Quantities can be classified based on how they

are presented.
Two types of physical quantities:
-scalar quantities
-vector quantities
The temperature of an object is measured by a 2. Identify where to place the vector based
thermometer. on its direction.
A thermometer provides readings like this:

Scalar Quantity
A scalar quantity is a physical quantity that has
magnitude (size or quantity) but no direction.
Temperature is a scalar quantity.

The direction of the vector is expressed as an

angle of rotation either from the north, south,
east, or west.

It is described by a single number with its

appropriate unit.

Vector Quantity
A vector quantity is a physical quantity with By default, angles are measured from the east
both magnitude and direction. direction.
Magnitude describes the quantity or the size of
the physical quantity while direction describes
how the vector is oriented relative to a reference
point.
Vectors are represented by a single letter with
an arrow above them.

EXAMPLE;
A car moved 12.5 km, 35° south of west.
The magnitude of vectors is represented by the Illustrate this displacement.
same letter used in a vector quantity.

Rules in Representing Vectors

1. Begin by deciding on the scale that you
want to use.
A lorry’s load has a weight of 40 000 N and it VECTOR
is being pulled along by a horizontal force of
A VECTOR quantity is any quantity in physics
15 000 N. What is the resultant of these two
that has BOTH MAGNITUDE and
forces?
DIRECTION
With this type of calculation it is often easier if
you sketch a rectangle using two triangles as in
the Figure. Here, the rectangle shows the two
forces acting at right angles to one another, and
the diagonal represents the resultant force.
Using Pythagoras’s theorem gives:
resultant2 = (4.0 × 104)2 + (1.5 × 104)2
= 16.0 × 108 + 2.25 × 108
= 18.25 × 108 so VECTOR APPLICATION

resultant = 4.27 × 104 N -ADDITION: When two (2) vectors point in

When working out such calculations, you need
to be careful if you are using powers of 10.
Always check that the length of the hypotenuse
is realistic.
the SAME direction, simply add them together.
-When vectors are added together they should be
drawn head to tail to determine the resultant or
sum vector.

This has given you the magnitude of the EXAMPLE;

resultant force, but to complete the calculation A man walks 46.5 m east, then another 20 m
its direction is also required. Since the adjacent east. Calculate his displacement relative to
side is given by hypotenuse × cosθ we get: where he started.

A raindrop falls at a constant velocity of 1.8

ms-1. If a horizontal wind of 1.4ms-1 is
blowing, calculate the magnitude and
direction of the resultant velocity of the
raindrop by
SUBTRACTION: When two (2) vectors point
in the OPPOSITE direction, simply subtract
them.
EXAMPLE;
A man walks 46.5 m east, then another 20 m
west. Calculate his displacement relative to
where he started.

SCALAR
A SCALAR quantity is any quantity in physics Graphical Method
that has MAGNITUDE ONLY
Aligning vectors head to tail and then drawing
the resultant from the tail of the first to the head
of the last.
Graphical Vector Addition A + B
NON CO-LINEAR VECTORS
When two (2) vectors are PERPENDICULAR
to each other, you must use the
PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM
EXAMPLE;
A man travels 120 km east then 160 km
north. Calculate his resultant displacement.
In the example, DISPLACEMENT is asked for
and since it is a VECTOR quantity, we need to
report its direction.
Just putting N of E is not good enough (how far
north of east ?).
We need to find a numeric value for the
direction.
So the COMPLETE final answer is: 200 km,
53.1 degrees North of East
Suppose a person walked 65 m, 25 degrees
East of North. What were his horizontal and
vertical components?
The goal: ALWAYS MAKE A RIGHT
TRIANGLE!
To solve for components, we often use the trig
functions sine and cosine.
A bear, searching for food wanders 35 meters
east then 20 meters north. Frustrated, he
wanders another 12 meters west then 6
meters south. Calculate the bear's
displacement.
The Final Answer: 26.93 m, 31.3 degrees
The angle or direction of the vector is
NORTH of EAST
determined using the inverse tangent function of
The sides of the triangle can be defined from the ratio of the x- and y-components.
the angle
Legend:
h = hypotenuse (hyp)
To ensure that your final answer is correct it is
o = opposite (opp)
very important that you check the signs of the x-
a = adjacent (adj) and y-components.

The relationships between its components and

its angle can be expressed as the given
equations:

Hence, trigonometrically, we can define the

components as the following equations.

● In the same way that a vector can be

resolved into its components, a vector’s
magnitude and direction can also be
calculated using its components.
● Trigonometric functions involving the
angle and the ratio of the sides of a right
triangle can also be used to calculate the
resultant vector.
The resultant
vector can be