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Understanding Scalar and Vector Quantities

The document explains scalar quantities, which are defined by magnitude alone and do not have direction, with examples including height, time, mass, and temperature. It also discusses unit vectors, which have a magnitude of one and indicate direction, represented by a cap symbol. Additionally, it covers the concept of zero vectors and position vectors, which represent the location of points in relation to a fixed origin.

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2 views55 pages

Understanding Scalar and Vector Quantities

The document explains scalar quantities, which are defined by magnitude alone and do not have direction, with examples including height, time, mass, and temperature. It also discusses unit vectors, which have a magnitude of one and indicate direction, represented by a cap symbol. Additionally, it covers the concept of zero vectors and position vectors, which represent the location of points in relation to a fixed origin.

Uploaded by

chronalykan
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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APPLIED PHYSICS

SABEEN AKHTAR
Sr. Lecturer
Scalar Quantity Definition
• The physical quantities which have only magnitude are
known as scalar quantities.
• It is fully described by a magnitude or a numerical value.
• Scalar quantity does not have directions.
• In other terms, a scalar is a measure of quantity.
Scalar Quantity Examples
• the height of a tower is 15 meters, then the height of the
tower is a scalar quantity as it needs only the magnitude of
height to define itself.
• the time taken to complete a piece of work is 3 hours, then
in this case also to describe time just need the magnitude i.e.
3 hours.
Other examples of scalar quantities are mass, speed, energy,
density, volume, temperature, distance, work etc
Unit Vector
A unit vector has a length (or magnitude) equal to
one, which is basically used to show the direction of
any vector. A unit vector is equal to the ratio of a
vector and its magnitude.

Unit Vector is represented by the symbol ‘^’, which is


called a cap or hat, such as: â. It is given by
Where |a| is the magnitude of vector a.
Zero or null vector:
A vector having zero magnitude
(arbitrary direction) is called the null
(zero) vector.
The zero vector is unique.
For eg:- A point have no magnitude and
an arbitrary direction.

Position Vectors:
The vector OP which represents the position
of the point P with respect to a fixed point O
(called origin) is called a position vector of he
point P. If P(x,y,z) are coordinates of the point
P, then OP =xî+yĵ+z𝒌 ෡

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