Scalars and Vectors

Mathematics is the language of physics. With it, we can quantitatively describe the world around us. In mechanics, we will use two types of quantities to represent concepts like force, mass and time numerically. These two types are known as scalars and vectors.

Goals

Learn the definitions of scalars and vectors. See some examples of vector and scalar quantities. Translate vectors to and from their components. Understand how to add, subtract and multiply vectors.

Definitions
Scalar: Scalars are used to describe one dimensional quantities, that is, quantities which require only one number to completely describe them. Examples of scalar quantities are: Temperature Time Speed Mass

Location Along a Line (1D)

Vector: Vectors are used to describe multi-dimensional quantities. Multi-dimensional quantities are those which require more than one number to completely describe them. Vectors, unlike scalars, have two characteristics, magnitude and direction. Examples of vector quantities are: Location in a Plane (2D) Location in Space (3D) Velocity Acceleration Force

Note: The drawings on this page contain many vector diagrams. We will use colors to distinguish what each vector represents. The table below shows the color scheme that we will be using from now on. Vector Color Meaning

Arbitrary Vectors (Red)

Vectors in X Direction (Blue)

Vectors in Y Direction (Green)

Resultant Vectors (Black)

Coordinate Axes (Gray)

Vector Diagrams
We use vector diagrams to visualize what is going on in a physical system. Even though we can work out most problems algebraically, a picture can help point out subtleties of a problem. The first step when solving any problem in physics is to draw a picture.

The following diagram illustrates two points. The first is the concept of the tip and the tail of a vector. With vectors, direction is very important so we put an arrowhead in the direction that the vector is going. This is sometimes called the tip of a vector. The other end is usually called the tail. The second concept that the diagram shows is that two vectors with the same magnitude and direction are the same. This allows us to move vectors around the coordinate system to help simplify the math involved with them.

Expressing Vectors Using Components

Vectors can be expressed in terms of their magnitude and direction or in terms of their components. Being able to translate between the two representations is an essential skill in physics. The magnitude of a vector is its length. The direction is usually given in terms of some angle.

When dealing with vectors it is usually much more convenient to break them up into component vectors. Component vectors are vectors which run parallel to the coordinate axes. For instance, a two-dimensional vector has two component vectors, one in the X direction, and one in the Y direction. The diagram below shows a two dimensional vector and its components.

The length and components for vector A, and the angle ("Phi") are computed as:

Vector Addition
The following diagram illustrates a vector sum. Notice that we may move the tail of the second vector to the tip of the first vector to get the resultant vector. It does not matter which vector is moved, as long as the are tip-to-tail with each other.

Once the vectors are expressed as their independent components, it is possible to add them. Since each component is a scalar they may added normally to the same component of the other vector. Conceptually, it looks like the following diagram.

Multiplication of a Vector by a Scalar

A vector may be multiplied by a scalar by multiplying each of its components by that number. Notice that the vector does not change direction, only length. If A = (1,2) then 3A = (3,6). This is shown pictorially below.

A special case of vector multiplication is when we multiply a vector by -1. This causes the vector to reverse direction. We will use this property to perform vector subtraction.

Vector Subtraction
The vector difference works the same as vector addition except that we multiply the vector we are subtracting by -1. It is much like subtracting two numbers: A - B = A + (-B). The diagram below illustrates vector subtraction in the tip-to-tail style. The original B vector is shown as a dotted line.

Remember that the order of the vectors being subtracted is important. If you get them backward, the resultant will be in the opposite direction. ie. A - B = -(B - A)