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|.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Adding two vectors graphically
• Two vectors may be added graphically using either the parallelogram
method or the head-to-tail method.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Adding more than two vectors graphically—

• To add several vectors, use the head-to-tail method.

• The vectors can be added in any order.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Subtracting vectors
• Figure shows how to subtract vectors.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Addition of two vectors at right angles

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Positive and negative components—Figure 1.18

• The components of a vector can

be positive or negative numbers,
as shown in the figure.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Finding components—Figure 1.19

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Components of a Vector, final

The components can be positive or negative

The signs of the components will depend on the angle

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Adding Two Vectors Using Their
Components

R x = Ax + Bx
Ry = Ay + By
The magnitude and direction
of resultant vectors are:

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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 

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Adding vectors using their components—Ex. 2

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Example 2

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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   cos1
, etc.
R

and so Rx= Ax+Bx, Ry= Ay+By, and Rz =Az+Bz

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Example 3
If A = 24i-32j and B=24i+10j, what is the
magnitude and direction of the vector C =
A-B?

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 The scalar product
• The scalar product
(also called the “dot
product”) of two
vectors is
A B  AB cos.

• Figures illustrate
the scalar product.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Dot Products of Unit Vectors
ˆi  ˆi  ˆj  ˆj  kˆ  kˆ  1
ˆi  ˆj  ˆi  kˆ  ˆj  kˆ  0
Using component form with vectors:

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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]

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Finding an angle using the scalar product – Ex. 5

• Find the angle between the vectors.

• Use equation:

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Finding an angle using the scalar product – Ex. 5
• Find the angle between the vectors.

• Use equation:

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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

=

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 Vector Product Example 6
Given A  2ˆi  3ˆj; B  ˆi  2ˆj
Find =
Result =

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.

 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.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc.