YABELLO IFA BORU SPECIAL BOARDING

SECONDARY SCHOOL

PHYSICS SHORT NOTE

FOR GRADE 9

BY:
Wondimu Getachew
(2015/2022)
UNIT: 1
MEASUREMENTS AND VECTORS

Definition of Physics
▶ Physics is a way of observation of the world around us.
▶ Through observation we understand our world and how
objects in the world behave (laws of nature).
▶ Physics is simply the science of observation and measurement.
▶ The word ‘physics’ has its origin in the Greek word meaning
‘nature’.
▶ Hence, physics is the branch of natural science. It is the study
of the nature of matter, energy and their interactions.
▶ A person who studies physics is called physicist.
Branches of physics

▶ Mechanics: is the branch of physics which deals with the

motion of an object without or with the reference of force.
Mechanics can be further divided into two branches namely
quantum mechanics and classical mechanics.
▶ Quantum mechanics: deals with the behavior of smallest
particles like protons, electrons and neutrons.
▶ Classical mechanics: deals with laws of motion of forces and
physical objects.
▶ Electromagnetism: is the branch of physics which deals with
the study of electromagnetic force like electric field, light,
magnetic fields, etc.
There are two aspects of electromagnetism which are
electricity and magnetism.
▶ Acoustics: is the branch of physics which deals with the
study of sound and its transmission, production, and effects.
▶ Optics: is the branch of physics which deals with the
behavior, propagation, and properties of light.
▶ Thermodynamics: is the branch of physics which studies
thermal energy and the transfer of heat.
Its the study of energy conversation between heat and other
forms of energies.
▶ Nuclear physics: is the branch of physics which deals with
the structure, properties and reactions of the nuclei of atoms.
▶ Astrophysics: is the science that employs the methods and
principles of physics in the study of astronomical objects and
phenomena.
Physics is the the systematic study of the structure and behaviors
of the physical wold, involving experimentation and
measurement and the development of theories to describe the
results of these activities.

Physics is based on measurements and comparisons. Thus, we

need rules about how things are measured and compared, and we
need experiments to establish the units for those measurements
and comparisons.
1.1 Measurements
▶ Measurement: is the process of finding the size or amount of
physical quantity using the standard unit for that quantity.
▶ A quantity is an amount or size of something.
▶ quantities are either definite(physical) or
indefinite(nonphysical)
▶ Non-physical Quantities: are qualitative quantities such as
love, hate, fear and hope.
They are not concerned in physics studies and experiments
and cannot be measured by defining its units of measurement
or using a measuring instruments.
However, there are research discipline, such as psychology,
that study and quantify quantities like fear of exam (exam
anxiety)
Example:
1. deep love
2. strong desire
▶ Physical Quantities: are quantities that can be measured by
defining its units of measurement or using a measuring
instrument.
Physical quantities are always expressed in terms of a
numerical value (magnitude) and unit.
Example:
1. length of stick = 5m
2. speed of sound = 331m/s
3. mass of box = 5kg
Some examples of physical and non-physical quantities

Quantity Amount Type

Desire Strong Indefinite
Mass of box Heavy Indefinite
Mass of box 5kg Definite
Love Deep Indefinite
Height of a person Tall Indefinite
Height of a person 2m Definite
Unit of measurement
▶ A unit of measurement is a standard by means of which the
amount of a physical quantity is expressed.
▶ It is defined and adopted by convention.
▶ Experiments in physics involves taking measurements of
quantities and calculating some results.
For measurements and calculations to be meaningful, units
must be introduced.
Physics without units is meaningless.
▶ There are two common standard system of units.
1. Metric system The metric system(MKS) has three main or
fundamental units as base units.
The modern form of metric system is the international system
of units(SI units).
▶ The meter for length(m)
▶ The kilogram for mass(kg)
▶ The second for time(s)
2. English system of units
The British(imperial) system of measurement which is
common before SI units were adopted internationally.
It is called CGS system (centimeter, gram and second as base
units).
This system is based on the units:
Foot for length
pound for mass
Second for time
International system of units

▶ All measurements involve comparison between the quantities

to be measured with that taken as unit.
▶ The existence of diverse units to measure the same quantity
created problem in commerce, exchange data and lack of
coordination between various disciplines.
▶ These were the original motivations for the development of
International System of units (SI, abbreviated from French
Systeme International d’unites).
▶ SI unit is the modern form the metric system.
▶ It is nearly accepted by every country in the world.
▶ The system starting with seven units, called basic units allows
for unlimited number of additional units, called derived units,
which can be always be represented as a product of powers of
basic units.
Fundamental(basic) quantities and Unities
▶ In the SI system, there are seven basic physical quantities and
units.
Basic quantity Symbol Basic unit Symbol for unit
Length l meter m
Mass m kilogram kg
Time t second s
Electric current I ampere A
Temperature T kelvin K
Amount of substance n mole mol
Luminous intensity Io candela cd
▶ Some unit symbols are in upper-case letter because they are
named after scientists.
for example the unit of temperature kelvin(K) is named after
the Lord Kelvin, who contributed a lot in thermodynamics.
▶ However, all the full names of the units are in lower-case
letter.
The three fundamental units of mechanics

▶ The second, the meter and the kilogram.

