MODULE 6 VECTOR ALGEBRA

COMPETENCE/S A-II/2 F1. Navigation at the operational Level

COURSE CO 1. Understand the application of selected basic concepts
OUTCOMES in Mechanics to the maritime profession.

KNOWLEDGE KUP1: Understanding of fundamental principles of ship

UNDERSTANDIN construction and the theories and factors affecting
G trim
PROFICIENCY and stability and measures necessary to preserve
trim
and stability.
KUP 2: Knowledge of the effect on trim and stability of
cargoes
and cargo operations.
LEARNING 1. Differentiate a scalar quantity from a vector quantity.
2. Add and subtract vector quantities
OUTCOMES
TOPICS 6.1 Scalar vs. Vector Quantities
6.2 Vector Addition/Subtraction
LESSON PRESENTATION AND ACTIVITIES
KEY WORDS
Scalar Relative Bearing Trigonometric Method

Vector Reciprocal Bearing Vector Component

Rectangular Form Conventional Bearing Vector Resolution

Polar Form Scale Unit Vector

Quadrantal Notation Graphical Technique Negative of a Vector

Three Figure Notation Analytical Technique Right Triangle

Bearing Polygon Method Oblique Triangle

True Bearing Parallelogram Method Pythagorean Theorem

In the study of Applied Mechanics, it is essential to distinguish between two groups

of quantities: vectors and scalars. Understanding of some physical phenomena
like motion of ships requires the knowledge on vectors. Mathematical operations
involving vector quantities require a special kind of technique known as Vector
Algebra.

Pre-test

A vector is described using the rectangular form as (1, √ ❑). Describe this vector
in

1. polar form __________________

2. quadrantal notation ________________

3. three-figure notation ________________

6.1 SCALAR VS. VECTOR QUANTITIES

Vectors are group of physical quantities completely defined by a direction and

magnitude. Magnitude specifies how large or how big the vector is. Displacement,
velocity, acceleration, force are examples of vectors. These quantities are
manipulated according to a different set of algebraic rules (Vector Algebra).

The second group of quantities are the scalars. They are quantities that are
completely defined by specifying only a number and a unit (magnitude). They do
not have direction. The meaning of the scalar quantity being described is clearly
understood by giving its magnitude only. Length, mass, time, temperature,
distance traveled, speed, energy are some examples of scalar quantities. Scalar
addition or subtraction is adding or adding the magnitudes arithmetically.

Naming and Describing Vectors and Scalars

A vector is geometrically represented by an arrow. The tip of the arrow pointing
towards the direction of the vector is called the head, the other end of the arrow is
called the tail. The arrow can be thought of as a directed line segment. The length
of the arrow (from the tail to the tip of the arrow head) represents its magnitude.
A line segment (without an arrow) does not represent a vector quantity because it
does not have an arrow head to indicate direction. A line segment represents only
the magnitude of a vector.

When writing by hand, vectors are named using letter or letters with an arrow
above the letter or letters. In printing, as often in this module, vectors are
designated by boldface type without the arrows. The magnitude (length) of a
vector is designated by using an ordinary typeface (not bold) or by placing the
vector name inside vertical bars, like an absolute-value sign.

EXAMPLE: For the velocity vector shown below, its magnitude is 5m/s and the
direction is 45o above the horizontal line.

→
Vector (with magnitude and direction) V = 5 m/s, +45o or V = 5 m/s, +45o
Magnitude of the vector V = 5m/s or /V/ = 5 m/s

The symbol for a scalar quantity, on the other hand, is printed in ordinary typeface
(not in bold) or written without an arrow above it. For example, time and mass are
described as:
 t = 10 s
m = 5 kg

Describing Direction of Vectors

Description of a vector is incomplete without the direction. Instructing a lost
stranger to walk 50m from a crossroad to reach the nearest jeepney station will
unlikely get him there even if he follows the instruction. But, instructing him to walk
25m to he left and at the corner of the second block turn 25m to the right would.
In some cases, the descriptive terms to the right, to the left, upward or downward
are sufficient to completely describe vector direction. However, these limit the
possible orientations a vector can have to left, right, up and down directions. To
overcome this limitation, other standard methods of describing direction have been
accepted in various disciplines. Common ways described here are:

1. Rectangular Form
2. Polar Form
3. Quadrantal Notation
4. Three Figure Notation
Rectangular Form
In rectangular form, vector direction is described by giving the horizontal and
vertical change from the tail to the head. This is called the rectangular form of the
vector. When the tail of a vector is at the origin, then its rectangular form is the
same as the coordinates of the tip of its head. The sign of the x-coordinate and y-
coordinate will determine the quadrant where the arrow is oriented i.e. (+,+) on the
first quadrant; (-, +) on the second quadrant; (-, -) on the 3 rd quadrant; (+, -) on the
fourth quadrant.

