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Chapter 1
Vectors

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Physics deals with the nature and properties of matter and

energy. Common language is mathematics. Physics is
based on experimental observations and quantitative
measurements.

Physics Mechanics
Electromagnetism

and The study of physics can be

divided into six main areas:
Optics
Relativity

Mechanics Thermodynamics
Quantum mechanics

Mechanics deals with the motion and equilibrium of

material bodies and the action of forces.

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Mechanics
• Mechanics deals with the motion of
objects

• Mechanics: Theory that predicts

qualitatively & quantitatively the results of
experiments for objects that are NOT
• Too small: atoms and subatomic
particles – Quantum Mechanics
• Too fast: objects close to the speed of
light – Special Relativity
• Too dense: black holes, the early
Universe – General Relativity
• Mechanics concerns the motion of objects
that are large relative to atoms and move
at speeds much slower than the speed of
light (i.e. nearly everything!)

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Physical • A physical quantity is a quantity that can be measured.

• A physical quantity can be divided into base quantity and
Quantities derived quantity.

Base • Base quantities are the quantities that cannot be defined in

term of other physical quantity.
Quantities • The 5 base quantities and its units are as in the table below:

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Scalars
and
Vectors
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Scalar Quantities:
• speed
• distance
• energy
• electrical charge • velocity
• density • acceleration
• volume Vector • displacement
• length Quantities • momentum
• force
• time
• impulse
• temperature
• mass
• power
• work

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Important Notation
 To describe vectors we will use:
 The bold font: Vector A is A

 Or an arrow above the vector: A

 In the pictures, we will always show vectors as

arrows
 Arrows point in the direction

 To describe the magnitude of a vector we will


use absolute value sign: A or just A,

 Magnitude is always positive, the magnitude of a

vector is equal to the length of a vector.

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Properties of Vectors
• Equality of Two Vectors
• Two vectors are equal if they have the same
magnitude and the same direction
• Movement of vectors in a diagram
• Any vector can be moved parallel to itself without
being affected
 Negative Vectors
 Two vectors are negative if they have the same 
B
magnitude but are 180° apart (opposite directions)

    A
A  B; A  A  0  
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Vector Addition

Vector addition finds its application in physical quantities where vectors are
used to represent velocity, displacement, and acceleration.

Adding the vectors geometrically is putting their tails together and thereby
constructing a parallelogram. The sum of the vectors is the diagonal of the
parallelogram that starts from the intersection of the tails.

Adding vectors algebraically is adding their corresponding components.

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Vector Addition
Adding the vectors geometrically is putting their tails together and thereby
constructing a parallelogram. The sum of the vectors is the diagonal of the
parallelogram that starts from the intersection of the tails.

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Adding Vectors Graphically

 
When you have many vectors, A B

just keep repeating the

process until all are included   
A B C

 
A B
The resultant is still drawn from
the origin of the first vector to
the end of the last vector

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Components of a Vector Vector Addition

Adding vectors algebraically is adding their corresponding
components.

 It is useful to use
rectangular
components
 These are the
projections of the a cos(90   ) 
 a sin  
vector along the
a cos 
x- and y-axes
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Components of a Vector
 The x-component of a vector is
the projection along the x-axis
A
cos   x Ax  A cos 
A
 The y-component of a vector is
the projection along the y-axis
Ay
sin   Ay  A sin 
A

   Then,   
A  Ax  Ay A  Ax  Ay

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Components of a Vector
 The previous equations are valid only if θ is measured with respect
to the x-axis
 The components can be positive or negative and will have the same
units as the original vector

θ=0, Ax=A>0, Ay=0

θ=45°, Ax=A cos 45°>0, Ay=A sin 45°>0
Ax < 0 Ax > 0
θ=90°, Ax=0, Ay=A>0
Ay > 0 Ay > 0
θ θ=135°, Ax=A cos 135°<0, Ay=A sin 135°>0
Ax < 0 Ax > 0 θ=180°, Ax=A<0, Ay=0
Ay < 0 Ay < 0 θ=225°, Ax=A cos 225°<0, Ay=A sin 225°<0
θ=270°, Ax=0, Ay=A<0
θ=315°, Ax=A cos 315°<0, Ay=A sin 315°<0
January 22-25, 2013
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More About Components

