3 Vectors

Chapter 3
Vectors
Chapter 3: Vectors
3-1 Vectors and Their Components

3-2 Unit Vectors, Adding Vectors by Components
3-3 Multiplying Vectors
 Physics deals with quantities that have both size and

direction
 A vector is a mathematical object with size and
direction
 A vector quantity is a quantity that can be
represented by a vector
 Examples: position, velocity, acceleration

Vectors have their own rules for manipulation

A scalar is a quantity that does not have a direction

Examples: time, temperature, energy, mass
 Scalars are manipulated with ordinary algebra
 The simplest example is a displacement vector

 If a particle changes position from A to B, we represent
this by a vector arrow pointing from A to B
 In (a) we see that all three arrows have

the same magnitude and direction: they
are identical displacement vectors.
 In (b) we see that all three paths
correspond to the same displacement
vector. The vector tells us nothing about
the actual path that was taken between A
and B.
Figure 3-1
 The vector sum, or resultant

o
Is the result of performing vector addition
o
Represents the net displacement of two or more
displacement vectors
Eq. (3-1)
o
Can be added graphically as shown:
Figure 3-2
 Vector addition is commutative

o
We can add vectors in any order
Eq. (3-2)
Figure (3-3)
 Vector addition is associative

o
We can group vector addition however we like
Eq. (3-3)
Figure (3-4)
 A negative sign reverses vector

direction
Figure (3-5)
 We use this to define vector

subtraction
Eq. (3-4)
Figure (3-6)
 These rules hold for all vectors, whether they

represent displacement, velocity, etc.
 Only vectors of the same kind can be added
o
(distance) + (distance) makes sense
o
(distance) + (velocity) does not
 Rather than using a graphical method, vectors can be

added by components
o
A component is the projection of a vector on an axis
 The process of finding components is called resolving
the vector
 The components of a vector
can be positive or negative.

They are unchanged if the
vector is shifted in any
Figure (3-8)
direction (but not rotated).
 Components in two dimensions can be found by:
Eq. (3-5)
 Where θ is the angle the vector makes with the

positive x axis, and a is the vector length

The length and angle can also be found if the
components are known
Eq. (3-6)
 Therefore, components fully define a vector

 In the three dimensional case we need more

components to specify a vector
o
(a,θ,φ) or (ax,ay,az)
 Angles may be measured in degrees or radians

 Recall that a full circle is 360˚, or 2π rad
 Know the three basic trigonometric functions
Figure (3-11)
 A unit vector
o
Has magnitude 1
Eq. (3-7)
o
Has a particular direction
o
Lacks both dimension and unit Eq. (3-8)
o
Is labeled with a hat: ^
 We use a right-handed coordinate system
o
Remains right-handed when rotated
Figure (3-13)

The quantities axi and ayj are vector components
Eq. (3-7)
Eq. (3-8)
 The quantities ax and ay alone are scalar

components
o
Or just “components” as before

Vectors can be added using components
Eq. (3-9) → Eq. (3-10)
Eq. (3-11)
Eq. (3-12)
 To subtract two vectors, we subtract components
Eq. (3-13)
 Vectors are independent of the

coordinate system used to measure
them
 We can rotate the coordinate
system, without rotating the vector,
and the vector remains the same
Eq. (3-14)
Eq. (3-15)
 All such coordinate systems are

equally valid
Figure (3-15)
 Multiplying a vector z by a scalar c

o
Results in a new vector
o
Its magnitude is the magnitude of vector z times |c|
o
Its direction is the same as vector z, or opposite if c is
negative
o
To achieve this, we can simply multiply each of the
components of vector z by c
 To divide a vector by a scalar we multiply by 1/c
Example Multiply vector z by 5
o
z = -3 i + 5 j
o
5 z = -15 i + 25 j
 Multiplying two vectors: the scalar product

o
Also called the dot product
o
Results in a scalar, where a and b are magnitudes and φ is
the angle between the directions of the two vectors:
Eq. (3-20)
 The commutative law applies, and we can do the dot

product in component form
Eq. (3-22)
Eq. (3-23)
 A dot product is: the product of the magnitude of one

vector times the scalar component of the other vector
in the direction of the first vector
Eq. (3-21)
Figure (3-18)
 Either projection of one
vector onto the other can
be used

To multiply a vector by the
projection, multiply the
magnitudes
 Multiplying two vectors: the vector product

o
The cross product of two vectors with magnitudes a & b,
separated by angle φ, produces a vector with magnitude:
Eq. (3-24)
o
And a direction perpendicular to both original vectors
 Direction is determined by the right-hand rule
 Place vectors tail-to-tail, sweep fingers from the first to
the second, and thumb points in the direction of the
resultant vector
Figure (3-19)
The upper shows vector a cross vector b, the lower shows vector b cross vector a
 The cross product is not commutative

Eq. (3-25)
 To evaluate, we distribute over components:

Eq. (3-26)
 Therefore, by expanding (3-26):
Eq. (3-27)
3 Summary
Scalars and Vectors Adding Geometrically

 Scalars have magnitude only  Obeys commutative and
associative laws
 Vectors have magnitude and
Eq. (3-2)
direction
Eq. (3-3)
 Both have units!
Vector Components Unit Vector Notation

 Given by  We can write vectors in terms
Eq. (3-5) of unit vectors
Eq. (3-7)
 Related back by
Eq. (3-6)
3 Summary
Adding by Components Scalar Times a Vector

 Add component-by-component  Product is a new vector
 Magnitude is multiplied by
scalar
Eqs. (3-10) - (3-12)  Direction is same or opposite
Scalar Product Cross Product

 Dot product  Produces a new vector in
perpendicular direction
Eq. (3-20)  Direction determined by right-
hand rule
Eq. (3-24)
Eq. (3-22)

3 Vectors

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

3 Vectors

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

3 Vectors

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3

3-1 Vectors and Their Components

 Physics deals with quantities that have both size and

 The simplest example is a displacement vector

 In (a) we see that all three arrows have

 The vector sum, or resultant

 Vector addition is commutative

 Vector addition is associative

 A negative sign reverses vector

 We use this to define vector

 These rules hold for all vectors, whether they

 Rather than using a graphical method, vectors can be

 Components in two dimensions can be found by:

 Where θ is the angle the vector makes with the

 Therefore, components fully define a vector

 In the three dimensional case we need more

 Angles may be measured in degrees or radians

 Know the three basic trigonometric functions

 The quantities ax and ay alone are scalar

 To subtract two vectors, we subtract components

 Vectors are independent of the

 All such coordinate systems are

 Multiplying a vector z by a scalar c

 Multiplying two vectors: the scalar product

 The commutative law applies, and we can do the dot

 A dot product is: the product of the magnitude of one

 Multiplying two vectors: the vector product

 The cross product is not commutative

 To evaluate, we distribute over components:

 Therefore, by expanding (3-26):

Scalars and Vectors Adding Geometrically

Vector Components Unit Vector Notation

Adding by Components Scalar Times a Vector

Scalar Product Cross Product

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.