VECTORS IN TWO

DIMENSIONS
 A vector is a physical quantity with magnitude and
direction.

 It is typically represented by an arrow whose direction is the

same as that of the quantity a

 The length of the arrow represents the magnitude and

the arrowhead the direction of the vector.

 A scalar is a physical quantity with magnitude only

Mathematical Properties of Vectors  A resultant is defined as the vector sum of two or more
vectors, i.e. a single vector having the same effect as two
 Vectors can be added and subtracted. or more vectors together

 The vector addition or subtraction is not as

straightforward as the addition of scalars.
Vectors have both magnitude and direction,
and one cannot simply add or subtract two
vectors to obtain their sum
Example 1

A forward horizontal force of 50 N is applied to a crate. A

second horizontal force of 180 N is applied to the crate in
the opposite direction. Determine the magnitude and
direction of the resultant force acting on the crate.

Example 2

The athlete at point A runs 150 m east, then 70 m west

and then 100 m east. Determine the resultant
displacement of the athlete relative to point A?

Example 3

Three forces act on an object in the vertical plane. Two

forces of 500 N and 300 N act vertically upwards and the
third force of 600 N acts vertically downwards. Determine
the resultant force acting on the object.
Tail-to-head Method
This method is a graphical way to add vectors. It's useful when adding multiple vectors together.
Steps
• Draw the first vector with its tail at the origin
• Draw the second vector with its tail at the head of the first vector and likewise the third vector
• Draw a vector from the tail of the first vector to the head of the third vector
• This new vector is the resultant vector, or the vector sum
• The tail of a vector is its starting point, and the head is its ending point
• The length of the resultant vector is proportional to the magnitude of the vectors being added
• The direction of the resultant vector can be determined from the drawing
Note:

A closed vector diagram is a set of vectors drawn

on the Cartesian using the tail-to-head method
and that has a resultant with a magnitude of zero
Example 4

An aircraft flies 8 km north from an airport and then 12 km

east.

4.1 Use the tail-to-head method to draw a neat labelled

displacement vector diagram. Draw in the resultant
displacement vector.

4.2 Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant

displacement of the aircraft relative to the airport.
Tail-to-tail ( or parallelogram) method

 The parallelogram law of vector addition is used to add two

vectors when the vectors that are to be added form the two
adjacent sides of a parallelogram by joining the tails of the
two vectors.

 Then, the sum of the two vectors is given by the diagonal of

the parallelogram passing through the tail of the two
vectors.

 If P and Q are vectors, we can find the sum of the two

vectors, , by constructing a parallelogram of which the
diagonal is the sum as shown below
Example 5

Consider the diagram below

5.1 Determine the resultant horizontal force and the

resultant vertical force.

5.2 Use the tail-to-tail(parallelogram) method to calculate

the magnitude and direction of the resultant of the two
forces in Question 5.1 . Draw a neat labelled vector diagram
to support your calculation.
Component method  If d is a vector then 𝑑𝑥 is the horizontal
component and 𝑑𝑦 is the vertical component
 In the discussion of vector addition we saw that a number of
vectors acting together can be combined to give a single
vector (the resultant).

 In much the same way a single vector can be broken down

into a number of vectors which when added give that
original vector.

 These vectors which sum to the original are called

components of the original vector. The process of breaking a
vector into its components is called resolving into
components.

 Any vector can be resolved into horizontal and vertical

components.
 In the Cartesian plane, when dealing
with components parallel to the 𝑥 and 𝑥axis we
will always be dealing with a right angle

 This means we can use trigonometric identities

determine the magnitudes of the components

 In the diagram below:

Horizontal Component : 𝐑 𝐱 = 𝐑𝐜𝐨𝐬𝛉

Vertical Component: 𝐑 𝐲 = 𝐑𝐬𝐢𝐧𝛉

Example 6
Consider the three forces acting on an object as shown
in the diagram below.

