Unit 3- Vectors

January 28, 2019

Contents

1 Introduction 3

2 Unit Outcome and Assessment Criteria 3

3 Coordinates and Coordinate Systems 4

3.1 One Dimensional Coordinate system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 Two Dimensional Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2.1 Cartesian Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2.2 Polar Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2.3 Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2.4 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2.5 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.6 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.7 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3 Three Dimensional Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.4 Vector and Scalar Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.4.1 Activity 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.4.2 Activity 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4 Properties of Vectors 18
4.1 Equality of Two Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.2 Vector Addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.3 Graphical Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3.1 Head to Tail Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3.2 Parallelogram Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.4 Negative Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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 4.5 Multiplying a Vector by a Scalar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5 Adding Vectors by Components 26

5.1 Unit Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.1.1 Summary of Unit Vector Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.1.2 Example: The Sum of Two Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.1.3 Exercise: The Sum of Two Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.1.4 Exercise : A vacation trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.1.5 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.1.6 Exercise: Unit Vectors ( Hiker) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

6 Vector Multiplication 36
6.1 Dot Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.1.1 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.1.2 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.1.3 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.1.4 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.1.5 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.1.6 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.2 Cross Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.2.1 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.2.2 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

7 Tutorial Questions 45

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1 Introduction

In physics, we often need to work with physical quantities that have both magnitude and
direction. These quantities are called vectors. Vectors are the foundation of statics
and structural analysis. This unit will provide students with the general principles
of vectors; how to perform mathematical computations with vectors, how to find the
components of vectors, how to find the resultant vector and its direction. It also
discusses the properties of vectors, and how to solve application problems of vectors.
We will also include a discussion of vector components in two dimensional Cartesian
coordinates and Unit vectors.

2 Unit Outcome and Assessment Criteria

Outcome and Assessment Criteria

Outcome Assessment Criteria

After reading this unit, you should be able to; You will be considered competent in the work
covered in this unit if you are able to ;
• define coordinates and coordinate system, • identify vectors and scalar quantities, distin-
vector, scalar quantities, etc. guish between a vector and a scalar and be able
to list their examples.
• locate a point in a plane either using Cartesian • able to plot a given point in a Cartesian plane
systems or polar systems. and resolve vectors into its components.
• demonstrate the ability to perform vector • use trigonometric identities of sine, cosine and
multiplication, addition and subtraction and use tangent to write Cartesian coordinates in terms
these to solve problems in physics. of polar coordinates, and polar coordinates in
terms of Cartesian coordinates.
• be able to tell when one vector is a scalar • Find components of the resultant of two or
multiple of another. more forces which are acting on an object.
• find the resultant and direction of vectors • find the magnitude of the resultant and its
using both unit and component methods. direction using theorem of Pythagoras and tan-
gent identity.
• draw a fully labelled sketch to show resul- • able to differentiate between a resultant and
tant of two and more vectors using parallelo- the reaction.
gram, head to tail methods.

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3 Coordinates and Coordinate Systems

Before we study vectors it is necessary to consider coordinates and coordinate systems.

Coordinates are a set of values that show an exact position and a coordinate system
is a set of points of reference that are used to represent different positions on a space.
Any set of two or more numbers used to determine the position of a point, line, curve,
or plane in a space of a given dimension with respect to a system of lines or other fixed
references is known as coordinate.

The coordinates of a point are a set of numbers which determine the position of
the point in a set on a plane space.

A system in which different points have unique coordinates is called a coordinate

system or a system of coordinates.

If we are working with vectors in two dimensional space we will use a two dimensional
Cartesian coordinate system. If we are working with vectors in three dimensional space,
the coordinate system that we use is called three dimensional Cartesian coordinate sys-
tem. To understand these two coordinate systems, lets first introduce one dimensional
coordinate system also known as a real number line.

3.1 One Dimensional Coordinate system

In this subsection we are going to discuss coordinate system in one dimension. A one-
dimensional coordinate system is defined by its origin and a single basis vector that
defines the positive direction of the coordinate axis (x-axis). The coordinates of any
point in such a system are determined by a single real number. In mathematics, a
order of n numbers can be agreed as a location in n-dimensional space. When n = 1,
the set of all such locations is called a one dimensional space. An example of a one
dimensional space is the number line, where the position of each point on it can be
described by a single number.

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 One dimensional system is a system that shows only linear information such
as length height etc. The coordinates of any point in such a system are determined
by a single real number donated by letter R.

Let R denote the set of all real numbers and x be a given line. We can set up a one
to one relationship between the real numbers R and the points on x as follows: Select
a point 0, which will be called the origin, on the line x. This point divides the line
into two equal parts. Select a unit of length and use it to mark off points which are
equidistantly placed on either side of 0. The points on the right hand side of 0, called
the positive side, are assigned the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 to infinity. while the points on the
left hand side of 0, called the negative side are assigned the numbers −1, −2, −3, −4
to infinity. A one to one correspondence now exists between all the real numbers R
and the points on x. The resulting line is called a real number line and the number
associated with any given point on the line is called its coordinate. We have just
constructed a one dimensional coordinate

−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4

Figure 1: Real number line

3.2 Two Dimensional Coordinate Systems

3.2.1 Cartesian Coordinates

Many aspects of physics requires the description of its location in space. The two
dimensional Cartesian coordinates system can be achieved by two mutually axes ( real
number lines) intersect at a point called the origin “0” at right angles to each other
as shown in Figure 2. The horizontal number line is called the x-axis (Abscissa) and
the vertical number line is called y-axis (Ordinate). For each given point there is an
associated ordered pair (x, y) of real numbers which is called the coordinates of the
point. The x number is called x-coordinate and the y number is called y-coordinate.
Refer to Figure 2, point P (x, y) lie on the Cartesian plane.

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Each point in two dimensions may be labelled by two coordinates (x, y) which specify
the position of the point in some units with respect to some axes as in the Figure 2.
One can have infinity many points on the plane, but only few are shown.

2 P (x, y)

1
x
−4 −3 −2 −1 1 2 3 4
−1

−2

−3

−4

Figure 2: Cartesian Coordinates

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3.2.2 Polar Coordinates

In some cases it is more convenient to represent a point in a plane using polar coordi-
nates. Polar coordinates are more useful when we want to describe rotational motion.
The polar coordinate system is a two dimensional coordinate system in which each
point on a plane is determined by a distance from a reference point (r) and an
angle from a reference direction (θ).

The origin is called the pole, and the ray from the pole in the reference direction
is the polar axis, refer to Figure 3. The distance from the pole is called the radial
coordinate or radius, and the angle is called the angular coordinate. The angle θ is
usually measured in an anticlockwise direction. The polar coordinates takes the form
(r, θ).

y B

P(x,y)

y
r
r
y
θ x A θ C
x x

(a) (b)

Figure 3: Polar Coordinates

Picking one point P (x, y) from Figure 2 and construct Figure 3 with a right angled
triangle. Figure3a show the polar coordinates of a point P that are represented by
the distance r and the angle θ, where θ is measured anticlockwise from the positive
x- axis. Figure3b ,the right triangle used to relate (x, y) to (r, θ). From the right
angled triangle in Figure 3b, we can define sin(θ) = y/r, cos(θ) = x/r using the basic
trigonometric ratios. The Cartesian coordinates can be expressed using right-angled
triangle and trigonometric ratios as follows:

x = r cos(θ) (1)

y = r sin(θ) (2)

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Since the given point given is in Cartesian coordinates (x, y), we can find θ using
trigonometric ratios, using inverse of a tangent function and find distance r using
theorem of Pythagoras.
y
tan(θ) = , (3)
x
p
r= x2 + y 2 . (4)

Equation 4 is the Pythagoras Theorem. From these four equations above, one can be
able to move from polar coordinates to Cartesian coordinates and visa versa. Take
note of these equations;

x = r cos(θ) y = r sin(θ)
y p
tan(θ) = r = x2 + y 2
x

The angle θ can also be measured in radians (rad). To convert degrees to radians one
can use π = 180◦ . For one complete circle 0 ≤ θ ≤ 360◦ . The example that follows
illustrate how to convert degrees to radians and from radians to degrees.

3.2.3 Example 1
π
Convert θ = 60◦ to radians and to degrees.
2
Solution
Given θ = 60◦ , covert it to radians

π π
θ= ◦
× 60◦ =
180 3

π
If we convert θ =
2
180◦ π
θ= × = 90◦
π 2

Practice Exercise

Complete the table below :

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 Degrees and Radians

θ Radians θ Radians

0◦ 210◦

30◦ 240◦

45◦ 270◦

60◦ 300◦
π
90◦ 330◦
2
120◦ 360◦

150◦ -

180◦ -

Example 2

From Figure 2 point P (x, y) = (3, 2). Both x and y are positive, hence the point
P (x, y) lie in the first quadrant. Lets covert this point to polar coordinates using
equation 3 and equation 4
y

P(3,2)
r
y

θ x
x

2
tan(θ) = (5)
3
 
2
θ = tan−1 (6)
3
∴ θ = 33.696◦ , (7)
p
r= 32 + 22 = 3.61 units (8)

(r, θ) = (3.61, 33.696◦ ) (9)

When solving problems of this nature first sketch the given point so that you do not
confuse your quadrants.

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Exercise

Given a point (x, y) = (10, −8), find the polar coordinates

3.2.4 Exercise

A point (r, θ) = (7.8, 210◦ ) is given, find the Cartesian coordinate for this point

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3.2.5 Exercise

A point (x, y) = (−3.5, −2.5) in Cartesian plane is given, find the polar coordinates in
the form (r, θ)

3.2.6 Exercise

Consider (x, y) = (−2, 4), find its polar coordinates.

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3.2.7 Exercise

1. The Cartesian coordinates are given. Find its corresponding polar coordinates
√
a. (1,1) b. (1,-1) c. (1, 3)
√ √
d. (2 3, −2) e. (-1, - 3) f. (-2,3)

2. Plot the point whose polar coordinates are given. Then find the Cartesian coor-
dinates of the point
√
a. (3, π/2) b. 2 2, 3π/4) c. (-1,π/3)

d. (2, 2π/3) e. (4, 3π) f. (-2,-5π/6)

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3.3 Three Dimensional Coordinate Systems