Example:

The rectangular form of the vector above is designated as (1, √ ❑).

Polar Form
The polar form of describing direction of a vector gives the magnitude as the
length of the arrow from the pole or origin to the tip of the arrow head and the
direction as the angle the vector makes with the positive x-axis. If the rotation is
done in the counterclockwise direction, the angle is positive. If the rotation is done
in the clockwise direction, the angle is negative.

Example:

The polar form of the vector above is designated as (2, +60°) or (2, -300 o).

Sometimes, it is convenient to consider the rectangular form of the vector.

Sometimes, it is more convenient to use the polar form to show the distance and
the direction. Trigonometry is used to convert from one form to the other.

Example: Convert the rectangular form, (4, 9), of the vector below to its polar
form.

The magnitude of the vector is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs of
lengths 4 and 9. To find its magnitude, the Pythagorean Theorem is used.

To find the direction, the inverse tangent is used of the angle whose opposite side
has length of 9 and adjacent side has length of 4 units.
The polar form of the vector is (9.849, 66.038o)

Quadrantal Notation
In the quadrantal notation, the direction to a point is stated as the number of
degrees east or west of north or south. The angles are measured from the North to
East or West and South to East or West, 0° to 90°.

Three Figure Notation

In the three-figure notation, the direction to a point is stated as the angle measured
clockwise from the North 000° to 360°.

Example: N

Quadrantal notation: N 𝟑𝟎° E or E 60o N

Three Figure Notation: 030o

Quadrantal Notation Three Figure Notation

𝑵 𝟔𝟎° 𝑾 𝟑𝟎𝟎°
“means 60º west of north”
𝑺 𝟕𝟎° 𝑬 𝟏𝟏𝟎°
“means 30º east of south”
𝑺 𝟖𝟎° 𝑾 𝟐𝟔𝟎°
“means 30º west of south”

Bearing is the term used in navigation to indicate the direction when navigating the
sea (ship) or air (plane). Examples of application of bearing are in describing the
direction of a lighthouse from a ship’s heading and the direction of the ship from
the true North. A three-digit notation is used to represent the bearing of one-point
relative to another point.
Types of bearing are:
● True bearing

The true bearing to a point is the angle measured in degrees in a clockwise

direction from the True North (000°). It is reported using 3-digit notation
followed by (𝑇). It is the most common type of bearing and being referred
to as simply bearing.

● Relative bearing

Relative bearing is an angle measured in degrees in a clockwise direction

from the ship’s heading or from own ship’s centerline. It is reported using 3-
digit notation followed by the word “relative”.
Heading is the direction in which the bow of the ship is pointing, expressed
in an angular distance from North. Course angle refers to the direction an
object is actually moving.

● Reciprocal Bearing

Reciprocal bearing or back bearing is a bearing differing by 180°, or

measured in the opposite direction from a given bearing.

● Conventional Bearing

The conventional bearing of point is the number of degrees (clockwise or

counter clockwise) from the north-south line. It is reported using the
quadrant notation. If the position of a point is exactly west or east, then it
can be reported as “due East” or “due West” respectively. The numbers in
the conventional bearing format can be in decimal or degrees, minutes and
seconds with “N” or “S” as the prefix and “E” and “W” as the suffix.
Example: Bearing
 Bearing of A from B: 065o
Bearing of B from A: 245o

Example: True Bearing vs Relative Bearing

True Bearing: 135oT

Relative Bearing: 045o relative

Example: True Bearing vs. Reciprocal Bearing

 True Bearing: 060o T
Reciprocal Bearing: 240o
Example: True Bearing vs Conventional Bearing (The angle from the north is 51o)

True Bearing: 051oT

Conventional Bearing: N 51oE
Unit Vector
A unit vector is a vector with magnitude 1. The direction and orientation are
designated by the letters i, j and k. If the vector is along the the x-axis, the letter
used is i, j for the y-axis and k for the z axis. The positive (+) sign is attached if the
direction is towards the positive direction, negative (-) if the direction of the vector
is towards the negative direction.

Example:

The vectors in the above figure have a magnitude of 1, no units, and both are
parallel to a coordinate axis. These unit vectors are +i (parallel to the x-axis) and +j
(parallel to the y-axis).

A vector directed towards the left with magnitude of 5 units and parallel to the x-
axis is described as -5i. A vector directed downwards with magnitude of 10 and
parallel to the y-axis is described as -10j. A vector, say A, on the x-y plane not
parallel to either x-axis or y-axis will have i and j values, i.e. A = bi + cj. The signs
of b and c depends on the quadrant where A is located.

6.2 VECTOR ADDITION/SUBTRACTION

Mathematical operations involving scalar quantities re handled according to the

rules of ordinary Algebra. In the addition of mass for instance, 3kg + 5kg + 6kg =
14kg.