▶ The Second: It is the SI unit of time, abbreviated as s.

First defined as 1/86400 of mean solar day.
Since the solar day is getting longer due to the gradual
slowing of the Earth’s rotation, a new standard of the second
was adopted in terms of a non-varying physical phenomenon
for the greater accuracy.
One such phenomena is the steady vibrations of Cesium
atoms, and these vibrations can be readily observed and
counted.
In 1967 the second was redefined as the time required for
9,192,671,770 of these vibrations.
▶ The meter: it is the SI unit of length, abbreviated as m.
▶ First define as 1/10, 000, 000 of the distance from the equator
to the North pole.
▶ Its redefined more accurately to be the distance between two
engraved lines on a platinum-iridium bar now kept near Paris.
▶ It was redefined even more accurately in terms of the
wavelength of light, so 1m become 1,650,763.73 wavelength of
orange light emitted by krypton atoms.
▶ The present definition of the meter is the distance light travels
in a vacuum in 1/299, 792, 458 of second.
▶ The length of the meter will change if the speed of the light is
someday measured with greater accuracy.
▶ The kilogram: is the SI unit for mass, abbreviated as kg.

First defined to be the mass of a platinum-iridium cylinder

kept near Paris with exact replicas reserved at different parts
of the globe.

Since airborne contaminants slightly change the

platinum-iridium mass over time, the scientific community
adopted a more stable definition of the kilogram in May 2019.

The kilogram is now defined in terms of the second, the meter

and Planck’s constant h (h: a quantum mechanical value that
relates a photon’s energy to its frequency: E = hν = h λc )
Derived Quantities

Derived quantities are the combination of two or more basic

quantities.
For example:
Area is obtained by combining two length.
Volume is obtained by combining three length.
Velocity is obtained by combining length and time.

Similarly, derived units are made by combination of the

fundamental units.
The unit of area is meter squared (m2 ),
The unit of volume is meter cubed (m3 ),
The unit of velocity is meter per second (m/s)
Some examples derived of quantities and their corresponding
derived units.
Derived quantities Unit Symbol
Area square meter m2 m2
Volume cubic meter m3 m3
Speed, Velocity meter per second m/s ms −1
Acceleration meter per second square m/s 2 ms −2
Density kilogram per cubic meter kg /m 3 kgm−3
Force newton N kgms −2
Work, Energy joule J (Nm) kgm2 s −2
Power watt W (J/s) kgm2 s −3
Frequency hertz Hz (1/s) s −1
In the rightmost column the derived units are the expressed as
powers of the fundamentals units.
These powers are called the dimensions of the physical quantity in
the base units.
The seven base units and the twenty two of the derived units with
special names and symbols may be used in combination to express
other derived units.
Dimension and Dimensional Analysis

Every special quantity can be expressed in terms of some powers of

the fundamental SI quantities.
These powers are called dimensions of the physical quantity in
equation.

The square brackets [ ] stands for “dimension of”:

For example:
-dimension of mass: [mass] = [m] = M
-dimension of length: [length] = [l] = L
-dimension of time: [time] = [t] = T
-dimension of current: [current] = [I] = I
-dimension of Temperature: [temperature] [T] = Θ
-dimension of amount of substance: [amount of substance]=[n]=N
-dimension of luminous intensity: [luminous intensity] = [Io ] = J
In mechanics, a derived physical quantity x can be expressed as:

[x] = [l]a [m]b [t]c = La M b T c

Examples:
1. The dimension of area
[A] = [length][width] = L2
2. The dimension of volume
[V ] = [length][width][height] = L3
3. The dimension of density
[m]
[ρ] = [V ]
= ML−3
4. The dimension of force
[F ] = [m][a] = MLT −2
5. The dimension of energy
[E ] = [F ][S] = ML2 T −2
6. The dimension of power
[P] = [E ]
[t]
= ML2 T −3
Dimensional analysis is useful in deriving new formula or checking
existing formula apart from dimensionless factors that may exist in
the formula.
Example:
1. Verify that the following relation is correct apart from
dimensionless factors: S = 12 at 2

[S] = L

[at 2 ] = [a][t 2 ] = LT −2 T 2 = L
2. Show that the following equation is dimensionally equal:
force x distance = mass x velocitysquared
[FS] = [F ][S] = MLT −2 L = ML2 T −2
[mv 2 ] = [m][v 2 ] = ML2 T −2
In general, the dimension of any physical quantity can be written
as:
La M b T c I d Θe N f J g
for some powers a,b,c,d,e,f,g
We acn write the dimension of a length in this form with:
a = 1 and the remaining six powers are zero.

