Coordinate Systems & Vectors

Coordinate Systems and Frames of

Reference
The location of a point on a line can be described by one coordinate;
a point on a plane can be described by two coordinates; a point in a
three dimensional volume can be described by three coordinates. In
general, the number of coordinates equals the number of dimensions.
A coordinate system consists of:
1. a fixed reference point (origin)
2. a set of axes with specified directions and scales
3. instructions that specify how to label a point in space relative to the origin
and axes

Coordinate Systems

In 1 dimension, only 1 kind of system,

Linear Coordinates
(x)
+/-

In 2 dimensions there are two commonly used systems,

Cartesian Coordinates
(x,y)

Polar Coordinates
(r,)

In 3 dimensions there are three commonly used systems,

Cartesian Coordinates
(x,y,z)

Cylindrical Coordinates
(r,,z)

Spherical Coordinates
(r,,)

Cartesian coordinate system

also called rectangular

coordinate system
x and y axes
points are labeled (x,y)

Plane polar coordinate system

origin and reference line

are noted
point is distance r from
the origin in the direction
of angle
points are labeled (r,)

The relation between coordinates

x = rcos

y = r sin

Furthermore, it follows that

r = x 2 + y2
y
tan =
x

Problem: A point is located in polar coordinate system by the coordinate r = 2.5

and = 35 .
Find the x and y coordinates of this point, assuming the two coordinate
systems have the same origin.

Example :
The Cartesian coordinates of a point are given by
(x,y)= (-3.5,-2.5) meter. Find the polar coordinate
of this point.
Solution:

r = x 2 + y 2 = (3.5) 2 + (2.5) 2 = 4.3m

y 2.5
tan = =
= 0.714
x 3.5

= 180 + 36 = 216
Note that you must use the signs of x and y to find that is in the
third quadrant of coordinate system. That is = 216 not 36

Scalars and Vectors

Scalars have magnitude only. Length, time, mass,
speed and volume are examples of scalars .

Vectors have magnitude and direction .The magnitude of v

is

written v
Position, displacement, velocity, acceleration and force are
examples of vector quantities.

Properties of Vectors
Equality of Two Vectors
Two vectors are equal if they have the same magnitude and the
same direction

Movement of vectors in a diagram

Any vector can be moved parallel to itself without being affected

Negative Vectors
Two vectors are negative if they have the same magnitude
but are 180 apart (opposite directions)

Multiplication or division of a vector by a scalar results in a vector

for which
(a) only the magnitude changes if the scalar is positive
(b) the magnitude changes and the direction
is reversed if the scalar is negative.

Adding Vectors
When adding vectors, their directions must be taken
into account and units must be the same
First: Graphical Methods
Second: Algebraic Methods

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Adding Vectors Graphically

(Triangle Method)
Continue drawing the vectors
tip-to-tail
The resultant is drawn from
the origin of A to the end of
the last vector
Measure the length of R and
its angle

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When you have many

vectors, just keep
repeating the process
until all are included
The resultant is still drawn
from the origin of the first
vector to the end of the
last vector

General physics I, lec 2

By: T.A.Eleyan

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Alternative Graphical Method

(Parallelogram Method)
When you have only two
vectors, you may use the
Parallelogram Method
All vectors, including the
resultant, are drawn from
a common origin
The remaining sides of
the parallelogram are
sketched to determine
the diagonal, R
General physics I, lec 2

By: T.A.Eleyan

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Vector Subtraction
Special case of vector addition
If A B, then use A+(-B)
Continue with standard vector
addition procedure

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Components of a Vector

These are the projections

of the vector along the
x- and y-axes

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The x-component of a vector is the projection along the x-axis

Ax = A cos
The y-component of a vector is the projection along the y-axis

Ay = A sin

A
= Ax + A y

Then,

A= A +A
2
x

2
y

and

= tan

Ay
Ax
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Adding Vectors Algebraically

(1)Choose a coordinate system and sketch the vectors
(2)Find the x- and y-components of all the vector
(3)Add all the x-components
This gives Rx:

Rx = v x

(4)Add all the y-components

This gives Ry

Ry = v y
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(5)find the magnitude of the Resultant

R = R +R
2
x

2
y

Use the inverse tangent function to find the direction of

R:

= tan

Ry
Rx

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Unit Vectors

A Unit Vector is a vector having

length 1 and no units
It is used to specify a direction.
Unit vector u points in the direction of
U
Often denoted with a hat: u =

U = |U|

Useful examples are the cartesian

unit vectors [ i, j, k ]
Point in the direction of the
x, y and z axes.
R = r x i + ry j + rz k

j
k

z
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Example :
A particle undergoes three consecutive displacements given
by
d 1 = (i + 3 j k )cm, d 2 = (2i j 3k )cm d 3 = (i + j)cm
Find the resultant displacement of the particle
Solution:

R = d 1 + d 2 + d 3 = (1 + 2 1)i + (3 1 + 1) j + (1 3 + 0)k
R = (2i + 3 j 4k )cm
The resultant displacement has component

R x = 2cm, R y = 3cm, R z = 4cm

The magnitude is

R = R 2 x + R 2 y + R 2 z = 5.39cm

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Product of a vector
There are two different ways in which we can usefully define the
multiplication of two vectors

1-The scalar product

(dot product )

A.B = A B cos
Each of the lengths |A| and |B| is a number and
is number, so
A.B is not a vector but a number or scalar. This is why it's called the
scalar product.
Special cases of the dot product
Since i and j and k are all one unit in length and they are all mutually
perpendicular, we have
i.i = j.j = k.k = 1
and i.j = j.i = i.k = k.i = j.k = k.j = 0.
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The angle between the two vector

If A and B both have x,y and z components, we express them in
the form

A = A xi + A y j + Azk

B = Bx i + B y j + Bz k

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2- The vector product

(cross product)

A.B = AB sin n

Special cases of the cross product

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Problem 1: Find the sum of two vectors A and B lying in the xy plane and given
by

A = (2i + 2 j )m, B = (2i 4 j )m

Problem 2: A particle undergoes three consecutive displacements :

d1 = (15i + 30 j 12k )cm, d 2 = (23i 14 j 5k )cm,

d 3 = (13i + 15 j )cm
Find the components of the resultant displacement and its magnitude.

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