Ƹ + 1𝑗Ƹ and 𝐵 = 1𝑗Ƹ + 2𝑘෡ , what is their
scalar product, 𝐴റ ∙ 𝐵

a) 3 b) 6 c) 2 d) 0 e) 1
Exercise: 1.15 (Page 28)

For the two vectors 𝐴റ = 2𝑖Ƹ + 1𝑗Ƹ and 𝐵 = 1𝑗Ƹ + 2𝑘෡ , what is their
scalar product, 𝐴റ ∙ 𝐵

a) 3 b) 6 c) 2 d) 0 e) 1

Answer: The two vectors are given in Cartesian Coordinate and we do

not have the angle between the two vectors, hence we will use;

𝐴Ԧ ⋅ 𝐵 = 2 × 0 + 1 × 1 + 0 × 2 = 1
Example: 1.5 (Page 23)

What is the angle α between the two vectors 𝐴റ = 4𝑖Ƹ + 2𝑗Ƹ + 5𝑘෡ (cm)
and 𝐵 = 4.5𝑖Ƹ + 4𝑗Ƹ + 3𝑘෡ (cm)
Example: 1.5 (Page 23)

What is the angle α between the two vectors 𝐴റ = 4𝑖Ƹ + 2𝑗Ƹ + 5𝑘෡ (cm)
and 𝐵 = 4.5𝑖Ƹ + 4𝑗Ƹ + 3𝑘෡ (cm)
Multiplication of a Vector with a Vector

Multiplying a vector by a vector

Scalar product Vector product

(or Dot product) (or Cross product)

will produce a will produce a

scalar new vector
 Vector Product (cross product)
▪ The vector product is
defined as:

▪ Sometimes called the

cross product…
▪ The magnitude of the
vector product is given by:
 Vector Product (cross product)

If the two vectors are given in If the two vectors are given in
magnitude and angle between unit vector notation
them

The direction of the result vector

Extra Exercise
The END
OF
CHAPTER
(1)