The three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system has its point of reference where
three number lines intersect at right angles at a point “0” called the origin. The number
lines are called the x-axis,the y-axis and the z-axis as labelled in Figure 4 below. To
each point in three dimensional space we associate an ordered triple of real numbers
(x, y, z) which all lie in x, y and z−axes respectively and are called the coordinates of
a point. The number x is the distance of the point P from the yz-coordinate plane.
They are also known as the abscissa, ordinate and applicate axi s, respectively.
The number y is the distance of the point from the xz-coordinate plane. The number
z is the distance of the point P from the xy-coordinate plane. See figure as shown in
Figure 5.

z
10

y
Q(3, 0, 5)
5 10
P (x, y, z)

5
x
-10 -5 5 10
(0,0,0)

-5 origin
-5

-10

-10

Figure 4: Three Dimensional Coordinate System

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 Figure 5: Planes in 3D

3.4 Vector and Scalar Quantities

Numbers can be used to represent physical quantities in engineering, physics and math-
ematics. For example, a numerical value, together with the appropriate units, can
specify the mass of an object, air temperature, the time of an event or the distance
covered by an athlete . In physics and engineering, a quantity that is specified using
its magnitude (i.e number) and SI units is referred to as a scalar quantity.

A scalar quantity is a physical quantity that has magnitude and is specified by

appropriate units and has no direction. It can be positive, negative, or zero, eg
time, mass, distance, speed, temperature etc.

Sometimes, however, a scalar is not enough to adequately describe a physical quantity

because some quantities are defined using magnitude and direction. In some cases, a
direction is needed as well. For example, suppose a car is travelling at 100 km/hr. This
is a scalar quantity which is being used to describe the speed of the car. If the car
is travelling due South East at 100 km/hr, your description of the car’s velocity is a
vector quantity since it includes both magnitude and direction.

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 A vector quantity is a physical quantity which has both magnitude and direction,
eg velocity, displacement, force, weight etc.

To distinguish between scalars and vectors we will denote scalars by lower case italics
such as a, b, c etc. and denote vectors by lower case ~u, ~v , w
~ etc.
Let us discuss some of the physical quantities that are commonly used in mechanics.
These are displacement, distance, average speed,Instantaneous speed, average velocity,
and speed.

In physics, distance and displacement are used to measure the length between two
points. However, these two are not one and the same thing. While distance is the
length of the actual path between two locations, displacement, on the other hand, is
the length of the shortest path between two locations.

Figure 6: Distance (orange line) vs Displacement(blue line)

Distance is defined to be the magnitude between two positions.

Displacement is defined to be the change in position of an object. Defined mathe-
matically by the following equation:

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Displacement = ∆x = xf − xi , where
xf refers to the value of the final position
xi refers to the value of the initial position, and
∆x is the symbol used to donate displacement.
Displacement is a vector. This means it has a direction as well as a magnitude and
is represented visually as an arrow that points from the initial position to the final
position. Figure 6 above shows us the difference between the distance and displace-
ment. The SI units for distance (scalar quantity) and displacement (vector quantity)
are meters.

It is also important to differentiate between speed and velocity. Speed Definition:

The average speed is the distance travelled divided by the time it took to travel this
distance.

Distance
Speed = (10)
time
Average velocity is defined to be the displacement divided by the time of travel.

Displacement ∆x
~vavg = = . (11)
time t

Instantaneous Velocity is defined as the velocity at any instant in time. Speed and
velocity has the same SI units which is m/s. Since a moving object often changes its
speed during its motion, it is common to distinguish between the average speed and
the instantaneous speed. The distinction is as follows.
Instantaneous Speed - the speed at any given instant in time.
Average Speed - the average of all instantaneous speeds; found by a distance/time
ratio.

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3.4.1 Activity 1

Complete the table below present which shows few common physical quantities.
The first one has been done for you:
Vector and Scalar Quantities
Quantity SI Units Type
Distance Metres (m) Scalar
Mass
Time
Temperature
Displacement
Velocity
Acceleration
Force

3.4.2 Activity 2

Determine whether the following are scalar quantities or vector quantities.

(a) The outside temperature is 28◦ C.

(b) A truck is travelling at 80 km/hr.

(c) The Nile River is flowing due north at 5 km/hr.

(d) The wind is blowing from the south.

(e) A vertically upwards force of 10 Newtons is applied to a rock.

(f) The rock has a mass of 5 kilograms.

(g) A car is speeding eastward.

(h) The density of gold is 19.3 × 103 kg/cm3 .

(i) The wind is blowing at 5 km/hr from the south.

(j) A stone dropped into a pond is sinking at the rate of 30 cm/sec.

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4 Properties of Vectors

In this section we are going to discuss the general properties of vectors that represent
physical quantities. We are going to look at addition, subtraction using algebraic and
geometric methods.

4.1 Equality of Two Vectors

Line AB which represent vector ~a and line CD which is vector ~b may be defined to
be equal if the have same magnitude and same direction . Vector ~a and ~b are equal
only if ~a = ~b and if ~a and ~b point in the same direction along parallel lines as shown in
Figure 7.