6.1 Calculate the horizontal and vertical components of

force T.
6.2 Calculate the horizontal and vertical components of
force F.
6.3 Determine the magnitude and direction of the
resultant horizontal force.
CONTINUED………

6.4 Determine the magnitude and direction of the

resultant vertical force.

6.5 Using the tail-to-tail method, draw a neat labelled

force diagram and determine the magnitude and
direction of the resultant force acting on the object.
PAST EXAM
PAPERS
2018 November Paper 1 Q 1

Two forces, of magnitudes 50 N and 80 N, act at a point

on a Cartesian plane in the directions shown in the sketch
below.

2.1 Give the correct term for the following description:

A single vector having the same effect as two or more vectors
together (1)
2.2 Calculate the:
2.2.1 Magnitude of the vertical component of the 50 N (2)
2.2.2 Magnitude of the resultant (net) force (5)
2.2.3 Direction of the resultant (net) force (2)
2023 Gauteng November Paper 1 Q 2

Consider the three forces acting on an object as shown

in the diagram below.

2.1 Define the term resultant of a vector. (2)

2.2 Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant
horizontal and vertical forces. (4)
2.3 Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant
force acting on the object. (5)
2.4 Give the magnitude and bearing of the force that can
balance the system. (2)
2023 KwaZulu Natal November Paper 1 Q 2

Three forces, M, P and G act at point O, located

at the origin of the Cartesian plane. The forces act
in the directions shown in the diagram below and are
NOT drawn to scale

The magnitude of P and G are 300N and 500N respectively

2.1 Give a reason why forces are classified as vectors (2)
2.2. Calculate the magnitude of the HORIZONTAL
COMPONENT for force
2.2.1 P (3)
2.2.2 G (2)
CONTINUED….

The resultant of the horizontal components of

The forces M, P and G is 266,94 N.

2.3 Calculate the magnitude of force M (2)

2.4 Define resultant force (2)
2.5 Calculate the magnitude of the resultant
force acting at point O (5)
2020 Eastern Cape November Paper 1 Q 2
A pulley system is used to keep a crate of mass M kg
stationary as shown on the diagram below.

2.1 Define the term resultant vector. (2)

2.2 Calculate the:
2.2.1 Vertical and horizontal components of T2 (4)
2.2.2 Magnitude of T1 (2)
2.2.3 Mass M of the crate (3)
2021 Gauteng November Paper 1 Q 2

A bald eagle with a mass of 5 kg is perched on a light,

inextensible rope between two poles as shown in the
diagram. The eagle is stationary on the rope.

2.1 What is the magnitude of the resultant force of the

system? (2)
2.2 Draw a labelled free-body diagram showing all the
forces acting on the eagle. (3)
2.3 Calculate the weight of the eagle. (3)
2.4 Calculate the magnitude of F1 and F2. (4)
2017 KwaZulu Natal March Common Test Q 2

An object of mass 44,65 kg is suspended vertically

in the air by two forces F1 and F2 as shown in the
sketch below

F2 makes an angle of 60° with the vertical as shown

2.1 F1 and F2 are classified as vectors.
Define a vector (2)
2.2 The object can be suspended vertically by a
SINGLE force instead of F1 and F2
2.2.1 Provide a suitable name for this single force
that can replace F1 and F2 (1)
2.2.2 Calculate the magnitude of this single force (3)
2019 KwaZulu Natal March Common Test Q 2 2.4 Hence, calculate the magnitude of the resultant force
acting at point O. (5)
Four forces A,B,C and D act at a common point
O as shown in the diagram below. The magnitude
Of forces are as follows: A is 5 N, force B is 8 N, force
C is 6 N and force D has an unknown magnitude.

