Vector A has a magnitude of 3 meters. Its direction is “60 degrees above the positive x -axis.” Vector B
also has a magnitude of 3 meters. Its direction is “â degrees above the negative x -axis.” Vector C has a
magnitude of 1.5 meters. Its direction is “in the negative y -direction” or “90 degrees below the x -axis.”
Vector Components
Any vector can be broken into its x - and y -components. Here’s what we mean:
Place your finger at the tail of the vector in Figure 9.2 (that’s the end of the vector that does not have a
on it). Let’s say that you want to get your finger to the head of the vector without moving diagonally. You
would have to move your finger three units to the right and four units up. Therefore, the magnitude of left–
right component (x -component) of the vector is “3 units” and the magnitude of up–down (y -component)
of the vector is “4 units.”
Figure 9.2 Breaking vectors into x - and y -components.If your languages of choice are Greek and math, then you may prefer this explanation:Given a vector V with magnitude v directed at an angle è above the horizontal,You may want to check to see that these formulas work by plugging in the values from our last example.