Vectors

Vectors are quantities with direction and magnitude represented by arrows. The length of arrow
indicates magnitude. Displacement, velocity, and acceleration are all vectors. Time and mass are scalars.
The magnitude of a vector is an example of a scalar. Vectors are represented by bold letters whereas
scalars are represented by italicized letters. When two vectors are added together, it creates a new
vector. When two vectors are subtracted from each another, it also creates a new vector. A vector can
be multiplied by a scalar; it has the same direction if the scalar is positive, but magnitude changes.
Direction reverses if the scalar is negative. A vector can be multiplied by another vector, and its dot
product shows their tendencies to point in the same direction ( A ● B = AB cos theta ). If A and B are
perpendicular the dot product is zero. The cross product of two vectors is a new vector perpendicular to
the plane of the two original vectors. Its length is the area of the parallelogram formed by the original
vectors. Its direction is determined by the right hand rule. The cross product measures tendency of two
vectors to be perpendicular, and is useful for describing spinning or rotating objects. Vector components
consist of a vertical and horizontal vector. A 3-d vector is written as xi + yj + zk.