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PHYSICS - Vectors Examples and Solutions

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40 views4 pages

PHYSICS - Vectors Examples and Solutions

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aggienash
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PHYSICS – TIPs for Studying

1 Introduction to vectors and basic operations

Vectors and scalars intro and Vector intro for linear algebra videos. There
are two basic operations defined for vectors are multiplication by a
number and addition. We review them separately below. When studying
these operations, it is important to understand that a vector does not have
a particular location in space. It is displacement-invariant: displacing a
vector without changing its direction results in the same vector1 . 1.1
Multiplying a vector by a scalar Watch the video: Multiplying a vector by a
scalar When a vector ~a is multiplied by a scalar k, the resulting vector
k~a is collinear to ~a. If k < 0 the vector k~a is antiparallel to vector ~a

1.2 Adding vectors

Adding & Subtracting vectors, Parallelogram rule and Subtracting vectors


with parallelogram rule. Review an Isaac Physics example on Describing
and adding vectors. As we can see, there are two ways of adding vectors
(both used equally frequently): ~a ~b ~a +~b Triangle rule ~a ~b ~a +~b
Parallelogram rule To add three or more vectors, we use the “tip-to-end”
method (which, again, takes advantage of the displacement invariance
property). Draw each vector from the tip of the previous. Connect the
beginning of the first vector with the end of the last vector. This is the
resultant vector (shown in red). Note: the order, in which you add vectors,
does not matter, as is shown in the diagram below. ~a ~b ~c ~d ~e ~a +~b +
~c + ~d + ~e ~e ~c ~b ~d ~a ~e + ~c +~b + ~d + ~a Example 1. A motorboat
is crossing a river. The driver directs the boat at a right angle to the river
bank. The speed of the boat in still water is vb = 12 mph, the speed of the
river flow is vr = 5 mph. What is the speed and direction of the boat
relative to the shore and, if the river is h = 0.5 mile wide, how far
downstream will the boat land relative to the starting poin
Solution. The boat’s velocity is the vector sum of the velocity in still water
and flow velocity, ~v = ~vb + ~vr. Using the triangle rule for addition of
vectors and noticing that ~vb ⊥ ~vr, we evaluate the magnitude according
to the Pythagorean theorem: |~v| = p v 2 b + v 2 r = √ 122 + 52 = 13 mph.
The direction is found using tan θ = vr vb ; so θ = arctan vr vb ≈ 22.6 ◦ . To
find the time to cross the river, we can work in the reference frame of the
water, in which there is no flow. We have t = h vb = 1 24 hours = 150
seconds. Returning to the reference frame of the earth, we find that,
during the time t, the water will travel vrt = 0.208 miles ≈ 333 meters.
Answer: 13 mph; 22.6 ◦ to the normal to the riverbank; 333 m downstream.
Problem 1. (1 marks) Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant of
the following 4 forces: • 13 N to the north, • 3 N to the east, • 1 N to the
south, • 12 N to the west. Hint: Recall that the order, in which you add
vectors, does not matter. 2 Components of vectors
Example 2. A street lamp of mass m is suspended from two light strings at
A and B as shown on the diagram. Find the ratio of the tensions of the two
strings. Find the tension in each string in terms of m and g. • • B A T~ 1 T~
2 m~g 45◦ 30◦ T~ 1x T~ 1y T~ 2x T~ 2y Solution. We start by resolving the
vectors in the horizontal and vertical components: T1x = T1 cos 45 ◦ , T1y =
T1 sin 45◦ ; T2x = −T2 sin 30◦ , T2y = T2 cos 30◦ . The lamp is at rest, so the
forces must be balanced, hence T1x + T2x = 0 and T1y + T2y = mg. From
the first of these equations, we find T1 cos 45◦ = T2 sin 30◦ ⇒ √ 2 2 T1 = 1 2
T2 ⇒ T2 = √ 2T1. Substituting this into the second equation, we obtain T1
sin 45◦ + T2 cos 30◦ = mg ⇒ √ 2 2 T1 + √ 3 2 T2 = mg ⇒ √ 2 2 T1 + √ 3 2 √
2T1 = mg ⇒ ( √ 2 + √ 6)T1 = 2mg.

Problem 6. (3 marks) Vectors ~v = 6 −2 and ~w = 2 6 represent the sides


of a parallelogram. Find the angle between the diagonals of the
parallelogram. Problem 7. (3 marks) A motorboat is crossing a river. The
motorboat’s speed in still water is 24 mph. The speed of the river flow is
10 mph. At what angle to the riverbank should the driver direct the
motorboat in order to cross the river at 90◦ to the riverbank? What is the
speed of the boat relative to the shore? Problem 8. (2 marks) |22~a −~b| = |
22~a +~b|. Show that ~a ⊥ ~b. Problem 9 (PAT 2018, 3 marks). A pilot takes
off from an airfield 5 km west of her house and flies in a direction 60 ◦ east
of north. After 5 minutes she sees that direction to her house is now at
angle of 135◦ to her course. How far away is she from her house? (Use √ 2 ≈
1.4). Problem 10. (4 marks) Vector ~v + 3 ~w is perpendicular to vector 7~v
− 5 ~w. Vector ~v − 4 ~w is perpendicular to vector 7~v − 2 ~w. Find the
angle between vectors ~v and ~w. Problem 11. (4 marks) A heavy rope of
mass m is attached at A and B (see diagram). Find the tension of the rope
TA and TB at A and B respectively. Give your answer in terms of m and
gravitational field strength g. •

4 Scalar (dot) product Of major importance for the application of vectors in


physics is the notion of the scalar product. It has two equivalent
definitions. Definition 1. For two vectors with the known coordinates ~a =
ax ay and ~b = bx by , the dot product is the number given by ~a · ~b =
axbx + ayby. (3) Definition 2. For two vectors ~a and ~b with known
magnitudes and directions, the dot product is the number given by ~a · ~b
= |~a||~b| cos θ, (4) where θ is the angle between vectors. The equivalence
of the two definitions is derived from the law of cosines, as shown in this
video by Virtually

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