

Lesson 2 Scalar and Vectors

Describing an
object is a great
challenge for everyone. It
takes one's profound
knowledge and
imagination to describe
physical phenomena
from the core of its
existence and explain
how it moves over a
course of time. It is in
nature to use
quantifiable facts.
However, single number
alone is not enough to
describe and explain one
phenomena, that's why
additional information is
needed. Just like giving instructions to someone to go to certain place. For instance, you give
not just the number of kilometers, like "Walk two kilometers and one kilometer," but you also
give the direction like "Walk two kilometers south of the main road and one kilometer west:" In
this way he will be able to reach his destination. And so, with physics, it requires two
mathematical quantities to describe and explain things, namely: magnitude and direction. In
this chapter you will learn how mathematics helps explain physical phenomena with the
concept of vector.

Let’s Check Your Knowledge!

Which of the following is a vector? A scalar? Write your answer on the space provided.
1. A person’s height
2. Altitude on Mt. Everest
3. 5 m/s2, north
4. Age of the Earth
5. Boiling point of water
6. Acceleration of gravity
7. 20 m/s, East
8. Earth’s population
9. Walking 13 miles west of the river
10. A person’s weight
Physical Quantities
1. Scalars
 Can be described by a single number giving its size or magnitude (number plus
units)
 25 kg, 4 hours. 9.8 km, 63.2 °C
2. Vectors
 Can be described by both
magnitude and direction
 56 m/s W, 78 N upward, 23
m/s2 to the right

Vector Representation
 Represented by an arrow
o Tail – indicates the starting
point
o Arrowhead – end point
(direction)
 Scale
o 1 cm : 5 km
o 1 cm : 100 m

Cartesian plane
Examples:
1. A force of 90 dynes North 40° East / a force of 90 dynes 40° East of North
2. An acceleration of 60 m/s2 30° West of North / an acceleration of 60 m/s2
North 30° West
3. A linear momentum of 50 kg·m/s South
4. A displacement of 80 km Southwest / a displacement of 80 km 45° South of
West / a displacement of 80 km West 45° South
What have I learned so far?
A. Which one is a vector quantity? Scalar quantity?
1. 100 m2
2. 120 km/h East of Batanes
3. 4567 dynes downward
4. 23 g/cm3
5. 56 newtons
6. 71 mi/s
7. 896 kg·m/s West
8. 56 m/s 60° South of East
9. 56 kg
10. 97 km southeast
B. Draw the following vectors using ruler and protractor. Label all components. (Provide
your own graphing paper)
11. 40 newtons SE
12. 15 m/s 25° SW
13. 120 km E 35° S
14. 78 cm/s2 N
15. 900 dynes W 60° N
Loop
Pythagorean Theorem
o Greek mathematician Pythagoras of Samos
o c2 = a2 + b2

Trigonometry
 deals with the relations between angles and sides of triangles
 Basic Trigonometric Functions

B opposite
sine A =
hypotenuse
c
a
adjacent
cosine A =
hypotenuse
C A opposite
b tangent A =
adjacent
b
 Confunction:
hypotenuse hypotenuse adjacent
cos A = secA = cot A =
opposite adjacent opposite

The Law of Sines

 Applies to all triangles
 Measure of one side and other two measures
a b c
o = =
sin A sin B sin C
The Law of Cosines
 Applies to all triangles
 Measure of two sides and the included angle between them is known
 If an angle is more than 90, then its cosine is negative and numerically equal to the cosine
of its supplement
o c2 = a2 + b2 – 2ab cos C
o b2 = c2 + a2 – 2ac cos B
o a2 = c2 + b2 – 2bc cos A
Navigate
Adding of Vectors
Resultant vector
 The sum of two or more vectors
Vector addition
 Process of combining or adding two or more vectors
Graphical method
 Uses scaling (scaling process helps you in cases where big magnitudes have to be
reduced to smaller units.
 The tail-head method of drawing the vector is one way of getting the resultant vector.
This is a way wherein the second vector is drawn such that its tail is connected to the
arrowhead of the first vector. The resultant is measured from the tail of the first vector
to the head of the second vector.
Sample Problems: (one dimension)
 1. Trixie walks 400 m East, stops to rest and then continues 600 m East.
Scale: 1 cm : 100 m

d1 = 400 m E d2 = 600 m E

dR = 1,000 m E (resultant displacement)

2. Stephen walks home from school 250 m East and remembers that he has to bring
home her Science book which a classmate borrowed. He walks back 675 m West to
his classmate’s house.
Scale: 1 cm : 100 m

d1 = 250 m E d2 = 675 m W

dR = 425 m W
Big Idea
Using the graphical method in finding the resultant vector, one must be observant and
accurate. Similarly, living a good life requires prudence and a clear goal in life.
Parallelogram method
Sample Problem: (2 dimensions)
1. Ming walks 500 m East and then turns North and walks 300 m. Find the resultant
vector.
Scale: 1 cm : 100 m

dR = 580 m d2 = 300 m
31° NE Θ = 31°

d1 = 500 m
Polygon method
Sample Problem: (more than 2 vectors in different dimensions)
1. Mark walks 600 m East, then turns 400 m North and finally walks 300 m West.
Scale: 1 cm: 100 m
d3 = 300 m

dR = 500 m
54° NE
d2 = 400 m

Θ = 54°

d1 = 600 m

dR = 22.4 km
63.4° West of North
Θ = 63.4° d1 = 10 km
d2 = 20 km

d1 = 50 m
Θ = 30°
dR = 405.00 m
30° South of West d2 = 200 m

d3 = 400 m
What Have I Learned so Far?
Draw vector diagrams to solve each problem. Label all components. (do this in a graphing
paper)
1. A car moves 10 km North, then turns 20 km West. What is the total displacement of the
car?
2. A hiker walks 50 m East, then 200 m South and finally 400 m West. What is the resultant
displacement of the hiker from the starting point?
Vector Resolution
 Process of finding the magnitudes of the components in certain directions
 Two new vectors in directions that are perpendicular to each other
Sample Problem:
A man exerts a force of 60 N along the handle of a lawn mower to push it across the
lawn. If the handle is held at an angle of 30° with the lawn, what are the horizontal and
vertical components of the force exerted by the man?
Given: F = 60 N, 30°
Find: a. Fx (horizontal component of the force)
b. Fy (vertical component of the force)
Solution:

F = 60N

Fy

Θ = 30°
Fx
Fy (opposite side)
Fx (adjacent side) b. sin 30° =
a. cos 30° = F (hypotenuse)
F (hypotenuse)
Fy
Fx sin 30° =
b. cos 30° = 60 N
60 N
Fy = (60 N) (sin 30°)
Fx = (60 N) (cos 30°) Fx = 30.0 N
Fx = 52.2 N
What have I learned so far?
Draw vector diagrams to solve each problem. Solve for the components of the following:
(do this in a graphing paper)
1. A cabinet is pulled across a cemented floor with a rope that makes an angle of 35° with the
floor. What is the component of the force parallel and perpendicular to the floor if a 90-N
force is exerted?
2. The wind blows toward 40° with a velocity of 50 km/h. What are the vertical and
horizontal components of the wind’s velocity?

Analytical method
 Adding vectors in the same or in the opposite direction
o v1 = 30 m/s E and v2 = 25 m/s E
 30 m/s + 25 m/s = 55 m/s E
o d1 = 12 m N and d2 = 24 m S
 24 m – 12 m = 12 m S

 Adding vectors at right angles to each other

o F1 = 8 newtons E and 7 newtons N
 (FR)2 = 82 + 72 FR
 FR = 64newtons  49newtons 7N
 FR = 10.63 N

Θ
7 newtons
o tan θ = 8N
8newtons
 tan θ = 0.875
 θ = 41.19°
 FR = 10.63 Newtons 41.19° N

 Adding vectors using the component method

 Sample Problems:
a) An ant crawls on a tabletop. It moves 2 cm East, turns 3 cm 40° North of East
and finally moves 2.5 cm North. What is the ant’s total displacement?