L1 M 0 T 0 I 0 Θ0 N 0 J 0 = L1 = L

For a dimensionless quantity all the seven powers are zero.

The dimensionless quantities are pure numbers.
Examples:
-relative density
-coefficient of friction
-velocity ratio
-mechanical advantage
-radian
Exercise

Check the following equations are dimensionally correct

1. v 2 = u 2 + 2as
v2
2. a = r
3. s = ut + 21 at 2
4. mv 2 = kx 2
5. v = u + at
6. P = ρgh + 21 ρv 2
7. rF = ml 2
8. f = µN
SI Prefixes and Scientific Notation
Scientific Notation: is any number written in the form of

ax10n

Where: 0 < a < 10 and n is an integer

We use scientific notation (the power of 10n ), if the number is very

small or very large.
For example:
The mass of electron is:
me = 0.00000000000000000000000000000091kg
The diameter of the observable universe is:
d = 880000000000000000000000000m

If the above numbers written in the scientific notation:

me = 9.1x10−31 kg
d = 8.8x1026 m
If the number is written in the scientific notation, some power of
ten (10n ) has special names:
Example:
▶ 101 = deca =⇒ ten
▶ 102 = hecto =⇒ hundred
▶ 103 = kilo =⇒ thousands
▶ 106 = mega =⇒ million

The power of ten (0n ) with special names are give in the table
below
Prefix Symbol Exponent Base unit multiple in Words
yotta Y 1024 1000000000000000000000000 septillion
zetta Z 1021 1000000000000000000000 sextillion
exa E 1018 1000000000000000000 quintillion
peta P 1015 1000000000000000 quadrillion
tera T 1012 1000000000000 trillion
giga G 109 1000000000 billion
mega M 106 1000000 million
kilo k 103 1000 thousand
hecto h 102 100 hundred
deca da 101 10 ten
Prefix Symbol Exponent Base unit multiple in Words
deci da 10−1 0.1 tenth
centi c 10−2 0.01 hundredth
milli m 10−3 0.003 thousandth
micro µ 10−6 0.000001 millionth
nano n 10−9 0.000000001 billionth
pico p 10−12 0.000000000001 trillionth
femto f 10−15 0.000000000000001 quadrillionth
atto a 10−18 0.000000000000000001 quintillionth
zepto z 10−21 0.000000000000000000001 sextillionth
yocto y 10−24 0.000000000000000000000001 septillionth
Example

1. Some illustration of the use of Prefixes:

a. Radius of Hydrogen atom R = 53pm(picometer)
b. Distance between Earth and Sun s = 149.5Gm(gigameter)
c. mass of electron me = 0.00091yg (yoctogram)
d. Mass of the Earth mE = 5983Yg (yottogram)
2. Write the following physical quantities in scientific notation
and using SI prefix
a. 3270g = 3.27x103 g = 3.27kg
b. 0.128m = 1.28x10−1 = 128mm
c. 65000000W = 6.5x107 W = 65MW
d. 0.000056s = 5.6x10−5 s = 56µs
Exercise

1. Convert the following numbers into scientific notation

a. 27,000,000
b. 0.007 12
c. 821
d. 101
e. 81,250,000,000
f. 0.000 002 05
2. Write the following numbers using SI prefixes:
a. 5.80x106 b. 2.52x10−3
c. 6.32x10 −5 d. 6.10x10−11
e. 8.56x104 f. 6.25x10−24
g. 2.30x1010 h. 1.5x1019
3. Write the standard form (scientific notation) of
a. speed of light in vacuum c = 298, 000, 000km/s
b. one light year t = 10, 000, 000, 000, 000km
Significant Figures

