Vector Quantities - zpqngdm - pg2

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Questions and Answers

A physicist is analyzing the forces acting on a bridge. They model one force as having a magnitude of 500 N and acting at an angle of 30 degrees to the horizontal. How should this force be treated in calculations concerning the bridge's stability?

The force's direction should be ignored, and only the magnitude used as a scalar is relevant.
It should be treated as a scalar quantity, where only the magnitude affects the calculations.
It should be resolved into horizontal and vertical components and treated as vector quantities. (correct)
It can be treated as either a scalar or vector depending on convenience.

A cartographer measures the distance between two cities. They also note the direction one city lies relative to the other. The distance is 500km. What is the most accurate way to represent this information?

Only record the distance as the primary measurement.
Combine both distance and direction into a vector quantity for navigation purposes. (correct)
Represent the distance as a scalar and the direction as descriptive text.
Record both the distance and the direction as separate scalar quantities.

In a physics simulation, an object's velocity changes from 5 m/s east to 10 m/s northeast over 5 seconds. How should this change be analyzed to determine the object's acceleration?

Ignore the directional components and treat the change as a simple difference in magnitude.
Resolve both velocities into components, calculate the change in each component, and then find the resulting acceleration vector. (correct)
Average the initial and final speeds and divide by the time interval.
Calculate the change in speed as a scalar and divide by the time interval.

During a weather report, the wind speed is given as 30 km/h from the northwest. If an engineer needs to calculate the force exerted by the wind on a building, how should they use this information?

Resolve the wind speed into its north and west components to accurately calculate directional forces. (B) Signup and view all the answers

A delivery driver travels 10 km east and then 15 km north. To determine the driver's overall displacement from the starting point, how should these movements be treated?

Treat the movements as vector components and use Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of the displacement vector. (D) Signup and view all the answers

A surveyor measures two sides of a rectangular field. Side A is 50 meters long, and side B is 75 meters long. To calculate the perimeter, how are these measurements treated?

The sides are treated as scalars and doubled then added together using scalar addition. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Two tugboats are towing a ship. Tugboat A exerts a force of 3000 N at an angle of 20 degrees, and Tugboat B exerts a force of 4000 N at an angle of 340 degrees. What is the correct approach to determine the net force on the ship?

Resolve each force into its x and y components, then add the corresponding components to find the net force vector. (A) Signup and view all the answers

Consider a scenario where you are analyzing the motion of a projectile launched at an angle. At the peak of its trajectory, which quantities are scalars and which are vectors?

The projectile's speed is a scalar quantity, and the velocity (both horizontal and vertical if non-zero) is a vector. (B) Signup and view all the answers

A radar system detects an aircraft flying at 800 km/h in a direction 30 degrees east of north. How should air traffic control utilize this information to predict the aircraft's position after 15 minutes?

Resolve the velocity into northward and eastward components and use these to calculate the change in position. (A) Signup and view all the answers

When calculating work done by a force, if the force vector and displacement vector are perpendicular, what is the amount of work done?

The work done is zero because the force does not contribute to displacement in that direction. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Scalar vs. Vector

Scalar quantities are described by magnitude only, while vector quantities need both magnitude and direction.

Additive Property of Scalars

The original area equals the sum of the smaller areas. Scalar quantities add arithmetically.

Temperature Difference

A scalar quantity, based only on the magnitude of temperature changes.

Scalar effects on a balloon

Assess the scalar temperature change's impact on air density and the scalar mass's impact on weight independently.