Physics 1310

Chapter 2 - Vectors

Dr Minnie Yuan Mao

Physics 1310 will be your introduction into the fascinating wonderful world of classical mechanics. You will learn
about how Sir Isaac Newton got hit on the head with an apple (or did he?) and toppled over 2000 years of
Aristotelian physics. You will finally be able to quantify the many physical phenomena you have witnessed but
not yet had the pleasure of truly, deeply, understanding and applying equations to. How fast does a rocket have
to travel to escape Earth’s gravity? Why do we need seatbelts when cars brake? What exactly is a vector and why
should you care? With Physics 1310 you will discover the answers to these questions and more.

Instructor: Minnie Yuan Mao

Office: Workman 317
E-mail: [email protected]

Office hours: https://calendly.com/minnie-mao/physics

Lectures: Sections 1,2,3 TR, 0930 - 1045, Workman 101
Recitations: Section 1, W, 1900 – 2050, Workman 109, (20421) TA: Azia Robinson
Section 2, R, 1400 – 1550, Workman 109, (20422) TA: Genna Crom
Section 3, R, 1700 – 1850, Workman 109, (20423) TA: Azia Robinson

Textbook: OpenStax University Physics, University Physics Volume 1, April 05 2023

https://openstax.org/details/books/university-physics-volume-1
Physics 1310 will be your introduction into the fascinating wonderful world of classical mechanics. You will learn
about how Sir Isaac Newton got hit on the head with an apple (or did he?) and toppled over 2000 years of
Aristotelian physics. You will finally be able to quantify the many physical phenomena you have witnessed but
not yet had the pleasure of truly, deeply, understanding and applying equations to. How fast does a rocket have
to travel to escape Earth’s gravity? Why do we need seatbelts when cars brake? What exactly is a vector and why
should you care? With Physics 1310 you will discover the answers to these questions and more.

Instructor: Minnie Yuan Mao

Office: Workman 317
E-mail: [email protected]

Office hours: https://calendly.com/minnie-mao/physics

Lectures: Sections 4,5,6 MWF, 1100 - 1150, Workman 101
Recitations: Section 4, T, 1400 – 1550, Workman 109, (20424) TA: Genna Crom
Section 5, T, 1700 – 1850, Workman 109, (20425) TA: Azia Robinson
Section 6, W, 1630 – 1820, Workman 109, (20426) TA: Azia Robinson

Textbook: OpenStax University Physics, University Physics Volume 1, April 05 2023

https://openstax.org/details/books/university-physics-volume-1
Tentative Timetable
Date
Week Lectures Key topics Lab
(Monday)
1 Aug 14 Intro + Ch1 + Ch2 Units and Measurement , Scalars & Vectors lab intro
2 Aug 21 Ch3 Vectors, Motion along a straight line Vector Addition of Forces
3 Aug 28 Ch4 Motion in Two and Three Dimensions Kinematics
4 Sep 4 Ch5 Newton's Laws of Motion Projectile Motion
5 Sep 11 Ch6 Applications of Newton’s Laws Newton's Laws
6 Sep 18 Test 1 Newton's Laws
7 Sep 25 Ch7 Work and Kinetic Energy Conservation of Energy
8 Oct 2 Ch8 Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy Binary System
9 Oct 9 Ch9 Linear Momentum and Collisions Collisions in 1-D and 2-D
10 Oct 16 Ch10 Fixed-Axis Rotation Inelastic Collisions

11 Oct 23 Test 2 Torque and Moment of Inertia

12 Oct 30 Ch11 Angular Momentum Rolling without Slipping

13 Nov 6 Ch13 + Ch15 Gravitation, Oscillations Angular Momentum
14 Nov 13 Ch16 Waves Harmonic Oscillators
15 Nov 20 THANKSGIVING BREAK
16 Nov 27 Exam Review and Buffer no lab
Summary of Last Chapter
• Physics is awesome and can explain many day-to-day phenomena

• Classical mechanics applies on (almost) all scales

• The kilogram was redefined in May 2019

• Units are arbitrary but necessary so we might as well use an easy-

to-use system
• Otherwise disasters may happen! See Mars Climate Orbiter…

• Enter SI Units!
Chapter 2
VECTORS
Figure 2.1

• A signpost gives information about distances and directions to towns or to other locations relative to the location
of the signpost. Distance is a scalar quantity. Knowing the distance alone is not enough to get to the town; we
must also know the direction from the signpost to the town. The direction, together with the distance, is a vector
quantity commonly called the displacement vector. A signpost, therefore, gives information about displacement
vectors from the signpost to towns. (credit: modification of work by “studio tdes”/Flickr)
What is a vector?
• A scalar quantity has only magnitude

• A vector quantity has both magnitude and

direction
What is a vector?
• A scalar quantity has only magnitude

• A vector quantity has both magnitude and

direction
Chapter 2
Scalars Vectors

• Speed • Velocity
Chapter 2
Scalars Vectors

• Speed • Velocity

• Length/Area/Volume • Displacement

• Mass • Acceleration

• Time • Weight

• Density • Force
Velocity
• Cat starts at position A and is travelling at 3km/h

• Dog starts at position B and is travelling at 4km/h

Velocity
• Cat starts at position A and is travelling at 3km/h

• Dog starts at position B and is travelling at 4km/h

An example
• Chewbacca is flying the Millenium Falcon at 100m/s.
Han Solo is jogging laps in the Falcon because he
wants to be as buff as Chewie. If Han is jogging at
8m/s from the rear of the ship to the front, what is his
velocity from outside the Falcon? What about if he’s
jogging from the front to the rear?
Vector notation
• This is vector, P
• Graphically it’s denoted by an arrow.
• The length of the arrow represents the magnitude |P|
• The arrow points in the direction of the vector 𝑃!