▶ Significant figures (sig, fig.) are those digits in a measurement

that carry meaning and contribute to its precision.
▶ Significant figures express the precision of a measuring tool.
▶ Significant figures are all digits in a number that are different
from zero, but sometimes zero also can be referred as a
significant figure.
▶ here are the rules for identifying significant figures in a
measurement.
1. All non zero figures are significant
a. 25.4 has 3 sig. fig.
b. 53 has 2 sig. fig.
c. 85,469 has 5 sig. fig
2. All zeroes between non-zero digits are significant
a. 201 has 3 sig. fig.
b. 30.08 has 4 sig. fig.
c. 10203 has 5 sig. fig.
d. 100.2014 has 7 sig. fig.
3. Zeroes to the right of non-zero figure but to the left of the
decimal point are not significant (unless specified with bar)
a. 109,000 has 3 sig. fig.
b. 109,000̄ has 6 sig. fig.
c. 109,00̄0 has 5 sig. fig.
4. Zeroes to the right of a decimal point but to the left of
non-zero figure are not significant.
a. 0.050 has 2 sig. fig.
b. 0.00001 has 1 sig. fig.
5. Zero to the right of the decimal point and following a
non-zero figure are significant.
a. 304.50 has 5 sig. fig.
b. 12.2000 has 6 sig. fig.
Exercise

1. Determine the number of significant figure for the following

numbers.
a. 21000 f. 3250000 k. 42210000
b. 0.0012 g. 469 l. 1786
c. 1.0 h. 0.00843 m. 508.6
d. 0.18 i. 0.234 n. 0.6780
e. 67 j. 65.0 o. 5.060
2. Find the numbers of significant figure for the following
numbers.
a. 900000 d. 70000000.0 g. 84.10000
b. 10082 e. 0.0025 h. 3008000
c. 70000000 f. 0.00008914 i. 0.000339
3. Which are significant: Trailing zeroes or leading zeroes?
When performing calculations, we must be careful about
significant figures.
When adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing numbers, the
answer should not be more precise than the number with the least
number of significant figures.
Examples:
1. Find the sum and difference of 264.68 and 2.2411
To do this we put question mark [?] at all the doubtful places.
2. Evaluate the product of 2.345 and 3.56
Error in Measurement
Error is defined as the difference between an observed value and a
true value.

Error = |Observedvalue − Truevalue|

The “observed” value is either of direct measurement or a

calculated value using other measured values in a formula.

True value/Accepted valueis the actual value of the physical

property you are measuring.
It is the value you would get if it were possible to make the
measurement with no experimental errors.
The “true” value exist but unknown.

The goal of measurement is to estimate the true value of a

physical quantity using experimental methods.
Uncertainty
Uncertainty is a quantification of the doubt about the
measurement result.
This quantification gives the range of values within which the true
values is believed to lie with some level of confidence.
Uncertainty is determined by statistical analysis of many values of
measurement.
measurement = (best estimate ± uncertainty)unit of measurement
Uncertainty shows the the area around the average value where the
true value of the measurement is likely to be found.
Example:
The result of length measured is:

l = (20.1 ± 0.1)cm

This means that the experimenter believes the true value to be

closer to 20.1cm but it could have been anywhere between 20.0cm
and 20.2cm
Sources and Types of Error

Measurement errors can arise from three possible origins: the

measuring device, the measurement procedure and the measured
quantity itself.

Usually the largest of these errors will be determine the uncertainty

in the data.

Errors can be divided into two types: Systematic and Random

errors.
Systematic errors arise from procedures, instruments, bias or
ignorance.
Systematic errors bias every measurement in the same direction,
causing your measurement to consistently be higher or lower than
the accepted value.
The zero error is one of the systematic error. Its from measuring
instrument which is not correctly zeroed. Example: An ammeter
with zero error reads higher or lower values of current.

Systematic errors can be estimated from understanding the

techniques and instrumentation used in an observation.
Random errors are uncontrollable differences between
measurements because of equipment, environment or other
sources, no matter how well designed and calibrated the tools are.
Random errors are unbiased small variations that have both
positive and negative values.
In general, making multiple measurements and averaging can
reduce the effect of random errors.
Parallax error is one of random error, its from the position of view
of the experimenter.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure: Parallax error

Errors can also be classified as absolute and relative:
Absolute error
Absolute error is the difference between the measured value and
the accepted value.

AbsoluteError = |MesuredValue − AcceptedValue|

Relative error
Relative error is a fractional error defined as
AbsoluteError
RelativeError =
AcceptedValue
Percentage error
Percentage error is relative error expressed as a percentage:

PercentageError = relativeErrorx100%
Exercise

1. Suppose the accepted value of gravity is g = 9.80665m/s 2 . If

the measured value is g = 9.81m/s 2 . Find
a) the absolute error.
b) relative error.
c) percentage error.
solution:

AbsoluteError = |MesuredValue − AcceptedValue|

AbsoluteError = 9.81m/s 2 − 9.80665m/s 2 = 0.00335m/s 2
AbsoluteError 0.0035m/s 2
RelativeError = = = 3.4x10−4
AcceptedValue 9.80665m/s 2
PercentageError = relativeErrorx100% = 3.4x10−4 x100% = 0.034%
Accuracy vs. Precision

In physics, there are two distinct and independent aspects of

measurement related to uncertainties:

Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to the

true(standard) value.
It describes how well we eliminate systematic error.
Example: if you measure the weight of a given substance as 3.2 kg,
but the actual or known weight is 10 kg, then your measurement is
not accurate.
In this case, your measurement is not close to the known value.
Precision refers to the closeness of repeated measurements to
each other without referring to the true value. It describes how
well we suppress random errors.
Example: if you weigh an object five times, and get 3.2 kg each
time, then your measurement is very precise.
The precision of a measuring tool is related to the size of its
measurement increments. The smaller the measurement
increment, the more precise the tool.
Accuracy and Precision are independent. A measurement can be
precise but inaccurate, or accurate but imprecise as illustrated by
the several independent trials of shooting at a bulls eye target in
figure below.
Assume the center of the target represents the true value.
1.2 Vectors

All physical quantities are either vectors or scalars.

Scalars: are any physical quantities specified with only magnitude.
Examples of scalars are:
· mass, distance, speed, work, energy, power, time, temperature,
volume, density etc.
Magnitude: is the size (value) with unit.

Vectors: Any physical quantities specified with both magnitude

and direction.
Examples of vectors are:
· displacement, velocity, acceleration/gravity, momentum,
force/weight, torque, electric field strength, magnetic field strength
etc.
Note that quantities with a sense of direction such as angles and
time are not vectors, because they do not obey the law of
parallelogram.

Finite angles are physical quantities with a sense of direction

(clockwise or counterclockwise), but they are not vectors because
they violate the law of parallelogram.

A physical quantity is a genuine vector if it adds to another vector

according to the law of parallelogram.
That is true vectors obey the law of parallelogram.
Representation of vectors(vectors notation)

Vectors can be represented in two ways: graphically(geometrically)

and analytically(mathematically)
Graphically: vectors are represented by an arrow.
The length of the arrow gives the magnitude of the vector and the
arrow head indicates direction of the vector.
Analytically: vectors are represented by a letter. There are many
ways of writing the symbol of a vector.
▶ Boldface letter:
F, v, a, p, s
▶ Letter with arrow above:
F⃗ , ⃗v , ⃗a, p⃗, ⃗s
▶ Letter with harpoon above:
⇀ ⇀ ⇀ ⇀ ⇀
F, v , a, p, s
▶ Letter with over bar:
F̄ , pq, s̄
▶ Letter with hat above:
F̂ , v̂ , â, p̂, ŝ
Note: The ‘hat’ notation is mostly used to indicate the ‘unit
vector’.
Equality of Two Vectors
Two vectors are equal if they have the same magnitude and
direction.
⃗ and B
In Figure below, vectors A ⃗ are equal whereas vectors C⃗ and
⃗
D are not equal even though they have the same magnitude.
Note that two vectors need not be located at the same point in
space to be equal.
Moving a vector from one point in space to another doesn’t
change its magnitude or its direction.
Types of Vectors
▶ Position Vector
A position vector represents the position of an object in
relation to another object.
The description is accomplished by the use of coordinates.
The horizontal and vertical axes interest at a point defined as
the origin.

Sometime it is more convenient to represent a point in a plane

by its plane polar coordinates (r , θ).
The relation between Cartesian and polar coordinates is:
x = r cos θ cos θ = xr
y = r sin θ sin θ = yr
sin θ y
r2 = x2 + y2 tan θ = cos θ = x
▶ Unit Vectors
A convenient way of analyzing vectors is first to describe them
in terms of unit vectors.
A unit vector is a vector of magnitude one.
Unit vector is denoted bay: Â.
Then the magnitude of the unit vector is |Â| = 1
⃗ is given by:
A unit vector in the direction of any vector A

⃗
A
 =
⃗
|A|

⃗ in terms of its magnitude and

we can write any vector A
parallel unit vector:
⃗ = |A|
A ⃗ Â
▶ Null vector
Null vector is a vector with zero magnitude and arbitrary
direction.
▶ Collinear vectors
Collinear vectors are vectors limited to only one dimension.
Two vectors are collinear if they are parallel or anti parallel
and act along the same line.
They can be in the same direction or opposite directions.
▶ Coplanar vectors
Coplanar vectors are vectors in the same plane.
This may include vectors at different angles to each other.
▶ Concurrent Vectors: are vectors that all pass through the
same point
Adding and Subtracting Vectors geometrically
Two vectors can be added geometrically using the tail-to-head
method (also called the triangle rule) or tail-to –tail method (the
parallelogram rule ).
Tail-to-head method (triangle rule)
To add two vectors, place the tail of one vector at the head of the
other vector.
The resultant is obtained by joining the tail of the first vector to
the head of the second vector.
Figure below (b) and (c) show that vector addition is commutative.
For any two vectors,