B D

~a ~b

A C

Figure 7: Equal Vectors

4.2 Vector Addition

When two or more vectors are added the resulting sum of the vectors is called the
resultant vector or just the resultant. This could be a resultant velocity, force,
acceleration etc. depending on the nature of the original vectors. Two or more vectors
acting in the same direction may be added as if they were scalars. For example the
sum, or resultant of the three equal vectors shown in Figure 8 is ~a + ~a + ~a = 3~a

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 B D F

~a ~a ~a

A C E

Figure 8: Addition of Equal Vectors

If vectors are non-equal in magnitude and in different direction like in Figure 9. In

this case take one side as positive and the other as negative that will lead us to have
~ + 2a
3a ~ − ~a = 4a
~

~
3a

B ~
2a

~a

A C E

Figure 9: Addition of Non-Equal Vectors

4.3 Graphical Method

Vectors can be added using graphical approach or calculation approach. Using the
graphical method, there are two methods , head to tail method and parallelogram
method. In both, the parallelogram and head to tail method once need to choose a
scale to use.

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4.3.1 Head to Tail Method

In more detail, the head-to-tail method involves drawing a vector to scale on a sheet of
paper beginning at a designated starting position. We may wish to combine two vectors
~a and ~b to form a third vector (~c), called the resultant, using this method. This method
is called head-to-tail method. This method has advantages in being easy to apply,
especially when multiple vectors are to be added. To sum vectors using this method,
simply move them such that the head of one vector is attached to the tail of the other.
Once all the vectors have been “joined together,” the resultant vector is easy to see.
It is simply a vector that points from the start of the chain to the end. To illustrate,
suppose we want to add the two ~a and ~b as given in Figure 10. A step-by-step method
for applying the head-to-tail method to determine the sum of two or more vectors is
given below.

1. Select an appropriate scale. The best choice of scale is one that will result
in a diagram that is as large as possible, yet fits on the sheet of paper ( eg
50N = 5cm).

2. Pick a starting location and draw the first vector to scale in the indicated
direction using a ruler and protractor. Label the magnitude and direction of
the scale on the diagram (e.g., SCALE: 5 cm = 50N for adding forces, for
example).

3. Starting from where the head of the first vector ends, draw the second vector
to scale in the indicated direction. Label the magnitude and direction of this
vector on the diagram.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all vectors that are to be added.

5. Draw the resultant from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last
vector. Label this vector as Resultant or simply R.

6. Using a ruler, measure the length of the resultant and determine its magni-
tude by converting to real units using the scale.

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 ~a
~b

Figure 10: Vector addition

We begin with either vector, in this case ~a, and place ~b so that its tail is at the head
(arrow head) of ~a. However, we must preserve their directions. Next, we draw an arrow
from the tail of ~a to the head of ~b. This new vector, ~c, see Figure 11 for illustration of
~a + ~b = ~c

~c
~a
~b

Figure 11: Head to Tail Method

Example 3

A jogger runs 2.0 km due east, then 1.0 km at 45◦ north of east, and finally 0.5
km due north. Calculate the displacement of the jogger.
Scale : 8 cm = 2 km
Ans: Displacement = 2.96 km at θ = 24.03◦ North of East

4.3.2 Parallelogram Method

There is another method of adding two vectors, instead of making the one to start
where the other finished. Make them to start at one point and complete a parallelo-
gram. This gives the same results like head to tail method.

In this case we will start with two vectors at a time and draw them from the origin
of our coordinate system. These two vectors will represent the adjacent sides of a
parallelogram which is a figure whose opposite sides are parallel and equal. Then we

21
will complete this figure and draw its diagonal passing through the origin and this will
be the resultant of these two vectors, see Figure 12 for illustration.

~b

~a ~
R ~a

~b
x

Figure 12: Parallelogram

For more than two vectors added together you still need to draw them tail to head. In
Figure 12 the resultant of ~a and ~b is R
~ which can also be written as

~ = ~a + ~b = ~b + ~a
R (12)

~ gives the sum in

Using parallelogram to add two vectors we saw that the resultant R
equation 12. The vector addition is said to be commutative.
When three or more vectors are added and their sum is independent of the way in which
the individual vector are grouped. Then, the vectors obey the law called associative
law of addition. This is illustrated in Figure 13 and 14 and equation 12 and 13.

(~a + ~b) + ~c = ~a + (~b + ~c) (13)

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 ~c

~a + ~b ~b
(~a + ~b) + ~c

~a

Figure 13

~c

~b + ~c ~b
~a + (~b + ~c)

~a

Figure 14

Note:
vector addition is said to be commutative if

~ = ~b + ~a = ~a + ~b
R (14)

and is said to be associative if

~ = (~a + ~b) + ~c = ~a + (~b + ~c)

R (15)

Vectors quantities have both direction and magnitude and obeys the laws
of vector addition.
Steps to follow when using parallelogram method to solve two vectors:

1. Select a scale and accurately draw the vector to scale in the indicated direc-
tion.

2. Draw a parallelogram based on the two vectors that you already have. These
vectors will be two sides of the parallelogram (not the opposite sides since
they have the angle between them)

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 3. We now have a parallelogram and know two angles (opposite angles of par-
allelograms are congruent). We can also figure out the other pair of angles
since the other pair are congruent and all four angles must add up to 360◦ .

4. Draw the parallelogram’s diagonal. This diagonal is the resultant vector

Example 4

A jogger runs 2.0 km due east, then 1.0 km at 45◦ north of east. Calculate the
displacement of the jogger.
Scale : 8 cm = 2 km
Ans: Displacement = 2.79 km at θ = 14.63◦ North of East

4.4 Negative Vector

A vector ~a is said to be negative if when you add it to some vector −~a gives you zero,
~a + (−~b) = 0. Vector ~a and −~a have same magnitude but different directions.

