Chapter 1

Units, Physical
Quantities, and Vectors
Lecture 2 Sec. 1.7 & 1.8
PowerPoint® Lectures for
General Physics I and Engineering I
– Physics Department, UAEU

Customized by: Physics Department, UAEU, 2014.

Goals for Lecture 2
• Identify the difference between scalar and vector quantities.
• Recognize the properties of vector addition.

• Demonstrate how to add/subtract vectors graphically.

• Represent vectors by their components.
• Demonstrate how to use components in calculations.

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1.7 Vectors and Vector Addition
• A scalar quantity can be described by a single
number.
– Example: Time, mass, speed…

• A vector quantity has both a magnitude and a

direction in space.
– Example: Displacement, velocity, …

• In this book, a vector quantity is represented in 

boldface italic type A or with an arrow over it A

• The magnitude (or
 the absolute value) of A or A is
written as A or A
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Representing a vector by drawing:
• 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.

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Equality of vectors

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Negative of a vector

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Adding two vectors graphically
•Two vectors may be added graphically using:
• the parallelogram method

• or the head-to-tail method.

   
A  B  B  A Vector addition is commutative
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Adding two parallel vectors

C  A B
Magnitudes added

Adding two antiparallel vectors (i.e. opposite to each other)

C  A B
Magnitudes
subtracted
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 Find the sum of three vectors

head-to-tail
method
       
A B C  R B  AC  R

Parallelogram
method
       
( A  B)  C  R A  (B  C)  R
Copyright © 2014 Physics Department, UAEU. Vector addition is Associative
Vector Subtraction
   
A  B  A  (  B)

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Multiplying a vector by a scalar (number)

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Example
A girl delivering newspapers covers her route by driving 3.00
km west, 4.00 km north, then 6.00 km east. Use the
graphical method of adding vectors to find
(a) Her resultant displacement?
(b) Total distance she travels?

Take scale: 1 km = 2 units

In the graphical method use:

Ruler to find the magnitude
Protractor to find direction.

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Addition of two vectors at right angles
Example 1.5: A cross-country skier skis 1.00 km north and then
2.00 km east on a horizontal snowfield. How far and in what
direction is she from the starting point?

R  1.00 2  2.00 2  2.24km

Opposite side 2.00
tan   
Adjacent side 1.00
  tan 1 2.00  63.4

Answer:
2.24 km at 63.4º east of
north
OR
26.6º north of east

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 1.8 Components of Vectors
Component of a vector: Is the projection of the vector
along that direction.
(Drop a perpendicular line then
the intersection is the projection!)
  
A  Ax  Ay
The components of vector A
Ax  A cos 
Ay  A sin 
 is the angle with respect
to the + x axis counterclockwise

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Positive and negative components

The components of
a vector can be
positive or
negative numbers.

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Finding a vector’s magnitude and direction from its components

A  Ax2  Ay2
Opposite side Ay
tan   
Adjacent side Ax
Ay
  tan 1

Ax

Copyright © 2014 Physics Department/UAEU.

Calculating the vector sum (Resultant)
  
R  A B

Rx  Ax  Bx
Ry  Ay  By


R  Rx2  R y2
Ry
  tan 1

Rx
Copyright © 2014 Physics Department/UAEU.
Problem-Solving Strategy (Vector Addition)
IDENTIFY the relevant concepts: Decide what the target variable
is. It may be the magnitude of the vector sum, the direction, or both.
SET UP the problem: Sketch the vectors being added, along with
suitable coordinate axes. Draw the vector sum from the tail of the
first vector to the head of the last vector.
EXECUTE the solution as follows:
1.Find the x- and y-components of each individual vector
2.Add the individual x-components algebraically (including signs)
to find Rx, Do the same for the y-components to find Ry.
3.Calculate the magnitude R and direction  of the vector sum
EVALUATE your answer: Confirm that your results for the
magnitude and direction of the vector sum agree with the estimates
you made from your sketch.

Copyright © 2014 Physics Department/UAEU.

Example
A man has a map for a treasure. The following three
displacements lead to the point in the field where the treasure
is buried, if he starts from his home.
72.4 m, 32.0° east of north
57.3 m, 36.0° south of west
17.8 m due south
How far is the treasure from
the man’s home
and in what direction?

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 Test your understanding

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Q1.1

The figure below shows the addition of three

vectors. Which of the following expressions is
correct?
a)
b)
c)
d)

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Q1.2
What are the x- and
y-components of
the vector
E?

A. Ex = E cos b, Ey = E sin b
B. Ex = E sin b, Ey = E cos b
C. Ex = –E cos b, Ey = –E sin b
D. Ex = –E sin b, Ey = –E cos b
E. Ex = –E cos b, Ey = E sin b

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Q1.3

Consider the
vectors shown.
Which is a correct
statement about
A+ B ?

A. x-component > 0, y-component > 0

B. x-component > 0, y-component < 0
C. x-component < 0, y-component > 0
D. x-component < 0, y-component < 0
E. x-component = 0, y-component > 0

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Q1.4

Consider the
vectors shown.
Which is a correct
statement about
A  B?

A. x-component > 0, y-component > 0

B. x-component > 0, y-component < 0
C. x-component < 0, y-component > 0
D. x-component < 0, y-component < 0
E. x-component = 0, y-component > 0

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Q1.5

Which of the following statements is correct for any two vectors

A and B ?

A. The magnitude of A + B is A + B.
B. The magnitude of A + B is A – B.
C. The magnitude of A + B is greater than or equal to |A – B|.
D. The magnitude of A + B is greater than the magnitude of A  B.
E. The magnitude of A + B is A  B .
2 2

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Q1.6

Consider the vectors

shown.
What are the
components of the vector
E = A+ D ?
A. Ex = –8.00 m, Ey = –2.00 m
B. Ex = –8.00 m, Ey = +2.00 m
C. Ex = –6.00 m, Ey = 0
D. Ex = –6.00 m, Ey = +2.00 m
E. Ex = –10.0 m, Ey = 0

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Summary
By the end of this lecture students are able to:
• Distinguish between vector and scalar
quantities.
• Find the resultant of vectors graphically.
• Decompose a vector into its components.
• Find the sum of vectors (resultant) using the
component method.

Customized by: Physics Department, UAEU, 2014.