⃗+B
A ⃗ =B
⃗ +A
⃗
Parallelogram Rule
Alternatively, place both vectors with their tails joined.
Construct a parallelogram taking the two vectors as the two
adjacent sides.
The diagonal is the resultant vector (Figure below).
Polygon method
Tail-to-head method applied to more than two vectors is called
Polygonal Method.
You can start from any one of the given vectors.
That is the order in which the vectors are added does not change
both the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector at a time.
If you end up where you started, then all the vectors canceled out
and there is no resultant vector.
If there is a gap b/n the tail of the first vector and the head of the
last vector, then there must be a resultant vector.
This resultant vector can be drawn from the tail of the first vector
to the head of the last vector.
Subtraction
Subtraction of vectors is the same as adding the negative of the
second vector to the first as shown in Figure below.

If the sum of two vectors is zero, then one is said to be the

negative of the other.
⃗+B
That is, if A ⃗ = 0 then A ⃗ = B.
⃗
Decomposition (Resolution) of a vector

Decomposition is, the general process of breaking one vector into

two or more vectors that add up to the original vector.
The component vectors into which the original vector is
decomposed are chosen based on specific details.
Components of a vector One way of finding the components of a
vector uses the rectangular coordinate system as shown in below .
When we know the scalar components Ax and Ay of a vector A, ⃗
we can find its magnitude A or |A|⃗ and its direction angle θA .
The direction angle or direction, for short is the angle the vector
forms with the positive direction on the x - axis.
The angle θA is measured in the counterclockwise direction from
the +x - axis to the vector.

The vector A ⃗ can be expressed as the sum of two vectors, A⃗x and
A⃗y , which stand perpendicular to each other in the rectangular
(Cartesian) coordinate system.
That is,
A⃗ = A⃗x + A⃗y

A⃗x and A⃗y are vector components along the x-axis and y-axis
respectively.
Applying simple trigonometry, we find the scalar components of the
⃗ in terms of its magnitude |A| and direction angle (θA ):
vector A

Ax = |A| cos θA Ay = |A| sin θA

Given the rectangular components of a vector, we can also

determine the magnitude and direction of any vector by the
(inverse) equations:
q Ay
|A| = A2x + A2y θA = tan−1 ( )
Ax
Scalar components of a vector A ⃗ may be positive or negative
depending on the quadrant in which the vector lies.
Vectors in the first quadrant (I) have both scalar components
positive and vectors in the third quadrant (III) have both scalar
components negative.
The calculated angle θ in the first quadrant is identical to the
direction angle θA .
The calculated angle θ in the (IV) quadrant is identical to the
direction angle θA .
For vectors in quadrants (II) and (III), the direction angle of a
vector is given by θA = θ + 1800 counterclockwise from the
positive x-axis.
Generally, the components of a vector can be positive and negative
scalar components.
In quadrants I and IV the direction angle of a vector is the same as
calculator outputs.
In quadrants II and III the direction angle is 1800 plus the
calculated values.
Example:

1. A ball is shot at an angle of 300 with the horizontal. If the

initial velocity of the ball has magnitude of 50m/s, find its
horizontal (x) and vertical (y) components of the velocity.
Solution:

|v | = 50m/s θA = 300 vx =?, vy =?

vx = |v | cos θA = 50m/sx cos 300 = 50m/sx0.866 = 43.3m/s

vy = |v | sin θA = 50m/sx sin 300 = 50m/sx0.5 = 25m/s
⃗v = vx iˆ + vy jˆ
⃗v = 43.3m/s iˆ + 25m/s jˆ
2. Find the magnitude and the direction of each of the following
vectors

Solution:
q p √
⃗ =
A) |A| A2x + A2y = 32 + 42 = 25 = 5 units
Ay 4
θ = tan−1 ( ) = tan−1 ( ) = 530 =⇒ first quadrant
Ax 3

q q √
⃗ =
B) |B| Bx2 + By2 = (−6)2 + 82 = 100 = 10 units

By 8 4
θ = tan−1 ( ) = tan−1 ( ) = tan−1 ( ) = −530
Bx −6 −3
θB = θ + 1800 = −530 + 1800 = 1270 =⇒ second quadrant
 q q √
C ) |C⃗ | = Cx − Cy = (−9)2 + (−12)2 = 225 = 15 units
2 2

Cy −12 4
θ = tan−1 ( ) = tan−1 ( ) = tan−1 ( ) = 530
Cx −9 3
θC = θ + 1800 = 530 + 1800 = 2330 =⇒ third quadrant

q q √
⃗ =
D) |D| Dx2 − Dy2 = (12)2 + (−16)2 = 400 = 20 units

Dy 16 4
θ = tan−1 ( ) = tan−1 ( ) = tan−1 ( ) = −530 =⇒ fourth quadra
Dx −12 −3
Adding and Subtracting Vectors Algebraically (Analytically)

Method of adding or subtracting vectors using some mathematical

algebraic equations is called Analytical method.

