VECTORS

SCALAR
Scalar
Example Magnitude

A SCALAR quantity Speed 35 m/s

is any quantity in
physics that has Distance 25 meters
MAGNITUDE ONLY
Age 16 years

Number value
with units
 VECTOR
A VECTOR
Vector
Example
Magnitude and
Direction

quantity Velocity 35 m/s, North

is any quantity in
physics that has Acceleration 10 m/s2, South

BOTH
MAGNITUDE Displacement 20 m, East

and DIRECTION
Vector quantities can be
identified by bold type
with an arrow above the
symbol.

V = 23 m/s NE
Vectors are represented
by drawing arrows
The length and direction
of a vector should be
drawn to a reasonable
scale size and show its
magnitude
10 km
20 km
 VECTOR
APPLICATION
•ADDITION: When two (2) vectors point in
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.
•The resultant goes from tail of A to head
of B.
 LET’S PRACTICE
A man walks 46.5 m east, then another 20 m east.
Calculate his displacement relative to where he started.

46.5 m, E
+ 20 m, E

66.5 m, E
 VECTOR APPLICATION
SUBTRACTION: When
two (2) vectors point in
the OPPOSITE
direction,
simply subtract them.
LET’S PRACTICE SOME
MORE….
A man walks 46.5 m east, then another 20 m west. Calculate his
displacement relative to where he started.
46.5 m, E
-

20 m, W

26.5 m, E
GRAPHICAL
METHOD
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
Step 1 – Draw a start point
Step 2 – Decide on a scale
Step 3 – Draw Vector A to scale
Step 4 – Vector B’s tail begin at Vector A’s head. Draw Vector B to scale.
Step 5 – Draw a line connecting the initial start point to the head of B.
This is the resultant.
NON CO-LINEAR VECTORS

When two (2) vectors are

PERPENDICULAR to each
other, you must use the
PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM
 LET’S
PRACTICE
A man travels 120 km
east then 160 km north. the hypotenuse is
FINISH

Calculate his resultant called the RESULTANT

displacement. 160 km, N

VERTICAL
COMPONENT

STA 120 km, E

RT

HORIZONTAL COMPONENT
 WHAT ABOUT DIRECTION?
In the example, DISPLACEMENT is asked
for and since it is a VECTOR quantity,
we need to report its direction.
N

W of N E of N
N of E
N of W
N of E
W E
S of W S of E
NOTE: When drawing a right triangle that
conveys some type of motion, you MUST draw
W of S E of S
your components HEAD TO TOE.
S
 DIRECTIONS
▪ There is a difference between Northwest and West of North
 NEED A VALUE – ANGLE!
Just putting N of E is not good enough (how
far north of east ?).
We need to find a numeric value for the
direction. To find the value of the angle
we use a Trig function called
TANGENT.
200 km

160 km, N

θ N of E

120 km, E

So the COMPLETE final answer is : 200 km, 53.1 degrees North of East
 WHAT ARE YOUR MISSING
COMPONENTS?
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!
H.C. = ?

To solve for components, we often use the

V.C = ? trig functions sine and cosine.
25 65 m
˚
EXAMPLE
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.

23 m, E
- =

12 m, W
- =
14 m, N
6 m, S
20 m, N

35 m, E R 14 m, N
θ

23 m, E
The Final Answer: 26.93 m, 31.3 degrees NORTH of EAST
EXAMPLE
A boat moves with a velocity of 15 m/s, N in a river which flows
with a velocity of 8.0 m/s, west. Calculate the boat's resultant
velocity with respect to due north.

8.0 m/s, W

15 m/s, N

Rv θ

The Final Answer : 17 m/s, @ 28.1 degrees West of North

EXAMPLE
A plane moves with a velocity of 63.5 m/s at 32 degrees South of East. Calculate the
plane's horizontal and vertical velocity components.

H.C. =?

32˚
V.C. = ?

63.5 m/s
EXAMPLE
A storm system moves 5000 km due east, then shifts course at 40 degrees
North of East for 1500 km. Calculate the storm's resultant
displacement.

1500 km
V.C.
40
5000 km, E H.C.

5000 km + 1149.1 km = 6149.1 km

R
964.2 km
θ
6149.1 km The Final Answer: 6224.2 km @ 8.92
degrees, North of East