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Ss 1 Further Mathematics Lesson 8

1. The document discusses addition and subtraction of vectors, multiplication of a vector by a scalar, magnitude and direction of a vector and unit vectors. It defines vector addition using the triangle law and parallelogram law. The triangle law states that the third side of a triangle is equal to the sum of the other two sides. The parallelogram law states that the resultant of two vectors is represented by one of the diagonals of a parallelogram with the vectors as adjacent sides. It also discusses properties of vector addition like closure, commutativity, associativity, identity and inverse. Vector multiplication by a scalar follows laws like distributivity and direction based on if the scalar is positive or negative. A unit

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Adio Babatunde Abiodun Cabax
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304 views4 pages

Ss 1 Further Mathematics Lesson 8

1. The document discusses addition and subtraction of vectors, multiplication of a vector by a scalar, magnitude and direction of a vector and unit vectors. It defines vector addition using the triangle law and parallelogram law. The triangle law states that the third side of a triangle is equal to the sum of the other two sides. The parallelogram law states that the resultant of two vectors is represented by one of the diagonals of a parallelogram with the vectors as adjacent sides. It also discusses properties of vector addition like closure, commutativity, associativity, identity and inverse. Vector multiplication by a scalar follows laws like distributivity and direction based on if the scalar is positive or negative. A unit

Uploaded by

Adio Babatunde Abiodun Cabax
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SS 1 FURTHER MATHEMATICS

LESSON 8
SUB – TOPIC 2: Addition and Subtraction of vectors, Multiplication of a vector by scalar,
Magnitude and Direction of a vector and unit vector.
ADDITION OF VECTORS
Let identified vector routes as a direct journey from one point to the other and also as a
journey on the sides of a right – angle triangle. In this part, we wish to establish that the
third vector route can take the form of travelling by the direct – route. Two vectors or more
can be added if their line segments are placed end to end. The sum of two or more vectors
is called the resultant and it is represented by the line segment from the initial point of the
first vector to the final point of the last vector.

u Q
P

v
u+v

There are two ways of moving from P to R.


(i) One can move from P to Q and then move from Q to R R
(ii) One can move directly from P to R
The vector PR is called the sum or resultant of the vectors PQ and QR. We can write
this as
PR = PQ + QR.

Suppose we denote PQ by u and QR by v then PR is the vector u + v. In other words.


PR = u + v

You can see that the above figure is a triangle, hence the law that PR = PQ + QR is called
Triangle law of vector addition. The triangle law states: when two coplanar vectors u and v
are added, their sum is u + v and if u and v are the sides of a triangle, then their third side is
u + v.

u-v
O R

-v
u

v+u R

P
RP = -RQ
OR – RP = OR + (-RP)
= OR + PR
= OR + RQ
= OQ
Suppose
OR = u, RP = v and RQ = -v
Then
OR = u + v
OQ = u – v

A
C
a+b
a

O
B

Given two vectors a and b which are not parallel, then it is possible to draw a parallelogram
with sides equal to IaI and IbI respectively. The sum of a and b is equal to the vector
representation of one of the diagonals of the parallelogram. This is the import of the
parallelogram law of vector addition which states that the resultant of two vectors is
represented by the diagonal of the parallelogram whose adjacent sides are the two
vectors.
From the figure,
OB + OA = OB + BC
= OC
i.e b + a = oc
Definition: the addition of the vectors a and b which are not parallel is a + b and this sum is
the vector representation of one of the diagonals of a parallelogram whose sides are a and
b.
Note that if the vectors are parallel then we cannot draw a parallelogram with these
parallel sides forming adjacent sides.
If a, b and c are vectors, then under addition the following properties hold:
1. a + b is a vector demonstrating closure
2. a + b = b – a, the commutative law
3. (a + b) + c = a + (b + c), the associative law
4. There is a unique vector 0, with the property that; for any other vector a,
a + 0 = 0 + a = a, property of identity
5. a + (-a) = (-a) + a = 0, property of inverse.

VECTOR MULTIPLICATION BY A SCALAR


Let say l and m are scalars then the following laws are true for any vectors a and b
la is also a vector
l(a + b) = la + lb (distributive)
(l + m)a = la + ma.
If k is a scalar, then ka is a vector which is parallel to a but k times the magnitude of a. If k>0
then ka is in the same direction of a.
However, if k<0, then ka is in a direction opposite to a

Q
S

R
P
RS = PQ or a
The magnitude of the vector quantity is written IPQI, or IaI, or simply PQ or a.
Note that QP would represent a vector quantity of the same magnitude but with opposite
sense.
A vector quantity can be represented graphically by a line drawn so that;
The length of the line denotes the magnitude of the quantity, according to some stated
vector scale.
The director of the line denotes the direction in which the vector quantity acts. The sense
of the direction is indicated by an arrowhead.

THE UNIT VECTOR


The unit vector is an important concept in the study of vectors.
The definition of unit vector has been given to us before.
We now wish to amplify on this concept.
If OP = ai + bj, then we represent a unit vector in the direction of p by p. A unit vector has a
magnitude equal to unity
i.e P = p/lpl and lpl = 1

∴ lpl = ai+ bj
¿¿
ASSIGNMENT
1. State the properties that hold under addition of vectors
2. How does the triangle law states
3. State parallelogram law of vector addition
4. Define the addition of the vectors
5. State the laws that governs the vector multiplication by a scalar

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