Addition of two vectors analytically

There are three special cases
Case 1: When the two vectors are in the same direction (Parallel;
θ = 0).

The magnitude of the resultant is equal to the sum of the

magnitudes of the two vectors.(This is the maximum possible
magnitude of the resultant of the two vectors).
Case 2: When the two vectors are in the opposite direction
(anti-parallel; θ = 1800 )

The magnitude of their sum (resultant) is equal to the difference in

their magnitude (It is the minimum). The direction of C⃗ is the
direction of the larger one.
Case 3: When the two vectors are perpendiculars (θ = 900 )

Geometrically
Analytically: the magnitude of the resultant can be found using
Pythagoras’s theorem.

|C |2 = |A|2 + |B|2
The direction of the resultant can be found using a trigonometric
relation

|B|
θ = tan−1 ( )
|A|
Example

1. Find the resultant of 8N and 6N force vectors if:

a) they are parallel vectors.
b) they are anti-parallel vectors
c) they are perpendicular vectors

Solution
a. If parallel |F | = |F1 | + |F2 | = 8N + 6N = 14N
b. If anti-parallel |F | = |F1 | − |F2 | = 8N − 6N = 2N
c. If perpendicular
p p √
|F | = |F1 |2 + |F2 |2 = (8N)2 + (6N)2 = 100N 2 = 10N

2. Add the following vectors

⃗ = 50N to North and B
a) A ⃗ = 35N to North
⃗ ⃗
b) A = 80N to West and B = 50N to East
Solution
⃗ =A
a) R ⃗+B
⃗ = 50N North + 35N North = 85N North
⃗ =A
b) R ⃗−B
⃗ = 80N West − 50N East = 30N West

3. Add the vectors A ⃗ = 15N to East B

⃗ = 20N to North
a) Use Pythagoras’s theorem to determine the magnitude of the
resultant of these vectors.
b) Use Trigonometric ratios to determine the direction of the
resultant of these vectors.
Solutionq
√
⃗ = |A| ⃗ 2 + |B|
⃗ 2 = (15N)2 + (20N)2 = 625 = 25N
p
a) R
b) θ = tan−1 ( |B| −1 20 −1 4 0
|A| ) = tan ( 15 ) = tan ( 3 ) = 53 North of East
Addition and subtraction of vectors using component
method

The algebraic sum of two or more vectors can easily be obtained by

adding x and y components separately.
⃗ and B
For any two vectors A ⃗

⃗ = Ax iˆ + Ay jˆ
A

⃗ = Bx iˆ + By jˆ
B
⃗ =A
So, if R ⃗ + B,
⃗ then the components of the resultant vector are:

⃗ =A
R ⃗+B
⃗

= (Ax iˆ + Ay j)
ˆ + (Bx iˆ + By j)
ˆ

= (Ax + Bx )iˆ + (Ay + By )jˆ

 ⃗ =A
Similarly, if D ⃗ − B,
⃗ then the components of difference vector
are:

⃗ =A
D ⃗−B
⃗

= (Ax iˆ + Ay j)
ˆ − (Bx iˆ + By j)
ˆ

= (Ax − Bx )iˆ + (Ay − By )jˆ

Remember: Algebraic addition and subtraction of vectors are
carried out component by component.

⃗+B
A ⃗ =B
⃗ +A
⃗
⃗−B
A ⃗ = −(B
⃗ − A)
⃗
Example

1. Given vectors
A⃗ = 5iˆ + j,
ˆ B⃗ = 3iˆ − 4jˆ
C⃗ = −12iˆ + 6j, ⃗ = −2iˆ − 3jˆ
ˆ D
Find
a) A⃗ + B,
⃗ b) B⃗ +A ⃗
c) C − D, d) D − C⃗
⃗ ⃗ ⃗
⃗ + 3B,
e) A ⃗ f) A⃗+B ⃗ + C⃗ + D
⃗

