PHYSICAL QUANTITIES

VECTORS & SCALARS

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
Any number that is used to describe a physical
phenomenon quantitatively using a standard measurable
unit or units.
Example :
Length 3 m (meters)
Mass 80 kg (kilograms)

Time 3600 seconds

Weight 100 N (Newtons)

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

SCALAR QUANTITIES
Quantities that are described by only a single number which is its
Magnitude. Magnitude just tells how much or the size of the
quantity theres present.
Ex. 10 km, 100 km/hr
Mass, Volume and Time are scalars

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

VECTOR QUANTITIES
Quantities that are described by both magnitude and the
direction in space.
Ex. 10 km to the left, 100 km per hour, eastward
Force , Velocity and Acceleration are vectors

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7/20/2013

VECTOR QUANTITIES
GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF A VECTOR
Tip / Head

ANGLE / DIRECTION

Tail
Vector Notation :
Scalar Notation :
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A
A
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VECTOR QUANTITIES
DIRECTION :
Given in terms of :

STANDARD ANGLES :

Degrees ()
Radians (rad)
180 = 3.1416 rad

180 = rad
Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

VECTOR QUANTITIES
DIRECTION :

Given in terms of NAVIGATIONAL (COMPASS) BEARINGS :

N

East

Northeast

45

North

90

Northwest

135

West

180

Southwest

225

South

270

Southeast

315

NW

NE

135

45

180

SW

SE

225
S

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90

315

270
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VECTOR QUANTITIES
DIRECTION :
With Angles measured or starting from the horizontal (East or West) as reference

, North of East
, South of East

, North of West
, South of West

Ex:
1. 50 , South of East
2. 30 , North of West

80

30

40

50

3. 40 , South of West
4. 80 , North of East
Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

VECTOR QUANTITIES
DIRECTION :
With Angles measured or starting from the vertical (North or South) as reference

, East of North
, East of South

, West of North
, West of South

N
30

Ex:
1. 50 , East of South
2. 30 , West of North
3. 40 , West of South
4. 80 , East of North
Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

80

E
40 50

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VECTOR RESOLUTION

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

VECTOR RESOLUTION
A process of combining two or more vectors acting at the
same point on an object to determine a single equivalent
vector known as the Resultant vector.
The resultant has the same effect as the multiple vectors
that originally acts on the object. The resultant vector is
also known as the Net vector.

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

VECTOR RESOLUTION
Resultant Can be determined in two ways :

1. Graphical Methods
These involve plotting and drawing the vectors (using a
convenient scale) and directly measuring the resultant
from these vectors.

2. Analytical Methods
These involve no scaled drawings. These are purely
computation that mostly involves trigonometry.
Provides the most accurate value for the resultant.
Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

VECTOR RESOLUTION
Graphical Methods
A

1. Polygon Method
The resultant is determined by laying the vectors tail to head in series. Once the last vector is
in placed, the resultant is drawn from the tail of the origin vector up to the tip of the last
vector.

A
A
C
C
B
Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

The commutative property applies here, you can start

at any vector and the resultant is always going to be
the same
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VECTOR RESOLUTION
Graphical Methods
A

2. Parallelogram Method
Start with a pair of vectors drawn from the same origin. Make a parallelogram by projection.
The diagonal will be the resultant of the two vectors. If you have more than two given
vectors, pair the earlier resultant with the next given vector, and so on. The very last diagonal
will be the final resultant.

R
A
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7/20/2013

VECTOR RESOLUTION
Graphical Methods
NEGATIVE VECTORS
To graphically make a vector negative. Just shift the arrow head 180.
The magnitude remains the same

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7/20/2013

VECTOR RESOLUTION
Analytical Methods
1. Sine & Cosine Laws
Useful when given two vectors

Sine Law :
A

A = B = R
sin A sin B
sin

B
A

Cosine Law :

R2 = A2 + B2 2AB cos

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7/20/2013

VECTOR RESOLUTION
Analytical Methods
2. Component Method

Useful for two or more vectors

Components of a Vector can be thought of as the horizontal & vertical

projections of a vector

AY

AX
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7/20/2013

VECTOR RESOLUTION
Analytical Methods
2. Component Method

Useful for two or more vectors

Mathematically the components of a vector are expressed as :

Case 1 : measured from
Case 2 : measured from
horizontal axis
vertical axis

AY = A sin

AY = A cos

AX = A cos
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AX = A sin
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VECTOR RESOLUTION
Analytical Methods
2. Component Method : Sign Convention
+y

-x

+x

-y

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The usual vector sign convention

follows the Cartesian coordinate
system.
x component values :
to the right (or East) are positive
to the left ( or West) are negative
y component values :
going up (or North) are positive
going down (or South) are negative.

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VECTOR RESOLUTION
Analytical Methods
2. Component Method

Useful for two or more vectors

Standard Sign Convention

Algebraic Sum of ALL X-components

RX = X = AX + BX + CX + + ZX
Algebraic Sum of ALL Y-components

RY = Y = AY + BY + CY + + ZY
Computing for the Resultant :

If X is + , it is going to the right or east

If X is , it is going to the left or west
If Y is + , it is going upward or north
If Y is , it is going downward or south

|R| = X2 + Y2
= tan-1

|Y|

|X|

Note : The angle computed here is ALWAYS measured from the

horizontal axis. ALWAYS between zero to 90. Refer to the sign
convention above for the correct bearing

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

APPLICATION OF VECTOR RESOLUTION :

NAVIGATION via Displacement

Displacement (s) : A vector quantity that is the change in
position of an object.
Distance is the scalar counter part of displacement. It may
vary because there is a multiple (if not infinite) number of
ways to get from one point to another.
The magnitude of the displacement is considered as
a distance, in fact it is the shortest possible value for
distance.

