VECTORS
Definition
A vector is a quantity that contains information about both magnitude and direction
and also obeys the commutative law for addition, which we’ll explain in a
moment. A quantity that does not involve direction is a scalar. For example, 55
miles per hour is a scalar quantity, while 55 miles per hour, to the north is a
vector quantity. Speed and distance are scalar quantities. Other examples of scalars
include: mass, work, energy, power, temperature, and electric charge.
Distance
Distance is a scalar
quantity. It refers to the
amount of ground an
object has covered.The scalars of distance and speed are paired with the vectors of displacement and
velocity, respectively.
Vectors can be denoted in several ways, including:
In textbooks, you’ll usually see the first one, but when it’s handwritten you’ll see
one of the last two. In this book we will show all vector quantities in bold. For
example, A would be the scalar quantity, and A the vector quantity.
Graphically, a vector is represented as an arrow whose length represents the
magnitude and whose direction represents, well, the direction.