Vector Addition

Setup
1. Make sure your calculator is set to degrees and not radians.
2. Run the simulation from the lab page in the module. If that simulation does not work, use the
following link to go directly to the PhET site, http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/vector-
addition .
3. Once the simulation is running, there should be a green button below the picture that says Run
Now! Click this button.
4. In the basket at the top right, you can drag out a vector arrow. If you ever want to get rid of a
vector, drag it to the trash can at the bottom right. If you want to start over, click Clear All.
5. You can adjust the direction and length of the arrow by click-dragging the arrow head. Play with
this until you are comfortable.
6. Click the Show Grid button. This will make it easier to adjust the arrow lengths.

Part A: 3-4-5 Triangle
7. Drag out a vector, and move it until the tail is located at the origin. Click on the head of the vector,
and drag it until it is completely horizontal, points to the right, and has a magnitude ( |R| ) of 40.
8. Look at the chart at the top of the page. Here is an explanation of what each number represents:
a. |R| represents the length of the arrow. This is usually called the magnitude of the vector.
b. ! represents the direction the arrow points. This is simply called the direction of the
vector. The magnitude AND direction will completely define a vector.
c. R
x
is called the X-component of the vector. This is the length of the vector in the X-
direction only.
d. R
y
is called the Y-component of the vector. This is the length of the vector in the Y-
direction only.
9. For the first vector you dragged out, fill in the
chart at right.


10. Now, drag out a second vector and place its tail at the head of the
first, as shown at right. Adjust this second vector until it points
vertically upward and has a length of 30. Fill in the table for this
vector here:



11. If you were to walk this path, at the end you would be 50 units away from the origin. You can
show this by clicking the button that says Show Sum. A green vector should pop up. This
represents the vector sum, or resultant, of the first two arrows.
12. Drag this vector over so that the tail is at the origin, and use it to form the hypotenuse of a right
triangle. Notice that the head of this vector ends exactly where the second vector ends. Click on
the green vector and fill in the chart for this vector here:



13. ! Compare the R
x
and R
y
values for the green vector to the |R| values from the first two red
vectors. What do you notice about these values?
|R| ! R
x
R
y


|R| ! R
x
R
y


|R| ! R
x
R
y


40 0 40 0
30 90 0 30
50 36.9 40 30
The Rx value for the green vector is equal to the Rx value of its horizontal component vector, and the
Ry value of the green vector is equal to the Ry value of its vertical component vector.
Part B: Single Vector, Magnitude 50
14. Hit the Clear All button to erase the screen. Next, create a vector with an R
x
of 40 and an R
y
of
30. Fill in the chart for this vector here:



15. ! Compare the chart values of this vector to those of the green resultant vector from #12. How
do these values compare?

16. Next, click the Style 2 button on the Component Display menu. This is a way to visualize any
vector as a sum of horizontal and vertical components.

17. Adjust this vector until it has an R
x
value of 30 and an R
y
value of 40. Fill in the chart for this
vector:



18. ! Has the magnitude (that is, |R| ) of this vector changed, compared #14? If so, how?


19. ! Has the direction (that is, !) of this vector changed, compared to #14? If so, how?


20. ! Figure out a way to adjust the magnitude and direction of this vector until it has a magnitude of
50, just like before, but points in a different direction from the first 2. Fill in the chart for this
vector, and draw an arrow here to indicate the magnitude and direction of the arrow that you
created.




21. Looking at this vector, it is easy to imagine a right triangle, made from R
x
, R
y
and |R|. In this case,
|R| would be the hypotenuse, and R
x
& R
y
would be the legs.
a. Show, using the Pythagorean Theorem, that |R|
2
= R
x
2
+ R
y
2
.


b. Show, using the law of cosines, that R
x
= |R| cos !.


c. Show, using the law of sines, that R
y
= |R| sin !.


22. Clear All. Imagine a vector with magnitude |R| = 28 and angle ! = 45
o
.

a. ! Mathematically determine the X- And Y- components (that is, find R
x
and R
y
). Show
your work.




b. Check your answer by constructing this vector.
|R| ! R
x
R
y


|R| ! R
x
R
y


|R| ! R
x
R
y


50 36.9 40 30
The values are all equal.
50 53.1 30 40
The magnitude has not changed.
The direction has changed. The for the previous vector was given by the arctangent of
Rx/Ry = 30/40 = 36.9. In this vector, however, the horizontal and vertical components are
swapped, so is arctangent 40/30 = 53.1.
50
50^2 = (-10)^2 + (49)^2
-10 = 50cos(101.537)
49 = 50sin(101.537)
Rx = 28.3cos(45) = 20
Ry = 28.3sin(45) = 20
101.5 -10 49
Part C Several Vectors

23. Create 5 vectors, as shown at right. The length of each of the horizontal
vectors should be 10, and the length of the vertical vectors should be 15.


24. Click on the Show Sum button. Fill in the chart for this resultant.




25. ! A useful way to keep track of vector sums is to create a chart. Complete the chart below, using
the 5 vectors youve constructed, and then add the columns to get the sums.

Vector # Rx Ry
1 10 0
2
3
4
5
SUM

26. ! How do the R
x
and R
y
sums from the previous chart compare to the R
x
and R
y
values from
question #24?


27. ! Using the Pythagorean Theorem, determine the resultant |R| value. Compare this number to the
|R| value from #25.


28. Clear All. Construct the following 4 vectors:
|R| = 20, ! = 0
o

|R| = 20, ! = 90
o

|R| = 20, ! = 180
o
(or -180
o
)
|R| = 20, ! = 270
o
(or -90
o
)

29. What is the resultant of these vectors?



30. What is the sum of these vectors if the first
vector is 10 units long rather than 20?

|R| ! R
x
R
y


|R| ! R
x
R
y


|R| ! R
x
R
y


42.4
45 30 30
0 15
10 0
0 15
10 0
30 30
26. The sums are the same.
27. sqrt(30^2 + 30^2) = 42.4
It is the same as the magnitude from #25.
0 0 0 0
10cos(0)+20cos(90)+20cos(180)+20cos(270) = -10
10sin(0)+20sin(90)+20sin(180)+20sin(270) = 0
10 0 -10 0
Extension Questions

1. A student, following instructions on her treasure map, starts at the origin and walks the following
routes:
!36 meters North (! = 90
o
)
!15 meters West (! = 180
o
)
!20 meters South (! = 270
o
or -90
o
)
!27 meters East (! = 0
o
)

a. Fill in the chart below, which represents the horizontal and vertical components of the
routes. Also determine the X and Y sums.

Vector # Rx Ry
1 0 36
2
3
4
SUM

b. After the student has finished walking, what is her horizontal displacement? (R
x
sum)


c. What is her vertical displacement? (R
y
sum)


d. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, and your answers from (b) and (c), how far is she from
the origin? (In other words, what is her resultant |R|?)



e. What is her direction, !?



2. A helicopter flies 25 km North, then 35 km East, then 5 km @ -75
o
, then 15 km @ 195
o
.

a. What is the resultant displacement (|R|) of the helicopter, measured from the origin?


b. What is the direction (!) of the helicopter, measured from the origin?


3. An airplane is flying with a velocity of 200 m/s @ 112
o
. A strong wind is blowing 50 m/s @ 27
o
.
What is the airplanes resultant velocity?

-15 0
0 -20
27 0
12 16
12m
16m
|R|^2 = (Rx)^2 + (Ry)^2
|R| = sqrt(12^2 + 16^2) = 20m
arctan(16/12) = 53.1 degrees
201.9 m/s