B D

~a
−~a

A C

Figure 15: Negative Vectors

4.5 Multiplying a Vector by a Scalar

If vector ~a is multiplied by a positive scalar quantity m, the product m~a is a vector

that has the same direction as ~a and m times magnitude ~a. If vector ~a is multiplied by
a negative scalar quantity −m , the product −m~a is directed opposite ~a. For example,
the vector 5~a is five times as long as ~a and points in the same direction as ~a; the
1
vector ~a is one-third the length of ~a and points in the same direction like ~a. In the ex-
3
ample given in figure 16, vector ~a is two times the length of vector ~b which means m = 2.

24
 ~
2a
~a

Figure 16: Multiplying a Vector by a Scalar

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5 Adding Vectors by Components

The graphical method of adding vectors is not recommended whenever high accuracy
is required or problems are in three dimension. These projections are called the com-
ponents of the vector or its rectangular components. Any vector can be completely
described by its components. Consider a vector F~ lying in the xy plane and making an
arbitrary angle θ with the positive x- axis in Figure 17 . This vector can be expressed
as the sum of two other component vectors Fx , which is parallel to the x-axis, and Fy
, which is parallel to the y-axis. These two vectors form a right angled triangle with
hypotenuse
F~ = Fx + Fy .

We will often refer to the components of a vector F~ written Fx and Fy . The components
, as shown below, found by defining sine and cosine. From the Figure 17 below

F
sin(θ) = , (16)
Fx
F
cos(θ) = (17)
Fy
Which leads to:
Fx = F cos(θ) (18)

Fy = F sin(θ). (19)

The magnitudes of these components are the lengths of the two sides of a right triangle
with a hypotenuse of length F . Therefore, the magnitude and direction of F~ are related
to its components through the expressions
q
F = Fx2 + Fy2 (20)
 
Fy
θ = tan (21)
Fx

26
 y y

F~ F~
Fy Fy

θ x θ x
Fx Fx

(a) (b)

Figure 17: Vector Components

In this section we will solve example 3 now using components method.

Example 4

A jogger runs 2.0 km due east, then 1.0 km at 45◦ north of east, and finally 0.5
km due north. Calculate the displacement of the jogger.
Scale : 8 cm = 2 km
Ans: Displacement = 2.96 km at θ = 24.03◦ North of East

5.1 Unit Vectors

A unit vector is a dimensionless vector having a magnitude of exactly 1. Unit vectors

are used to specify a given direction and have no other physical importance. They are
used only for describing a direction in space. We are going to use the symbols î, ĵ, and
k̂ to represent unit vectors on the x, y, and z directions, respectively. The unit vectors
î, ĵ, and k̂ form a set of mutually perpendicular vectors in a right-handed coordinate
system as shown in Figure 18. The magnitude of each unit vector equals 1; that is,
~ lying in the xy- plane as shown in figure 18. The
|î| = |ĵ| = |k̂| = 1. Consider a vector A
product of the component Ax and the unit vector î is the component vector Ax = Ax î,
which lies on the x-axis and has magnitude |Ax |. Likewise , Ay = Ay ĵ is a vector

27
 ~ = Ax î + Ay ĵ
component , with magnitude |Ay |, lying on the y- axis. From there A

z
y

k̂
~
A
Ay ĵ

î x
x ĵ
Ax î
y
(a)
(b)

Figure 18: Unit Vector

28
 ~ to vector A
Suppose we wish to add a vector B ~

~
A ~
B

Figure 19: Vector addition

~ and B
By resolving both A ~ into their components we get
~ = Ax î + Ay ĵ
A ~ = Bx î + By ĵ
and B
~ such that R
We want to find R ~ =A
~ + B.
~ From Figure 20, vector A
~ is resolved into
~ Adding components in the î and ĵ direction
components Ax and Ay . Do the same for B.
we get
   
~ = Ax î + Ay ĵ + Bx î + By ĵ ,
R (22)

then rearranging and combining components in î and ĵ direction together we get

~ = (Ax + Bx )î + (Ay + Ay )ĵ

R (23)

~ = Rx î + Ry ĵ, we can see that from equation 23 that the components of the
Since R
resultant vector are

Rx = Ax + Bx and Ry = Ay + By . (24)

Therefore, we see that in the component method of adding vectors, we add all the x-
components together to find the x- component of the resultant vector and use the same
procedure for the y components. We can check this addition by components with a
~ and the angle it
geometric construction as shown in Figure 20. The magnitude of R
makes with the x -axis are obtained from equation 25 and the definition of a tangent
in equation 26.
q p
~ |=
|R Rx2 + Ry2 = (Ax + Bx )2 + (Ax + Bx )2 (25)

Ry Ay + By
tan(θ) = = (26)
Rx Ax + B x

29
 y

Rx

By
~
B
~
R Ry

Ay
~
A
x
Ax Bx

Figure 20: Geometric construction for the sum of two vectors

Sometimes, we need to add or consider situations involving the motion in three com-
ponents direction. The extension to three -dimensional vectors is straight forward. If
~ and B
A ~ both have x, y, and z components, they can be expressed as

~ = Ax î + Ay ĵ + Az k̂
A (27)

~ = By î + By ĵ + Bz k̂.
B (28)

~ and B
The sum of A ~ is R
~ = (Ax + Bx )î + (Ay + By )ĵ + (Az + Bz )k̂. The resultant vector
~ has x, y, and z- components, the
also has a z-component Rz = Az + Bz . If a vector R
magnitude of the vector is
q
~ |=
|R Rx2 + Ry2 + Rz2 . (29)

~ makes with the x axis is found from the expression cos(θx ) = Rx /R,
The angle θx that R
and with similar expressions can be obtained for the angles with respect to the y
and z- axes. The extension of our method to adding more than two vectors is also
straightforward. For example,

~+B
A ~ +C
~ = (Ax + Bx + Cx )î + (Ay + By + Cy )ĵ + (Az + Bz + Cz )k̂.