On the other hand, vectors are manipulated using a different set of rules. In the
addition of displacement (change in position) for instance, 5m, N + 4m, S = 1m, N.
Note that 5 + 4 in vector addition is not equal to 1 but 1m as in this case. This is
because the directions of the vectors being added are considered in the process.

Vector Addition

The sum of two or more vectors of the same kind is called the resultant vector. It is
a single vector that has the same effect as all the others put together. The
resultant vector can be determined using any of the following techniques:
1. Graphical
Vectors are added by drawing arrows representing vectors added to scale.
With the aid of a ruler, the length of the arrow is made proportional to the
magnitude of the vector it represents. The length of the arrow depends on
an arbitrarily chosen scale. A scale is a ratio showing the relationship
between the magnitude of the vector and the length of the arrow. A scale of
1km:1cm means that a displacement vector with the magnitude of 1km is
drawn to scale by drawing an arrow 1 cm long. The scale is used as a
“conversion factor” from the vector magnitude unit to the arrow length unit
and vice versa.

A protractor is used to orient the arrow according to the specified direction.

The angle based on the reference line is measured as accurately as
possible. The accuracy of the resultant obtained using the graphical
technique largely depends on the accuracy of the instrument used subject
to instrument and human errors.
a. Polygon or “Tail-to-head” Method
A polygon is a closed figure with three or more straight sides.
Examples of polygons are triangles, squares, quadrilateral,
tetrahedron, etc. In the polygon method of vector addition, vectors to
be added are drawn to scale successively in tail-to-head fashion.
Forming the sides of a polygon. The resultant is represented by an
arrow drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last
vector being added. The polygon method is conveniently applied in
the addition of two or more vectors.

The figure below shows how arrows are connected when adding a to
b. The resultant is c.
 a+b=c

R=A+B+C+D

b. Parallelogram or “Tail-to-tail” Method

A parallelogram is a quadrilateral or four-sided polygon with 2 pairs
of opposite sides equal and parallel. A square, rectangle and a
rhombus are examples of parallelogram. In the parallelogram
method of vector addition, the resultant is represented by the
diagonal of the parallelogram constructed by drawing the two vectors
being added in a tail-to-tail fashion. This method is conveniently
employed in the addition of two vectors. For more than two vectors,
the parallelogram method though still applicable may prove to be
tedious, cumbersome and time consuming.

The figure below shows how arrows are connected when adding A to
B. The resultant is R.

A+B=R
2. Analytical
The analytical method is a more accurate way of finding the resultant
vector. It does not require drawing of arrows to scale and measuring of
exact angles; hence, there is no need for a protractor and ruler. In the
analytical method, the resultant is computed using equations from
Trigonometry, Geometry and Algebra.
a. Trigonometric Method
The trigonometric method is conveniently used in adding two
vectors. The two arrows are drawn tail-to-head as in the polygon
method. Scale is not necessary, however, and the angles need not
be measured accurately. An estimate will do. When the resultant is
drawn to form a triangle, two cases may be encountered. Either the
triangle formed is a right triangle or an oblique triangle. Methods of
solving triangles are then applied to compute the resultant, the 6
trigonometric functions and Pythagorean Theorem for a right triangle
solution or the sine law and cos law for an oblique triangle case.

Right Triangle Case: Use the mnemonics SOH CAH TOA to

remember the right triangle formulas below:
Oblique Triangle Case
b. Component Method
The components of a vector, say A, are vectors which when added
vectorially will give the original vector. Thus, if A = A1 + A2, then A1
and A2 are said to be components of A. The process of getting the
components of a vector is called vector resolution. The rectangular
components of a vector are the components along the x-axis, y-axis,
and the z-axis. The x-component is the horizontal component. The y-
component is the vertical component of a vector.

In the figure below, suppose Ax and Ay are the rectangular

components of A such that A = Ax + Ay.

If a component vector points left (or down), a minus sign in front of

the components must be inserted to indicate the direction.

In terms of unit vectors, the x-component is the i, the y-component is

 the j, the z-component is the k. Unit vectors establish the directions
of the positive axes of the coordinate system. When decomposing a
vector, unit vectors provide a useful way
to write component vectors. The full decomposition of the vector A is
shown in the figure below.