Solution
a) A⃗+B⃗ = (5iˆ+ j)
ˆ + (3iˆ− 4j)
ˆ = (5 + 3)iˆ+ (1 − 4)jˆ = 8iˆ− 3jˆ
b)B⃗ +A⃗ = (3iˆ− 4j)
ˆ + (5iˆ+ j)
ˆ = (3 + 5)iˆ+ (−4 + 1)jˆ = 8iˆ− 3jˆ
⃗ ⃗
c) C − D = (−12i + 6j) − (−2iˆ − 3j)
ˆ ˆ ˆ =
(−12 − (−2))iˆ + (6 − (−3))jˆ = −10iˆ + 9jˆ
d) D⃗ − C⃗ = (−2iˆ − 3j)
ˆ − (−12iˆ + 6j)
ˆ =
(−2 − (−12))i + (−3 − 6)j = 10i − 9jˆ
ˆ ˆ ˆ
2. On a certain day, a student goes to school by first walking
2.0km 45.00 north of east from her home to her ant‘s home to
drop a message. Then she walks 0.8km in a direction 60.00
south of east where her school is located.
(a) Determine the components of the student’s displacements
in the first and second parts of her walk.
(b) Determine the components of her total displacement for
the trip from home to school.

Solution
⃗ and B
Let A ⃗ be the first and second displacements. Their
components are:
⃗ cos θA = 2.0km cos 450 = 2.0kmX 0.707 = 1.4km
Ax = |A|
⃗ sin θA = 2.0km cos 450 = 2.0kmX 0.707 = 1.4km
Ay = |A|
⃗ cos θB = 0.8km cos(−60)0 = 0.8kmX 0.5 = 0.4km
Bx = |B|
⃗ sin θB = 0.8km sin(−60)0 = 0.8kmX (−0.866) =
By = |B|
−0.69km
 ⃗ = 3iˆ + 4j,
3. Given three vectors A ⃗ = −3iˆ + jˆ and C⃗ = iˆ − 2j.
ˆ B ˆ
Assume all the vectors starts from origin.
a) Show the three vectors in the xy coordinate system.
b) Find A⃗ + C⃗ and A
⃗−B ⃗ + 3C⃗
⃗
c) Find the vector D such that D ⃗ +B⃗ − C⃗ = 0

Solution
a)
 ⃗ + C⃗ = (3iˆ + 4j)
b) A ˆ + (iˆ − 2j)
ˆ = 4iˆ + 2jˆ

⃗−B
A ⃗ + 3C⃗ = (3iˆ + 4j)
ˆ − (−3iˆ + j)
ˆ + 3(iˆ − 2j)
ˆ = 9iˆ − 3jˆ

⃗ B−
c)D+ ⃗ C⃗ = 0 =⇒ D
⃗ = C⃗ −B
⃗ = (iˆ−2j)−(
ˆ B ⃗ = −3iˆ+j)
ˆ = 4iˆ−3jˆ
Equilibrium

In a vector addition, if you end up where you started by adding

those head-to-tail, then all the vectors canceled out and there is no
resultant vector.
Or If the vector sum of the horizontal forces (x-components) add
up to zero and the vector sum of the vertical forces (y-components)
add up to zero, then the system is said to be in equilibrium.
This
P can be written
P mathematically as:
Fx = 0 and Fy = 0
If you have several force vectors acting on an object, you can use
resolving method of vector addition to check or prove whether or
not the system is in equilibrium.
Resolve each vector into horizontal and vertical components.
Add or subtract the independent components depending on their
direction.
That is:
P P
Rx = Fx and Ry = Fy
These two equations represent the first condition for equilibrium.
If the sums of x- and y- components independently add up to zero,
then the system is in equilibrium.
That
P is if: P
Fx = 0 and Fy = 0
If the sums of x- and y- components independently don‘t cancel
out or add up to zero, then the system is not in equilibrium.
That
P is if: P
Fx ̸= 0 or/and Fy ̸= 0
Example
1. Show that the following forces are in equilibrium or not
a)
b)

c)
Equilibrant force
A system of forces not in equilibrium can be put in equilibrium by
adding a force equal in magnitude to their resultant force in the
opposite direction.
The force applied to the system to cancel out the resultant force is
called quilibrant force.
Generally, if two forces are equal in magnitude but opposite in
directions, each force is the equilibrant of the other.
Example
Find the equilibrant force to keep the following system in
equilibrium.
Some application of vectors

▶ Vectors have many real-life applications in different fields of

science.
▶ Vector is the term which is used in mathematics, engineering,
medicine, and in physics to represent a quantity that have
both magnitude as well as the direction.
▶ Most commonly in physics and mathematics, vectors can be
used to represent physical quantities such as displacement,
velocity, acceleration, force, momentum, and impulse.
▶ They also enable us to solve problems easily in both two and
three dimensional Cartesian coordinates.
▶ They are used to calculate the volume of a parallelepiped.
▶ They are used to find the work done and torque in mechanics.
▶ They are used to calculate the distance between two aircrafts
in the space and the angle between their paths.
▶ They are used to know the direction in which the force is
attempting to move the body.
▶ They are used in the study of electromagnetism,
hydrodynamics, blood flow, rocket launching, and the path of
a satellite.