5.1.1 Summary of Unit Vector Method

30
 ~ = (Rx , Ry ) is
The length or the magnitude of the two dimensional vector R
q
| R |= Rx2 + Ry2 (30)

The angle that R make with the horizontal axis is

 
−1 Ry
θ = tan (31)
Rx

~ = (Rx , Ry , Rz ) is
The length the magnitude of the three dimensional vector R
q
| R |= Rx2 + Ry2 + Rz2 (32)

The angles that R make with the different axes are

     
−1 Rx −1 Ry −1 Rz
θx = cos , θy = cos , θz = cos (33)
R R R

5.1.2 Example: The Sum of Two Vectors

~ = (2.0î+2.0ĵ)m and B
Find the sum of the two displacement vector A ~ = (2.0î−4.0ĵ)m

~ =A
R ~+B
~

= (2.0 + 2.0)î + (2.0 − 4.0)ĵ (34)

= (4î − 2ĵ)

~ and also find the angle that R

Complete this example by finding the magnitude of R ~

makes with the horizontal companied by a fully labelled sketch for this case.

31
5.1.3 Exercise: The Sum of Two Vectors

A plane flies 500 km to the south and then 900 km in the direction 50◦ north of west.
What is the planes net displacement? What are the magnitude and direction angle of
the planes net displacement?

32
5.1.4 Exercise : A vacation trip

A car travels 20 km due to north and then 35km in a direction 600 west of the north.
Find the magnitude and direction of the car’s displacement.

33
5.1.5 Exercise

~ = (4î + 6ĵ + 3k̂), find the magnitude of R

Given vector R ~ and the angle that R
~ makes

with each coordinate axis.

34
5.1.6 Exercise: Unit Vectors ( Hiker)

A hiker begins a trip by first walking 25.0 km southeast from her car. She stops and
sets up her tent for the night. On the second day, she walks 40.0 km in a direction
60.0◦ north of east, at which point she discovers a forest rangers tower.
(a) Determine the components of the hikers displacement for each day.
(b) Determine the components of the hikers resultant displacement R for the trip. Find
an expression for R in terms of unit vectors.

35
6 Vector Multiplication

When dealing with scalars, there is only one definition of multiplication, you multiply
one scalar by another scalar, giving a scalar result: x × y = z. But with vectors, there
are three different types of multiplication, one type gives a scalar result, another gives
a vector result, and another gives a tensor result. In this section we will discuss only
the first two, giving a scalar and the one that gives a vector.

6.1 Dot Product

Up to this point we added two vectors and multiply a vector by a scalar quantity. The
question that arises : is it possible to multiply two vectors so that their product is a
useful quantity ? One of that kind is the dot product.

~ = (A1 , A2 ) and B
Definition 1 If A ~ = (B1 , B2 ), the dot product of A
~ ·B
~ is given

by
~·B
A ~ = A1 B 1 + A2 B 2

~ and B
Hence to find the dot product of A ~ we multiply the corresponding components

and add. The results is not a vector but a scalar . In some cases dot product is called
scalar product or inner product. Even though definition 6.1 is given for the two
dimensional case, for higher dimension, dot product is defined in similar fashion.

~ = (A1 , A2 , A3 ) and B
Definition If A ~ = (B1 , B2 , B3 ), the dot product of A
~·B
~ is

given by
~·B
A ~ = A1 B1 + A2 B2 + A3 B3

6.1.1 Example

~ = (1, 2, 3) and B
A ~ = (−1, 5, −3)
~·B
Then A ~ = (1)(−1) + (2)(5) + (3)(−3) = 0

6.1.2 Example

36
 ~ = (5, 1) and B
A ~ = (−2, 3)
~·B
Then A ~ = −10 + 3 = −7

Note

~ is a 3-vector and B
1. If A ~ is a 2-vector, then the dot product is meaningless.

~·B
2. It does not follow that A ~ = 0 then A
~ = 0 or B
~ =0

3. The dot product gives a scalar number ( real number)

~ and B
The dot product of A ~ can be given as a geometric interpretation in terms of the
~ and B
angle θ between A ~ , defined to be the angle between representation of A
~ and
~ that starts at the origin, with θ ∈ [0, π]. If the two vectors are parallel, then angle
B
θ = 0 or θ = π

~ and B,
Theorem If θ is the angle between A ~ then

~·B
A ~ =| A || B | cos(θ) (35)

~
A
~−B
A ~

B θ C
~
B

Figure 21: Dot Product

37
6.1.3 Example

Find the dot product of F~ = (2î + 4ĵ − 3k̂)N and S

~ = (3î − 3ĵ − 7k̂)m

F~ · S
~ = (2)(3)(N m) + (4)(−3)(N m) + (−3)(−7)N m (36)