• Vectors are often denoted by boldface or with a

line/arrow above.
• P or 𝑃

• Scalars are often denoted by italics

Magnitude of a vector
• Length of the vector

• Often denoted as ||P|| or |P|

• Magnitude x unit vector gives original vector
• Unit vector is vector in same direction but with unit length 1,
• Denoted as 𝑃!

• To find the magnitude of a vector from its components, we

take the square root of the sum of the components' squares
(this is a direct result of the Pythagorean theorem)
Some vector properties
Some vector properties
• Addition à head to tail

• Subtraction à flip one vector then add (“tail to tail”)

• Multiplication by scalar à “scale” the vector

• Multiplication by vector à dot products and cross

products (next week)

Some vector properties

• Commutative (vector) P+Q=Q+P

• Negative vector –P = -1 * P so P + (-P) = 0

• Distributive (vector) r(P + Q) = rP + rQ

• Distributive (scalar) (r + s) P = rP + sP

• Associative (scalar) r(sP) = (rs)P

A “practical” example
• The Dread Pirate Roberts has agreed to show you the
location of his legendary treasure chest. The directions are
so complicated that they are written on many note cards.
You have only glimpsed the top card, which tells you the
starting location. However, disaster strikes when The Dread
Pirate Roberts is unexpectedly swooped up and devoured
by an angry pterodactyl. Luckily the pterodactyl didn’t eat
the note cards and they flutter down to the ground
unharmed. Unfortunately, they are all out of order. Will you
ever be able to locate the treasure?
How to get to Skeen Library
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Figure 2.19

• Scalar components of a vector may be positive or negative. Vectors in the first

quadrant (I) have both scalar components positive and vectors in the third quadrant
have both scalar components negative. For vectors in quadrants II and III, the
direction angle of a vector is 𝜃! = 𝜃 + 180°.
 Polar Coordinates

• Figure 2.20: Using polar coordinates, the unit vector 𝒓) defines the positive direction
along the radius r (radial direction) and, orthogonal to it, the unit vector 𝒕) defines the
positive direction of rotation by the angle φ.
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Vector addition…
Some vector properties
Cartesian to polar
Figure 2.21

• Three unit vectors define a Cartesian system in three-dimensional space. The order
in which these unit vectors appear defines the orientation of the coordinate system.
The order shown here defines the right-handed orientation.
Figure 2.22

• A vector in three-dimensional space is the vector sum of its three vector

components.
Some vector properties

• Commutative (vector) P+Q=Q+P

• Negative vector –P = -1 * P so P + (-P) = 0

• Distributive (vector) r(P + Q) = rP + rQ

• Distributive (scalar) (r + s) P = rP + sP

• Associative (scalar) r(sP) = (rs)P

Some more maths

• Vector addition

• Vector subtraction

• What about multiplication etc?

Dot Products and Cross Products

• The dot product (or scalar product) of two vectors

results in a scalar solution

• The cross product (or vector product) of two vectors

results in a vector solution
Dot Product ≡ Scalar Product
• The dot product (or scalar product) of two vectors results in a scalar
solution

• Geometrically, the dot product of two vectors is the magnitude of one

times the projection of the second onto the first.

• The dot product is commutative

Applications of the Dot Product
• Mechanical work is the dot product of force and
displacement vectors.

• Magnetic flux is the dot product of the magnetic field

and the vector area.

• Power is the dot product of force and velocity.

Dot Product Example
• Mechanical work is the dot product of force and displacement
vectors.

• A crane is dragging a car along a frictionless surface at an angle

of 60 degrees from the horizon and 5N of force. What is the work
done if the car is dragged 20m à ?
Cross Product ≡ Vector Product
• The cross product (or vector product) of two
vectors results in a vector solution

• The cross product is a vector that has its

direction perpendicular to the plane that
contains both original vectors

• The cross product is defined as

• The magnitude corresponds to the area of the

parallelogram the two original vectors span

• The cross product is anticommutative (right

hand rule)
Cross Product ≡ Vector Product
Applications of the Cross Product

• Computer graphics calculations

• Angular momentum of a particle about a given origin is

defined as
• r is the position vector
• p is the linear momentum of the particle

• Torque

• Lorentz force to determine direction of travel of a charged

particle in a magnetic field
Cross product example
Take home points from this lecture
• The dot product of two vectors results in a scalar solution

• The cross product of two vectors results in vector solution

• The magnitude of the cross product corresponds to the area of the

parallelogram the two original vectors span

• The direction of the cross product may be determined using the

Right Hand Rule
 Take home points … #1
• Both magnitude and direction matter

• Vectors are just another tool in the physicist’s toolbox, useful in many facets of life
• Map reading (treasure hunting!)
• Deciding which direction to go running

• Vectors are commutative and associative

• Can add vectors by either using a ruler and protractor OR (arguably more fun) can
separate into vector components

• Cartesian coordinates are the regular (x,y) cords

• Polar coordinates may be represented by (r, theta)

• Different situations require the different coordinate systems, but they are easily
interchangeable
Take home points …#2
• The dot product of two vectors results in a scalar solution

• The cross product of two vectors results in vector solution

• The magnitude of the cross product corresponds to the area of the

parallelogram the two original vectors span

• The direction of the cross product may be determined using the

Right Hand Rule
Homework Week #2
• Read (skim) chapters 2 & 3 of the textbook

• Create an expert TA account and do the tutorial!

• Homework on Chs 1 & 2 is now online

• HW will (almost) always be due Friday 9pm of following week.