The component method of vector addition is conveniently employed

in adding multiple vectors. The process is outline below:

Step 1. Each vector is resolved to its x- and y-components (or i and

j).
Use SOH CAH TOA.
Step 2. All the x - components are added. The sum is the x-
component
of the resultant, Rx (or Rxi).
Step 3. All the y-components are added. The sum is the y-
component
of the resultant, Ry (or Rxj)
Step 4: The magnitude of R is computed using the Pythagorean
Theorem.
Step 5: The quadrant where the resultant is located is determined by
the
sign of Rx and Ry.
Step 6: The direction of is specified by θ, the acute angle between
R and the nearest x-axis computed using the formula:
Ry /¿
θ = Tan -1 ¿ ¿ Rx /¿ ¿ ¿

Example: Vector Addition (One-dimension)

Example: Vector addition with vectors described using quadrantal form

The first trip segment of a car is 5 blocks east and 2 blocks north or (5, 2) in
quadrantal form. The first segment was followed by succeeding trips given by (-3,
7), (6, 8), (9, 12), and (-10,- 4). Find the resultant of all five trip segments. Express
answer in quadrantal form.

Solution:

Plotting the points:

Adding the x-coordinates:

(5-3+6+9-10) = 7

Adding the y-coordinates:

(2+7-8+12-4) = 9

The resultant is (7,9)

Example: Trigonometric Method (Right Triangle Case)

A hiker’s displacement is 4 miles to the east, then 3 miles to the north, as shown.
Find the resultant displacement.

Given: A = 4 mi, E
B = 3 mi, N

Find: C where C = A + B

Solution:

The magnitude of is given by the Pythagorean Theorem:

To describe the direction of C, the angle θ is determined:

The resultant displacement is:

C = 5mi, E 37o N or 37o N of E

Example: Find the x- and y-components of the acceleration vector a shown

below.
Given: a = 6.0m/s2, W 30o S
Find:
a. ax
b. ay

Solution:
a. USING CAH
cos 30o = adjacent/hypotenuse
= ax/a

ax = - a cos 30o
= -6.0 cos 30o
= -5.2 m/s2

b. USING SOH
sin 30o = opposite/hypotenuse
= ay/a

ay = - a sin 30o
= - 6.0 sin 30o
= - 3 m/s2

Example: Component Method

A ship leaves port and travels 47 miles on a bearing of 28° to get out of a bay. It
then turns and travels 94 miles on a bearing of 137° to reach its destination port.
Find the ship’s distance and bearing from port.
Given: Displacement 1 = 47 mi, 28o T
Displacement 2 = 94 mi, 138oT

Find: Resultant Displacement (Ship’s distance and bearing from port) where
Resultant Displacement = Displacement 1 + Displacement 2

Solution:

Using Trigonometry to convert the vectors from polar to rectangular form.

Using CAH to get the x-component of displacement 1, X1

Using SOH to get the y-component of displacement 1, Y1

Using CAH to get the x-component of displacement 2, Y2

Using SOH to get the y-component of displacement 2, Y2

The negative sign of the Y2 indicates that it is directed downwards or towards the
south.

Adding all the x-components to get the x-component of the resultant, XR:
XR = X1 + X2 = 22.07 + 64.11 = 86.17 mi

Adding all the y-components to get the y-component of the resultant,YR:

YR = Y1 + Y2 = 41.50 + (-68.75) = -27.25 mi

Using Pythagorean Theorem to get the magnitude of R:

XR

YR
 R

R = √ ❑ = √ ❑ = 91.38 mi
The resultant vector has an angle,

The ship is about 90 miles from port at a bearing of about 108°, T.

Vector Subtraction

Vectors are equivalent if they have the same length and point in the same
direction. The location of the vector on the coordinate plane does not matter.

Vectors equal in magnitude only but with opposite direction are the negative of
each other. The negative of a vector is another vector with the same magnitude
but with opposite direction. For example, if A = 2m, S, the negative of A or -A =
2m, N.

Subtracting a vector is the same as adding it to the negative of that vector.

A - B = A + -B

Example: If A = 4m, S and B = 3m, E 30oN, find A – B.

Given: A = 4m, S
B = 3m, E 30oN

θ=30o

-B
B

Find: A–B
Solution: Using unit vectors
- B = 3m, W 30o S
A - B = A + -B

Using unit vectors:

A = -4j
-B= -3cos 30oi + -3sin30oj
= -2.6i + -1.5j
A + -B =( -4j) + (-2.6i + -1.5j)
A - B = -2.6i – 5.5j (Final answer expressed in unit vectors)

-2.6i

θ
-5.5j

¿ √ ❑ = 6.1 m
θ = tan-1 (5.5/2.6)
= 64.7o

A – B = 6.1 m, W 64.7o S (Final answer expressed in Quadrantal form)

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

Watch the videos provided in the Learning Packet for additional information on the
topics discussed in this module.

REFERENCES
● Professor Dave Explains (2016). Scalars, vectors, and
vector operations. [Link]
v=sXKiAKn0WCM

● Professor Dave Explains (2018). Introduction to vectors

and their operations. [Link]
 v=KBSCMTYaH1s

● JABEE TV (2020). VECTOR ADDITION | Triangle &

Component Method | Analytical & Graphical | Physics
(Tagalog/Filipino). [Link]
v=pIp4UCMeFgg