= (6 − 12 + 21)N m (37)

= 15Nm (38)

6.1.4 Example

~ = (4î + 3ĵ + 7k̂) and B

Find the dot product of A ~ = (2î + 5ĵ + 4k̂)

~·B
A ~ = (4 × 2) + (3 × 5) + (7 × 4) (39)

= (8 + 15 + 28) (40)

= 51units (41)

6.1.5 Exercise

Find the angle between ~a = (2, 2 − 1) and ~b = (5, −3, 2)

38
 ~ and B
Two non-zero vectors A ~ are perpendicular or orthogonal if the angle between

them is θ = π/2. Then theorem 6.1.2 gives

~·B
A ~ =| A || B | cos(π/2) = 0

6.1.6 Exercise

Show that ~a = (2, 2, −1) and ~b = (5, −4, 2) are orthogonal

39
6.2 Cross Product

~×B
The cross product A ~ of two vectors A
~ and B
~ unlike the dot product, is a vector.
~ and B
The cross product is defined only if A ~ are three dimensional vectors. When you
~ and B
cross A ~ this results in a new vector. The cross product is an operation on two

or the three-dimensional vectors which results in a third vector orthogonal to the first
two.

~ = (A1 , A2 , A3 ) and B
Definition If A ~ = (B1 , B2 , B3 ), then the cross product of
~×B
A ~ is a vector

~×B
A ~ = A2 B3 − A3 B2 , A3 B1 − A1 B3 , A1 B2 − A2 B1 (42)

To make definition 6.2 easy to remember, we use the notation of determinants. A

determinant of order 2 is defined by

a b
= ad − bc (43)
c d

For example,
2 2
= (2)(5) − (2)(−4) = 18
−4 5

The determinant of order 3 is defined in terms of second order as

a1 a2 a3
b2 b3 b1 b3 b1 b2
b1 b2 b3 = a1 − a2 + a3 (44)
c2 c3 c1 c3 c1 c2
c1 c2 c3

Note that each term on the right hand side of equation 44 involves a number ai in
the first row of the determinant and ai is multiplied by a second order determinant
obtained by deleting the row and column in which ai appears. Also observe the minus
sign in the second term. For example

40
 1 2 −1
0 1 3 1 3 0
3 0 1 =1 -2 + (-1) = -38
4 2 −5 2 −5 4
−5 4 2

If we write definition 6.2 using the second order determinant and standard basis of
~ = (A1 î + A2 ĵ + A3 k̂) and B
vectors î, ĵ and k̂. We see that A ~ = (B1 î + B2 ĵ + B3 k̂) is

A2 A3 A1 A3 A1 bA
~×B
A ~ = î − ĵ + k̂ (45)
B2 B3 B1 B3 B1 B2

We can see that

î ĵ k̂
~×B
A ~ = A A A (46)
1 2 3

B1 B2 B3

6.2.1 Example

If ~a = (1, 3, 4) and ~b = (2, 7, −5), then

î ĵ k̂
3 4 1 4 1 3
~a × ~b = 1 3 4 = î − ĵ + k̂ = −43î + 13ĵ + k̂
7 −5 2 −5 2 7
2 7 −5

6.2.2 Exercise

Show that ~a × ~a = 0 for any vector in three dimensional space.

41
 Theorem The vector ~a × ~b is orthogonal to both ~a and ~b if ~a and ~b ∈ R3

To show that ~a × ~b is orthogonal to ~a, we compute the dot product

Proof:

~ and B
If A ~ are in the same segment like in figure 22, then theorem 6.2.2 states that
~×B
cross product of A ~ points in the direction perpendicular to the plane ( A
~ and B).
~

This actually given by right hand rule which states that if the fingers of your right
~ to B,
hand curl in the direction of a rotation ( though an angle less than 180◦ ) from A ~
~ × B.
then your thumb points in the direction of A ~

Figure 22: Cross Product

42
In Figure 22 , applying the right hand rule, the vector perpendicular to x and y (in the
î and ĵ direction) is z (in k̂ direction) . Then angle between all these vectors equals
90◦ . The cross product of and is given by

~ and B
Theorem If θ is an angle between A ~ and θ ∈ [0, π], then

~×B
|A ~ |=| A || B | sin(θ). (47)

If the method of determinants is a bit tricky, one can decide to expand the 2 vectors
being multiplied without removing standard basis î, ĵ and k̂ and use sign convection.
By convention, we follow the arrows in the following diagram to determine the cross
product of two basis vectors. Moving clockwise direction ,we get positive results, and
anticlockwise gives negative results. Crossing two vectors that point in the same direc-
tion gives zero. For example, crossing i and j gives us k but crossing j and i gives us
−k. In cross multiplication order is very important.

i k

Figure 23: Sign Convention

i × j = k, because it goes with the arrows.

k × j = −i, because we move against the arrows.
i × i = 0, because they are in the same direction.

Use the same idea to get other products.

