Vectors and scalars
• A scalar quantity can be described by a single
number.
• A vector quantity has both a magnitude and a
direction in space.
• In this book, a vector quantity is represented
in
boldface italic type with an arrow over it: A.
• The magnitude of A is written as A or |A|.
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Drawing vectors—Figure 1.10
• Draw a vector as a line with an arrowhead at its tip.
• The length of the line shows the vector’s magnitude.
• The direction of the line shows the vector’s direction.
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Adding two vectors graphically
• Two vectors may be added graphically using either the parallelogram
method or the head-to-tail method.
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Adding more than two vectors graphically—
• To add several vectors, use the head-to-tail method.
• The vectors can be added in any order.
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Negative of a Vector
The negative of a vector is defined as the vector
that, when added to the original vector, gives a
resultant of zero
• Represented as A
• A A 0
The negative of the vector will have the same
magnitude, but point in the opposite direction
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Subtracting vectors
• Figure shows how to subtract vectors.
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Multiplying a vector by a scalar
• If c is a scalar, the
product cA has
magnitude |c|A.
• Multiplication of a
vector by a positive
scalar and a negative
scalar.
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Addition of two vectors at right angles
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Components of a vector—
• Adding vectors graphically provides limited accuracy. Vector
components provide a general method for adding vectors.
• Any vector can be represented by an x-component Ax and a y-
component Ay.
• Use trigonometry to find the components of a vector: Ax = Acos θ and
Ay = Asin θ, where θ is measured from the +x-axis toward the +y-axis.
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Components of a Vector
The x-component of a vector
is the projection along the x-axis
Ax A cos
The y-component of a vector
is the projection along the y-axis
A y A s in
This assumes the angle θ is
measured with respect to the positive direction of x-axis
• If not, do not use these equations, use the sides of the triangle
directly
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Components of a Vector, 4
The components are the legs of the right triangle whose
hypotenuse is the length of A
1 A y
A A x A y and tan
2 2
Ax
• May still have to find θ with respect to the positive x-axis
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Positive and negative components—Figure 1.18
• The components of a vector can
be positive or negative numbers,
as shown in the figure.
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Finding components—Figure 1.19
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Components of a Vector, final
The components can be positive or negative
The signs of the components will depend on the angle
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Adding Two Vectors Using Their
Components
R x = Ax + Bx
Ry = Ay + By
The magnitude and direction
of resultant vectors are:
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Adding vectors using their components
• For more than two vectors we can use the components of a
set of vectors to find the components
of their sum:
Rx Ax Bx Cx , Ry Ay By Cy
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Adding vectors using their components—Ex. 2
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Example 2
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Unit vectors
• A unit vector has a magnitude
of 1 with no units.
• The unit vector î points in the
+x-direction, jj points in the +y-
direction, and kk points in the
+z-direction.
• Any vector can be expressed
in terms of its components as
A =Axî+ Ay jj + Az kk.
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Adding vectors using unit-vector notation
In three dimensions if R A B
then
R Ax ˆi Ay ˆj Azkˆ Bx ˆi By ˆj Bzkˆ
R Ax Bx ˆi Ay By ˆj Az Bz kˆ
R Rx ˆi Ry ˆj Rzkˆ
Rx
R R R R 2
x
2
y
2
z cos1
, etc.
R
and so Rx= Ax+Bx, Ry= Ay+By, and Rz =Az+Bz
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Unit vector notation , adding vectors
In two dimensions, if R A B
then
and so Rx= Ax+Bx, Ry= Ay+By,
The magnitude and direction are
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Example 3
If A = 24i-32j and B=24i+10j, what is the
magnitude and direction of the vector C =
A-B?
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The scalar product
• The scalar product
(also called the “dot
product”) of two
vectors is
A B AB cos.
• Figures illustrate
the scalar product.
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Dot Products of Unit Vectors
ˆi ˆi ˆj ˆj kˆ kˆ 1
ˆi ˆj ˆi kˆ ˆj kˆ 0
Using component form with vectors:
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Calculating a scalar product
•
• Find the scalar product of two vectors shown in the figure.
The magnitudes of the vectors are: A = 4.00, and B = 5.00
[Insert figure 1.27 here]
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Calculating a scalar product – Example 4
•
• Find the scalar product of two vectors shown in the figure.
The magnitudes of the vectors are: A = 4.00, and B = 5.00
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Finding an angle using the scalar product – Ex. 5
• Find the angle between the vectors.
• Use equation:
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Finding an angle using the scalar product – Ex. 5
• Find the angle between the vectors.
• Use equation:
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The Vector Product Defined
Given two vectors, A and B
The vector (cross) product of A and B is defined
as a third vector, C A B
The magnitude of vector C is AB sin
• is the angle between A and B
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More About the Vector Product
The direction of C is
perpendicular to the plane
formed by Aand B
The best way to
determine this direction is
to use the right-hand rule
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Using Determinants
The components of cross product can be calculated as
ˆi ˆj kˆ
Ay Az Az ˆ Ax Ay
A B Ax Ay Az ˆi Ax j kˆ
By Bz Bx Bz Bx By
Bx By Bz
Expanding the determinants gives
A B Ay Bz AzBy ˆi Ax Bz AzBx ˆj Ax By Ay Bx kˆ
If Az = 0 and Bz=0 then
=
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Vector Product Example 6
Given A 2ˆi 3ˆj; B ˆi 2ˆj
Find =
Result =
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The vector product—Summary
• The vector
product (“cross
product”) of
two vectors has
magnitude
| A B | ABsin
and the right-
hand rule gives
its direction.
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Calculating the vector product— ex. 6
• Vector has magnitude 6 units
and is in the direction of the +x
axis. Vector has magnitude 4
units and lies in the xy – plane
making an angle of 300 with the x
axis. Find the cross product
Use ABsin to find the magnitude
and the right-hand rule to find the
direction.
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