 The components are the legs of

the right triangle whose
hypotenuse is A
 Ax  A cos( )
  Ay 
 Ay  A sin( A) Ax2  Ay2 and   tan1  
  Ax 
 A   A 2  A 2
 x y

 Ay  Ay 
tan    or   tan 1   
Or,
 Ax  Ax 

January 22-25, 2013

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Unit Vectors
A unit vector is a vector that has a magnitude equal to 1.
 Components of a vector are vectors
  
A  Ax  Ay
 Unit vectors i-hat, j-hat, k-hat
iˆ  x ˆj  y kˆ  z
  Unit vectors used to specify direction
 Unit vectors have a magnitude of 1
y
 Then 
j
A  Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj
i
 
x 
A  A x  A+ ySign
Magnitude
k Unit vector
z

January 22-25, 2013

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Adding Vectors Algebraically

 Consider two vectors

A  Axiˆ  Ay ˆj

B  Bx iˆ  B y ˆj
 Then  
A  B  ( Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj )  ( Bx iˆ  B y ˆj )
 ( Ax  Bx )iˆ  ( Ay  B y ) ˆj
  
 If C  A  B ( Ax Bx )iˆ ( Ay  B y ) ˆj
 so C x  AxA  Bx A xCy AAyy  B y
January 22-25, 2013
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Example : Operations with Vectors

 Vector A is described algebraically as (-3, 5), while
vector B is (4, -2). Find the value of magnitude and
direction of the sum (C) of the vectors A and B.
 
ˆ
A  3i  5 jˆ B  4iˆ  2 ˆj
  
C  A  B  ( 3  4)iˆ  (5  2) ˆj  1iˆ  3 ˆj
Cx  1 Cy  3
2 2
C  (C x  C y )1/ 2  (12  32 )1/ 2  3.16
C
  tan 1 y  tan 1 3  71.56
Cx
January 22-25, 2013
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Property of Vector Addition Explanation

For any vector v,
Existence of identity v+0=v
Here, 0 vector is the additive identity.

For any vector v,

Existence of inverse v+-v=0
and thus an additive inverse exists for every vector.

Addition is commutative; for any two arbitrary

Commutativity vectors c, and d,
c+d=d+c
Addition is associative; for any three arbitrary
vectors i, j, and k ,
Associativity
i+j+k=i+j+k
i.e, the order of addition does not matter.

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Products of Vectors
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The Dot Product or Scalar Product

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Scalar product can be

positive negative zero

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Using Components to Calculate the Scalar Product

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Vector Product or Cross Product

Vector A is blue Cross product is a form of vector multiplication, performed
between two vectors of different nature or kinds
Vector B is red
A x B is pink
When two vectors are multiplied with each other and the product
of the vectors is also a vector quantity, then the resultant vector is
called the cross product of two vectors or the vector product.

The resultant vector is perpendicular to the plane containing the

two given vectors.

Cross Product Definition

If A and B are two independent vectors, then the result of the cross
product of these two vectors (Ax B) is perpendicular to both the
vectors and normal to the plane that contains both the vectors. It is
represented by:
A x B = | A | | B | sin θ 𝑛
where θ is the angle between the two vectors; 𝑛 = normal unit vector

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Using Components to Calculate the Vector Product

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Cross Product Using the Matrix Notation

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Using Vectors in an Economic Context

AAA Party Supply Store sells invitations, party favors, decorations, and food service items such as paper plates
and napkins. When AAA buys its inventory, it pays 25¢ per package for invitations and party favors.
Decorations cost AAA 50¢ each, and food service items cost 20¢ per package. AAA sells invitations for $2.50
per package and party favors for $1.50 per package. Decorations sell for $4.50 each and food service items
for $1.25 per package.
During the month of May, AAA Party Supply Store sells 1258 invitations, 342 party favors, 2426 decorations,
and 1354 food service items. Use vectors and dot products to calculate how much money AAA made in sales
during the month of May. How much did the store make in profit?

The cost, price, and quantity vectors are AAA sales for the month of May can be calculated using
the dot product

To calculate the profit, we

must first calculate how much
AAA paid for the items sold.

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