Key:
î × ĵ = k̂, ĵ × î = −k̂, î × î = 0
ĵ × k̂ = î, k̂ × ĵ = −î, ĵ × ĵ = 0
k̂ × î = ĵ, î × k̂ = −ĵ, k̂ × k̂ = 0

43
Example 11

Find the cross product of F~ = (2î + 4ĵ − 3k̂)N and S

~ = (3î − 3ĵ − 7k̂)m

F~ × S
~ = 6(i × i) + (−6)(i × j) + (−14)(i × k) + (12)(j × i)

+ (−12)(j × j) + (−28)(j × k) + (−9)(k × i)

+ (9)(k × j) + (21)(k × k)

Using the ”Key” above, we arrive at

F~ × S
~ = (−37î + 5ĵ − 18k̂) (48)

One can also use the determinant to find

 the cross product of 2 vectors. Let

i j k
~ = F~ × S,
~ in matrix form we get A
~ = 2
 
A  4 −3 , then the determinant of A
 
3 −3 −7
is given as

i j k
~ = 2
det(A) 4 −3 = −37î + 5ĵ − 18k̂(49)
3 −3 −7

Example 12

~ = (4î + 3ĵ + 7k̂) and B

Find the cross product of A ~ = (2î + 5ĵ + 4k̂)

 
 i j k
~×B
~ = 4 3 7
 
A   (50)
 
2 5 4

i j k
~×B
A ~ = 4 3 7 = 23î − 2ĵ + 14k̂ (51)

2 5 4

44
7 Tutorial Questions

1. The polar coordinates of a point are r = 5, 50 m and θ = 240◦ ; What are the
Cartesian coordinates of this point?

2. The rectangular coordinates of a point are given by (2, y), and its polar coordi-
nates are (r, 30◦ ). Determine (a) the value of y and (b) the value of r.

3. Two points in the xy- plane have Cartesian coordinates (2.00, -4.00) m and (-
3.00, 3.00) m. Determine (a) the distance between these points and (b) their
polar coordinates.

~ has a magnitude of 29 units and points in the positive y direction.

4. Vector A
~ is added to A;
When vector B ~ the resultant vector A
~+B
~ points in the negative

y direction with a magnitude of 14 units. Find the magnitude and direction of

~
B.

5. Let the polar coordinates of the point (x, y) be (r, θ): Determine the polar coor-
dinates for the points (a) (−x, y); (b) (−2x, −2y); and (c) (3x, −3y).

6. A surveyor measures the distance across a straight river by the following method
(Figure 24). Starting directly across from a tree on the opposite bank, she walks
d = 100 m along the riverbank to establish a baseline. Then she sights across to
the tree. The angle from her baseline to the tree is θ = 35, 0◦ : How wide is the
river?

Figure 24: Land Surveyor

7. A force F~1 of magnitude 6, 00 N acts on an object at the origin in a direction

θ = 30.0◦ above the positive x-axis. A second force F~2 of magnitude 5, 00 N

45
 acts on the object in the direction of the positive y-axis. Find graphically the
magnitude and direction of the resultant force F~1 + F~2 .

8. A plane flies from base camp to Lake A, 280 km away in the direction 20.0◦ north
of east. After dropping off supplies, it flies to Lake B, which is 190 km at 30.0◦
west of north from Lake A. Graphically determine the distance and direction from
Lake B to the base camp.

9. A vector has an x-component of 25.0 units and a y- component of 40.0 units.

Find the magnitude and direction of this vector.

10. A person walks 25.0◦ north of east for 3.10 km. How far would she have to walk
due north and due east to arrive at the same location?

11. A girl delivering newspapers covers her route by travelling 3.00 blocks west, 4.00
blocks north, and then 6.00 blocks east. (a) What is her resultant displacement?
(b) What is the total distance she travels?

~ = 2, 00î + 6, 00ĵ and B

12. Given the vectors A ~ = 3, 00î − 2, 00ĵ; (a) draw the vector
~ =A
sum C ~ +B
~ and the vector difference D
~ =A
~ − B;
~ (b) Calculate C
~ and D
~ in
~ and D
terms of unit vectors. (c) Calculate C ~ in terms of polar coordinates, with

angles measured with respect to the positive x-axis.

~ = (3î − 3ĵ)m, B
13. Consider the three displacement vectors A ~ = (î − 4ĵ)m and
~ = (−2î + 5ĵ)m
C
Use the component method to determine (a) the magnitude and direction of
~ =A
D ~+B
~ +C
~ and (b) the magnitude and direction of E
~ = −A
~−B
~ +C
~

~ has x, y and z- components of 4.00, 6.00, and 3.00 units, respectively.

14. Vector B
~ and (b) the angle that B
Calculate (a) the magnitude of B ~ makes with each

coordinate axis.

15. Express in unit-vector notation the following vectors, each of which has magnitude
17.0 cm.

~ is directed 27.0◦ counterclockwise from the positive x- axis.

(a) Vector E

46
 (b) Vector F~ is directed 27.0◦ counterclockwise from the positive y- axis.

~ is directed 27.0◦ clockwise from the negative y- axis.

(c) Vector G

~ = 60, 0 cm at 270◦ measured from the horizontal. Let B

16. Let A ~ = 80, 0cm at some

angle φ;

~+B
(a) Find the magnitude of A ~ as a function of φ ;

~ + B|
(b) From the answer to part (a), for what value of φ does |A ~ take on its

maximum value? What is this maximum value?

~ + B|
(c) From the answer to part (a), for what value of φ does φ |A ~ take on its

minimum value? What is this minimum value?

(d) Without reference to the answer to part (a), argue that the answers to each
of parts (b) and (c) do or do not make sense.

47