2.5 cm
dR

3 cm
40°
d1 = 2 cm East
d3 = 2.5 cm N
2 cm
d2 = 3 cm 40° NE

d2x = (3 cm) (cos 40°)

d2x = 2.30 cm
d2y = (3 cm) (sin 40°)
d2y = 1.93 cm

distance dx (cm) dy (cm)

2 cm E 2.00 0
3 cm 40° NE 2.30 1.93
2.5 cm N 0 2.50
Σ 4.30 cm 4.43 cm

dR = (dx) 2  (dy) 2
dR = (4.30) 2  (4.43) 2
dR = 6.17 cm
dy
tan θ =
dx
4.43 4.43
tan θ = θ = tan-1 θ = 45.85° N of E
4.30 4.30
dR = 6.17 cm 45.85° North of East
b) An ant crawls on a tabletop. It moves 2 cm North, turns 3 cm West and finally
moves 5 cm South. What is the ant’s total displacement?

3 cm

2 cm
5 cm

dR

d1 = 2 cm North d2 = 3 cm West d3 = 5 cm South

Distance dx (cm) dy (cm)

2 cm North 0 2.00
3 cm West -3.00 0
2.5 cm South 0 -5.00
Σ -3.00 cm -3.00 cm

dR = (dx) 2  (dy) 2
dR = (3.00) 2  (3.00) 2
dR = 4.24 cm
 dy
tan θ =
dx
3.00 3.00
tan θ = θ = tan-1 θ = 45° SW
3.00 3.00
dR = 4.24 cm 45° Southwest

c)

40 N 60 N
30°
45°

20°
50 N

F1 = 60 N F2 = 40 N F3 = 50 N
F1x = (60 N) (sin 30°) F2x = (40 N) (cos 45°) F3x = (50 N) (sin 20°)
F1x = 30 N F2x = 28.28 N F3x = 17.10 N

F1y = (60 N) (cos 30°) F2y = (40 N) (sin 45°) F3y = (50 N) (cos 20°)
F1y = 51.96 N F2y = 28.28 N F3y = 46.98 N

Force Fx (N) Fy (N) FR = ( Fx) 2  ( Fy ) 2

60 N 30° E of N 30 51.96
40 N 45° NW -28.28 28.28 FR = (18.82) 2  (33.26) 2
50 N 20° E of S 17.10 -46.98 FR = 38.22 N
Σ 18.82 N 33.26 N Fy
tan θ =
Fx
33.26 33.26
tan θ = θ = tan-1
What have I learned so far? 18.82 18.82
Draw vector diagrams to solve each problem. Solve for θ =the
60.50° N of E
components of the following
and find the resultant: (do this in a graphing paper) F R = 38.22 N 60.50° North of East
1. A jogger runs 14.5 m in a direction 20° east of north and then 105 m in a direction θ = 35°
south of east. Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector C for these
two displacements.
2. You are on a treasure hunt and your map says “Walk due west for 52 paces, then walk 30°
north of west for 42 paces, and finally walk due north for 25 paces.” What is the magnitude
and direction of the resultant vector?
3. Mary leaves the office, drives 26 km due North and turns onto a street and continues in a
direction 30° NE for 35 km and finally turns onto the highway due east for 40 km. What is
her total displacement from the office?

Summary:
 A vector is any quantity that has magnitude and direction.
 A scalar is any quantity that has magnitude but no direction
 The head-to-tail method of adding vectors involves drawing the first vector on a graph
and then placing the tail of each subsequent vector at the head of the previous vector.
The resultant vector R is then drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the
final vector. Addition of vectors is commutative such that A+B = B+A
 The analytical method of vector addition and subtraction involves the use of
Pythagorean theorem and trigonometric identities to determine the magnitude and
direction of a resultant vector.
 The steps to add vectors A and B using the analytical method are as follows:
 Step 1: Determine the coordinate system for the vectors. Then, determine the
horizontal and vertical components of each vector using the equations
Ax=A cos θ
Bx= B cos θ
and
Ay=A cos θ
By= B cos θ
 Step 2: Add the horizontal and vertical components of each vector to determine
the components Rx and Ry of the resultant vector, R:
Rx = Ax + Bx
 and
Ry = Ay + By
 Step 3: Use the Pythagorean theorem to determine the magnitude, R, of the
resultant vector R:

 Step 4: Use a trigonometric identity to determine the direction,

θ = tan-1(Ry/Rx)

Big Idea
Vector quantities are measurements that have magnitude, a unit and direction. Similarly
in life, every person must make an impact to the community (magnitude), know his or
her identity (unit), and have a goal in life (direction) to have better future.