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S P R ING 2 0 1 6
I N STRUC TOR : S U BI R G HOS H, P HD
Vectors
A scalar quantity is specified by a single value with an appropriate unit and has no direction. (example:
temperature, mass, energy etc. )
A vector quantity has both magnitude and direction. (example displacement, velocity)
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Properties of Vectors
1. Equality of Vectors:
Two vectors are equal if they have the same magnitude and point in the same
direction.
2. Adding Vectors:
The resultant vector is the vector that connects from the tail of a vector to the tip of another vector.
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Vector Addition
1. Commutative Law of Addition:
A+B = B+A
A+(B+C) = (A+B) +C
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Negative of a Vector
The negative of a vector A is defined as the vector that when added to A gives zero for the vector sum.
A + (-A) = 0
The vectors A and A have the same magnitude but point in opposite directions.
Subtracting Vectors:
A B = A + (-B)
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Sample Problem
A car travels 20.0km due north and then 35.0 km due west. Find the magnitude and direction of the cars
resultant displacement.
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Components of a Vector
A component of a vector is the projection of the vector on an axis.
The projection of a vector on x-axis is its x component and the projection
on y-axis is its y component.
The process of finding the components of a vector is called resolving a
vector.
Once a vector has been resolved into its components along a set of axes,
the components themselves can be used in place of vector.
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Sample Problem
A small airplane leaves an airport on an overcast day and is later sighted 215km away in a direction
making an angle of 22 degree east of north. How far east and north is the airplane from the airport when
sighted?
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Unit Vector
A unit vector is a vector that has a magnitude of exactly one and points in a particular direction.
It lacks both dimension and unit.
A unit vector is denoted by a lower case letter with a hat.
Its sole purpose is to point or specify a direction.
= +
Vector Components
= +
ax, ay are scalar components.
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Sample Problem
Find the vector sum of the following three vectors:
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Sample Problem
Find the sum of two vectors A and B lying in the xy plane and given by
= 2.0 + 2.0 and B= 2.0 4.0
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Multiplying Vectors
Multiplying a vector by a scalar:
If we multiply a vector by a scalar s, we get a new vector. Its magnitude is the product of magnitude of
and the absolute value of s. Its direction is the direction of if s is positive but the opposite direction is
s in negative.
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Multiplying Vectors
Scalar Product
#1
. =
a is the magnitude of vector and b is the magnitude of vector ;
is the angle between the vectors
#2
. = ( + + ) ( + + )
. = + +
. = .
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Multiplying Vectors
Vector Product (Also known as cross product)
#1
The vector product of and , written as , produces a third vector whose magnitude is
=
Where is the smaller of the two angles between of and .
#2
= ( + + ) ( + + )
= + + ( )
= ( )
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Multiplying Vectors
If = 3.0 4.0 and = 2.0 + 3.0, what is = ?
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