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Some quantities that you have studied in your earlier Physics Courses
Scalar Quantities
A scalar is a number which defines
a magnitude.
It does not point to any direction in space.
50 kg
40 C
Examples
B
A Displacement
Electric Field
Vector Notation
Vectors are written as a symbol with an arrow over the symbol
x, F, v, a
Magnitude of a vector quantity can be written as: a
Representation
A vector is represented by an arrow. The arrow points direction of the vector. in the
The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector quantity.
11 mA 5 mA 5 mA
2 mA 6 mA 6 mA
Addition of Vectors
Triangle Law c=a+b c b b
a
Head-to-tail
Addition of Vectors
a c=b+a c c
Commutative Law
b a
a
c=a+b
Parallelogram Law
b a
e (a b ) c
e b
e a (b c )
Subtraction of Vectors a
-b b c
a
c = a b = a +( b)
a=b+c
2D Cartesian Coordinates
Look a two dimensional vector in a 2D Cartesian Coordinate System
Y
y2 ay y1
O
a
X
x1 ax
x2
ay
O
ay
X
ax ax
Both the magnitude and the direction of a are completely specified by ax & ay
Unit vectors: i , j
ay
O
a
X
Components: ax , ay
ax
a = a x i + ay j
ay ax 2 2 a a 1
VECTOR COMPONENTS
Resolving a vector : The process of finding the components of the vector.
Coordinate System
Component of a vector
The component of the vector along an axis is its projection along that axis
y
ay
ax
O
3D Cartesian System
k
j i
Z
az
ay
ax
O Y
a = a x i + ay j + az k a = ax2 + ay2 + az2 ax=x2 x1= a cos ay=y2 y1= a cos az=z2 z1= a cos cos cos cos
3D Cartesian System(contd.)
The direction cosines satisfy the following relation:
cos cos cos
2 2 2 2
ay az ax 2 2 2 a a a 1
Unit Vectors
Magnitude = 1 Indicates direction only
a=aa
a= i + 6 j+ k a = 12 + 62 +12 = 38
a = a /a
a= i + 6 j+ k 38
Examples
a = 4i + 3 j + 2 k
b=3 i -2 j+ k
c=a+b
c=a- b
c=7 i + j+3 k
c= i + 5 j+ k
Examples
y
0.2 Km
R
1.5 Km
d
0.8 Km
SUMMARY
A physical quantity which has both a magnitude and a direction is represented by a vector A geometrical representation An analytical description: components Can be resolved into components along any three directions which are non planar.
Vector operations:
1. Addition and subtraction of two vectors:
Addition: By placing tail of B at the head of A, the sum vector (R), A+B is drawn from the tail of A to the head of B
A R B
R A B
Subtraction: By placing tail of B at the head of A, the resultant vector (R), A-B is drawn from the tail of B to the head of A
B A R
R A B
Scalar
a ( A B ) aA aB
If a is negative, the direction is reversed.
3. Scalar Product or Dot product of two vectors: is a scalar quantity. A.B AB cos where is the angle they form when placed tail to tail.
A.B AB
4. Cross product of two vectors is itself a vector: A B AB sin n here n is a unit vector pointing perpendicular to the plane of A and B
The direction of n can be found by right hand rule: If fingers point in the direction of
the first vector and curl around toward the second, the thumb gives the direction of n.
Here, Ax, Ay and Az are the projections of A along the three coordinate axes.
Rule 1: To components.
add
vectors,
add
like
Ay y Az z By y Bz z ) ( Bx x ) A B ( Ax x
( Ay By ) y ( Az Bz ) z ( Ax Bx ) x
Rule 3: To calculate the dot product, multiply like components, and add.
Ay y Az z By y Bz z ).( Bx x ) A.B ( Ax x Ax Bx Ay By Az Bz
. x x . y x . y z .z 1 Because x y are mutually , y and z . y x . z 0 perpendicular unit vectors. x
Rule 4: To calculate the cross product, form , y , z ,whose the determinant whose first row is x second row is A (in component form), and whose third row is B.