This reads as displacement vector S

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7/20/2013

APPLICATION OF VECTOR RESOLUTION :

NAVIGATION via Displacement

Steps in Solution :
1.Read the problems carefully, draw the vectors (best-estimate sketch) complete with
their arrowheads pointing at the correct direction.
2.Determine if there is a resultant or none.
a. If there is a resultant identify it among the given vectors then set your equation,
with this resultant vector equal to the vector sum of the other vectors.
b. If there is no resultant, equate the vector sum of all the given vectors to zero.
3.Resolve the respective x and y components from the formula, it has the same format
as your resultant equation. Sometimes you may need to solve one of the unknown
vectors , it may not always going to be the resultant that is missing! Use a standard
sign convention for the vectors.
4.Solve for the magnitude of the required vector and its direction using right triangle
equations : Pythagorean formula and the arctangent formula

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

NAVIGATION via Displacement

1. Ace City lies 36.80 km, 40.4 West of North of Blues City. A bus, beginning
at Chapel City travels 54.50 km at 37.6 North of West to reach Ace City. How
far and in what direction is Blues City to Chapel City?

Ace

Chapel

Blues

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

NAVIGATION via Displacement

2. An escaped convict runs 1.70 km due east of the prison. He then runs 7.40
km due north to a friend's house. A few hours later, he left his friends house,
moving 4.35 km due west to hide in an abandoned warehouse. Determine his
displacement from the warehouse to the prison.

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

APPLICATION OF VECTOR RESOLUTION :

RELATIVE VELOCITY
Velocity : A vector quantity that is the rate of change in
position (displacement) over a time interval
Speed is the scalar part or the magnitude of velocity

Relative Velocity : The observed velocity of an object with

respect or relative to where the observer is (frame of
reference of the observer) .
Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

RELATIVE VELOCITY
Double Subscript Notation :

vAB

This reads as velocity of object A relative to object B

Example :

Velocity of car on the road (earth)

vCE

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

RELATIVE VELOCITY
Double Subscript Notation :
Given two objects with different relative velocities :

vAB
vBC

This reads as velocity of object A relative to object B

This reads as velocity of object B relative to object C

If we want to know the relative velocity of A with
respect to C , then we get the resultant of these two :

vAC = vAB + vBC

vAC

This reads as velocity of object A relative to object C

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

RELATIVE VELOCITY
1. An airplane heading due south with an airspeed of 200kph is in a crosswind
of 10kph due west. How far does the airplane go in 2 hours and in what
direction?

ANS : S = 400.5 km, = 87.138 S of W

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7/20/2013

RELATIVE VELOCITY
2. A boat is capable of making 9kph in still water is used to cross a river flowing at a
speed of 4kph.
a) At what angle () should the boat be directed so that the motion will be straight
across the river?
b) What is the resultant speed relative to the shore (earth)?

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7/20/2013

UNIT VECTORS

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

UNIT VECTORS
+y

Three-Dimensional Coordinate System

VECTOR COMPONENTS :

Review :

-x
+y

-z

AY = A sin

-x

+x

+z

AX = A cos
-y
-y

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AX = A cos
AY = A cos
AZ = A cos

+x

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UNIT VECTORS
A unit vector is a vector whose magnitude is equal to one
and dimensionless. They are used to specify a determined
direction or simply pointer vectors.
A unit vector is sometimes denoted by replacing the arrow on a vector
with a "^" or just adding a "^" on a boldfaced character .
Unit vector for X-component vector
Unit vector for Y-component vector
Unit vector for Z-component vector

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013

UNIT VECTORS
3D Vector is written in rectangular coordinate system as :

Components are :

AX = A cos
AY = A cos
AZ = A cos
Magnitude of the 3D Vector :

Note : 3D vector becomes a 2D vector , when ONE of ANY of the components

becomes zero.
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7/20/2013

UNIT VECTORS
Plot: Vector A :
A = 3 5 + 4k^

+y
-z

-x

+z

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+x

-y

7/20/2013

UNIT VECTORS
Addition/Subtraction: Simply get the sum or difference between
the same components.
Vector A :

A = 3 5+ 4k
^

A = 3 5 + 4k
^
+
B = 2 2 5k
^

A+B = 5 7 k

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Vector B :

B = 2 2 5k
^

A = 3 5 + 4k
^

B = 2 2 5k
^

AB = 3 + 9k

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DOT & CROSS PRODUCTS

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7/20/2013

DOT PRODUCT
The dot product is denoted by " " between two vectors. The dot product
of vectors A and B results in a scalar value. Dot product is given by the
relation :

Where is the angle between A & B

Alternative Equation
(If is not given, but the component are)

The dot product follows the commutative and distributive properties

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7/20/2013

CROSS PRODUCT
The cross product is denoted by "x " between two vectors. The cross
product of vectors A and B results in a vector.
Given two vectors

A = Ax + Ay + Az k

B = Bx + By + Bz k

Cross Product obtained using Determinants (3x3 matrix)

() () ()

P = AxB =
(+)

(+)

(+)

Cross Product obtained using this formula

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7/20/2013

CROSS PRODUCT
Magnitude of the Cross Product

OR

Where P (the magnitude of the cross product) is

equal to the area of the parallelogram formed by the
two vector.

The cross product has the following properties

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7/20/2013

DOT and CROSS PRODUCT

Prepared by : Engr. M.E. Albalate

7/20/2013