Chapter 3
Vectors
You will learn the physics aspect of:
1. Coordinate Systems
2. Vector and Scalar Quantities
3. Some Properties of Vectors
4. Components of a Vector and Unit Vectors
Cartesian Coordinate System
Used to describe the position of a point in a space
Coordinate system consists of a
1- fixed reference point called the origin
2- specific axes with scales and labels
Instructions on how to label a point relative to the origin and the axes
Also called rectangular coordinate system
x - and y - axes intersect at the origin
Labeled are Points (x,y)
Polar Coordinate System
represent a point in a plan
Origin and reference line are noted
Point is distance r from the origin in the direction of
angle θ, counterclockwise from positive x-axis
Points are labeled as ( r , θ )
Polar to Cartesian Coordinates (r , θ ) to (x,y)
Cartesian to Polar Coordinates (x,y) to (r , θ )
Vectors & Scalars
Scaler Quantity : Its completely specified by a single value with an
appropriate unit and has no direction
Vector Quantity: its completely described by a number and appropriate
units plus direction
Vector Example
A particle travels from A to B along the path shown by the dotted red
line
This is the distance traveled and is a scalar
The displacement is the solid line from A to B
The displacement is independent of the path
taken between the two points
Displacement is a vector
Adding vectors When adding vectors, their directions must be taken into account
Units must be the same
There are two ways to adding Vectors
(1) Graphical Methods: Use scale drawing
(2) Algebraic Methods: More convenient
Graphical Methods
Component of Vectors
Unit Vectors A unit vector is a dimensionless vector with a
magnitude of exactly 1
The symbols ( 𝑖,Ƹ 𝑗,Ƹ 𝑘 ) represent the unit vectors
They form a set of mutually perpendicular vectors
Example
Example