SCALAR VECTOR

• magnitude and
• magnitude only direction

• ex: mass, density, • ex: force,

temperature, time displacement,
velocity, acceleration
𝑨
symbol used to
represent vector
A or 𝐴Ԧ symbol used to represent the
magnitude of a vector

The direction where the arrow is

pointed represents the direction of
the vector.
The length of the arrow represents
the magnitude of the vector
𝑨 𝑩 𝑨 𝑩

𝑨=𝑩 𝑨 = −𝑩
parallel vectors antiparallel vectors
Suppose an object undergoes a displacement 𝑨 followed by a second
displacement 𝑩.

𝑩
The resulting displacement (the distance from
the initial point to the final point) is equal to the
𝑨
vector sum 𝑪.
𝑪
𝑨+𝑩=𝑪
In this method, the second vector is drawn In this method, the vectors are drawn from
at the tip of the first vector. resultant the same point. A parallelogram is formed
vector is drawn from the tail of the first the resultant vector is the diagonal of the
vector to the tip of the second vector. parallelogram.
Tail-to-Tip Method Parallelogram Method
𝑩 𝑩

𝑨 𝑨 𝑪
𝑪
 When we subtract two vectors, 𝑨 − 𝑩, we define it to be the vector sum
of 𝑨 and −𝑩. Thus,
𝑨 − 𝑩 = 𝑨 + −𝑩
𝑨 𝑩
𝑨
(a) (b)
𝑩
𝑪 𝑪
Sum of antiparallel vectors (a) in comparison to sum of parallel vectors (b)
When a vector 𝑨 is multiplied to a scalar c, the result c𝑨 has a magnitude
𝑐 𝐴,

𝑨 𝑨
2𝑨 −2𝑨
Let’s Try!
Draw the following
vectors:
1. 50.00 S of W
2. 25.00 N of E
3. 80.00 W of N
Practice Problem
Two soccer players kick a ball
simultaneously from opposite
sides. Red #3 kicks it with a force
of 50.0 N while Blue#3 kicks it with
a force of 65.0 N. What is the net
force on the ball?
Practice Problem
A cross-country skier skis north
1.00 km north and then 2.00 km
east on a horizontal snow field.
How far and in what direction is
he from the starting point?
Practice Problem
An airplane heads due north at
100 m/s through a 30 m/s cross
wind blowing to the west. What is
the magnitude and direction of
the plane’s velocity?
Components of Vectors
Components of Vectors
Practice Problem
(a) What are the x- and y-
components of vector 𝑫? The
magnitude of vector is D = 3.00
m and the angle α = 450. (b)
What are the x- and y-
components of vector 𝑬? The
magnitude of vector is E = 4.50
m and the angle β= 37.00.
Practice Problem
Three players on a reality TV show are brought to the center of a large, flat field.
Each is given a meter stick, a compass, a calculator, a shovel, and the following
three displacements:
72.4 m, 32.00 east of north
57.3 m, 36.00 south of west
17.8 m, straight south
The three displacements lead to the point where the keys to a new Porsche are
buried. Two players start measuring immediately but the winner first calculates
where to go. What does she calculate?
Practice Problem
Three horizontal ropes pull on a
large stone truck in the ground,
producing the vector forces 𝑨,
𝑩, and 𝑪 shown in the figure.
Find the vector sum of the
forces.