Vector Basics and Operations

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Questions and Answers

What is the fundamental characteristic of a vector?

  • Neither magnitude nor direction
  • Both magnitude and direction (correct)
  • Only magnitude
  • Only direction

How can vectors be graphically represented?

  • As lines in a coordinate plane
  • As circles in a coordinate plane
  • As curves in a coordinate plane
  • As arrows in a coordinate plane (correct)

What is the result of subtracting one vector from another?

  • A vector of zero magnitude
  • The opposite vector (correct)
  • A scalar value
  • The sum of the two vectors

What is the property of vector addition that states the order of vectors does not change the result?

<p>Commutative Property (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How can the magnitude of a vector be calculated?

<p>Using the Pythagorean theorem (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of unit vectors in describing the direction of a vector?

<p>To describe the direction of a vector (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Vector Basics

  • A vector is a mathematical object with both magnitude (length) and direction.
  • Vectors can be represented graphically as arrows in a coordinate plane.
  • Vectors can be added and scaled (multiplied by a number).

Vector Operations

  • Vector Addition: Two or more vectors can be added by combining their corresponding components.
    • Example: a = &lt;1, 2&gt;, b = &lt;3, 4&gt; then a + b = &lt;1+3, 2+4&gt; = &lt;4, 6&gt;
  • Scalar Multiplication: A vector can be multiplied by a number (scalar) to change its magnitude.
    • Example: a = &lt;1, 2&gt;, k = 2 then ka = 2&lt;1, 2&gt; = &lt;2, 4&gt;
  • Vector Subtraction: Subtracting one vector from another is equivalent to adding the opposite vector.
    • Example: a = &lt;1, 2&gt;, b = &lt;3, 4&gt; then a - b = a + (-b) = &lt;1, 2&gt; + &lt;-3, -4&gt; = &lt;-2, -2&gt;

Vector Properties

  • Commutative Property: The order of vectors does not change the result of vector addition.
    • Example: a + b = b + a
  • Associative Property: The order in which vectors are added does not change the result.
    • Example: (a + b) + c = a + (b + c)
  • Distributive Property: Scalar multiplication can be distributed over vector addition.
    • Example: k(a + b) = ka + kb

Vector Magnitude and Direction

  • Magnitude (Length): The length of a vector can be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem.
    • Example: a = &lt;3, 4&gt; then |a| = sqrt(3^2 + 4^2) = 5
  • Direction: The direction of a vector can be described using angles or unit vectors.
    • Example: a = &lt;3, 4&gt; then the direction of a is tan^-1(4/3) or a/|a| = &lt;3/5, 4/5&gt;

Unit Vectors

  • Unit Vectors: Vectors with a magnitude of 1, used to describe direction.
  • i, j, k: Unit vectors in the x, y, and z directions, respectively.
    • Example: a = 3i + 4j then a is a vector with a magnitude of 5 in the direction of tan^-1(4/3)

Vector Basics

  • A vector is a mathematical object with both magnitude (length) and direction.
  • Vectors can be represented graphically as arrows in a coordinate plane.
  • Vectors can be added and scaled (multiplied by a number).

Vector Operations

  • Vectors can be added by combining their corresponding components.
  • Scalar multiplication can change the magnitude of a vector by multiplying it by a number.
  • Vector subtraction is equivalent to adding the opposite vector.

Vector Addition

  • The order of vectors does not change the result of vector addition (Commutative Property).
  • The order in which vectors are added does not change the result (Associative Property).

Scalar Multiplication

  • Scalar multiplication can be distributed over vector addition (Distributive Property).

Vector Magnitude and Direction

  • The magnitude (length) of a vector can be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem.
  • The direction of a vector can be described using angles or unit vectors.

Unit Vectors

  • Unit vectors have a magnitude of 1 and are used to describe direction.
  • i, j, and k are unit vectors in the x, y, and z directions, respectively.
  • Unit vectors can be used to describe the direction of a vector.

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