Vectors

• Vectors will show up all over the place in our

study of physics. Some physical quantities that are
represented as vectors are displacement, velocity,
acceleration, force, momentum, and electric and
magnetic fields.

• A vector is a quantity that involves both

magnitude and direction. A quantity that does
not involve direction is a scalar. For example, the
quantity 55 miles per hour is a scalar, while the
quantity 55 miles per hour to the north is a vector.
KINEMATICS
Example :
A rock is thrown straight upward
from the edge of a 30 m cliff, rising
10 m, and then falling all the way
down to the base of the cliff. Find
the rock’s displacement.
Solution:

Displacement only refers to the object’s initial

position and final position, not the details of its
journey. Since the rock started on the edge of
the cliff and ended up on the ground 30 m
below, its displacement is 30 m, downward. Its
distance traveled is 50 m; 10 m on the way up
and 40 m on the way down.
Example:

An infant crawls 5 m east, then 3 m

north, and then 1 m east. Find the
magnitude of the infant’s
displacement.
Example :

In a track-and-field event, an athlete runs

exactly once around an oval track, a total
distance of 500 m. Find the runner’s
displacement for the race.
SPEED AND VELOCITY
When we’re in a moving car, the speedometer
tells us how fast we’re going; it gives us our
speed. But what does it mean to have a speed of
say, 10 m/s?

By definition, average speed is the ratio of the

total distance traveled to the time required to
cover that distance:
Example :

Assume that the runner completes the

500m oval in the race in 1 minute and 18
seconds. Find her average speed and the
magnitude of her average
velocity.
Solution:

Average speed is total distance divided by

elapsed time. Since the length of the track is
500 m, the runner’s average speed was (500
m)/(78 s) = 6.4 m/s. However, since her
displacement was zero, her average velocity
was zero also: = Δx/Δt = (0 m)/(78 s) = 0 m/s.
ACCELERATION
Acceleration measures the rate of change of an
object’s velocity. An object’s average acceleration
is defined as follows:
• Note that an object can accelerate even if its speed
doesn’t change. (Again, it’s a matter of not allowing the
everyday usage of the word accelerate to interfere with its
technical, physics usage.)

•This is because acceleration depends on Δv, and the

velocity vector v changes if (1) speed changes, or (2)
direction changes, or (3) both speed and direction change.
• For instance, a car traveling around a circular racetrack is
constantly accelerating even if the car’s speed is constant,
because the direction of the car’s velocity vector is
constantly changing.
WEIGHT
•Mass and weight are not the same thing there is a
clear distinction between them in physics but they
are often used interchangeably in everyday life.

•The weight of an object is the gravitational force

exerted on it by the Earth (or by whatever planet it
happens to be on). Mass, by contrast, is a measure of
the quantity of matter that comprises an object.
weigh less on the Moon than you do on Earth.
•An object’s mass does not change with location.
Weight changes depending on location. For
example, you weigh less on the Moon than you
do on Earth.

•Since weight is a force, we can use F = ma to

compute it. What acceleration would the
gravitational force impose on an object? The
gravitational acceleration, of course! Therefore,
setting a = g, the equation F = ma becomes