2.1 Define resultant vector (2)

2.2 Calculate the magnitude of the resultant
of force B and force C (2)
The net horizontal component for the forces
FA , FB , FC and FD is equal to 1,25N
2.3 Calculate the magnitude of force D (3)
2024 Gauteng June Paper 1 Q 2

The diagram below shows four forces of 2N, 3N, 4N and

5N acting on an object on the same plane. The 2N force
is 30° anticlockwise from the x-axis. The diagram is not
drawn to scale

2.1 Define the term resultant force. (2)

2.2 Calculate:
2.2.1 The magnitude of the resultant force acting
on the object. (7)
2.2.2 The direction of the resultant force. (2)
2023 Eastern Cape June Paper 1 Q 2

A box, weight 55 N, is suspended from the ceiling

by a string. A horizontal force F is then applied
to the box to keep it in EQULIBRIUM when the string
makes an angle of 30° with the ceiling. The tension in
the string is T

2.1 Explain what is meant by the phrase

“the box is in equilibrium” (2)
2.2 Draw a closed vector diagram of the three forces,
T, F and w by using the tail to tail method. Clearly label
The forces and the relevant angle (3)
2.3 Calculate the magnitudes of F and T (4)
2015 November Paper 1 Q 2

Three forces, P, Q and R, of magnitudes 500 N, 200 N and 300

N respectively, act on a point O in the directions shown in the
diagram below. The forces are NOT drawn to scale.

2.1 Refer to the information in the diagram above and

give a reason why forces P, Q and R are classified as vectors. (2)
2.2 Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant
force, either by CALCULATION or by
ACCURATE CONSTRUCTION AND MEASUREMENT.
(Use scale 10 mm = 50 N.) (8)
2016 November Paper 1 Q 2
A heavy object is lifted using two ropes and two pulleys, as
shown in the diagram below. The two pulleys are a distance
x apart. The force FA, in rope A, is 730 N and the force FB, in
rope B, is 1 440 N. Rope A makes an angle of 70° with the
horizontal and rope B makes an angle of 10° with the
vertical.

2.1 Define the term resultant vector. (2)

2.2 Explain why the vector diagram of force FA,
force FB and the weight will NOT be a closed
vector diagram. (2)
2.3 Calculate the:
2.3.1 Vertical component of FA (2)
2.3.2 Horizontal component of FA (2)
CONTINUED…………
2.4 Calculate the maximum weight that force FA and
force FB will be able to lift from the ground.
Show ALL calculations. (4)
2.5 Explain why the rope and pulley system will be
less effective if the distance x between the pulleys
is increased. (2)
2017 November Paper 1 Q 2
Block A, which is at rest on a horizontal rough surface, is used
as an anchor to hold block B, with a mass of 56 kg, in the air at
a certain height above the ground. The two blocks are
connected with rope R, which makes an angle of 35° with the
vertical. Block B is suspended from the ceiling with cable C.
Refer to the diagram below.

Block A experiences a frictional force of magnitude 200 N.

The system is stationary.

2.1 Define the term resultant vector. (2)

2.2 What is the magnitude of the resultant
force acting on block B? (1)
2.3 Draw a labelled free-body diagram
indicating all the forces acting on block B. (3)
CONTINUED……….
2.4 Determine the horizontal component of the force in
rope R. (1)
2.5 Calculate the vertical component of the
force in cable C. (4)
2.6 Calculate the angle θ between the cable
and the ceiling. (2)
 2017 KwaZulu Natal March Paper 1 Q 2

An object of mass 158,85 kg is suspended between

Two walls by means of two cables T1 and T2 as
shown in the sketch below

The angle between the cables T1 and T2

is 90°. The angle between T2 and the origin is 30°
The net force acting on the object is zero.
2.1 Is mass a scalar or vector quantity? Give a reason
for your answer? (2)
CONTINUED……….

2.2 Draw a labelled closed vector diagram of forces,

showing ALL the forces acting on the object. Also
correctly indicate on the diagram TWO angles (5)

2.3 Without preforming a calculation identify which

cable T1 or T2 exerts the large force on the object.
Give a reason for your answer. (2)