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Identifying Scalars and Vectors

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18 views

Identifying Scalars and Vectors

Uploaded by

vergarajhayrine49
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Identifying Scalars

and Vectors
A scalar is a quantity that is
completely specified by its
magnitude and has no direction.
Examples of scalars are mass,
volume, distance, temperature,
energy, and time.
A vector is a quantity that
includes both a magnitude and
a direction. Other examples of
vectors are velocity,
acceleration, and force.
Vectors are arrows that represent two pieces of information: a magnitude value (the length
of the arrow) and a directional value (the way the arrow is pointed). In terms of movement,
the information contained in the vector is the distance traveled and the direction traveled.
Vectors give us a graphical method to calculate the sum of several simultaneous
movements.
We draw a vector from the initial point or origin
(called the “tail” of a vector) to the end or terminal
point (called the “head” of a vector), marked by an
arrowhead. Magnitude is the length of a vector
and is always a positive scalar quantity.
To sum it up, a vector quantity has a direction and
a magnitude, while a scalar has only a magnitude.
You can tell if a quantity is a vector by whether it
has a direction associated with it.
Adding Vectors Using Pythagorean Theorem
Vector Addition: Component Method
To add vectors that are not in the same or perpendicular
directions, we use method of components. All vectors
can be described in terms of two components called the
x component and the y component. Adding the vectors
graphically using their components produces the same
result. Components can be added using math methods
because all x components are in the same plane as are
all y components. Furthermore, x and y components are
perpendicular and can be added to each other using
Pythagorean theorem.

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