Physical Science 1

Scalar and Vector Quantity

Module 1 Scalar and Vector Quantity
Physical science is a field that tries to explain natural
phenomena, usually, through quantitative measurements. It is
therefore important that you understand the nature of the
measurement you are dealing with. It may be a scalar or a
vector quantity. This module is designed for you to learn about
Scalar and Vector quantities.
Commented [O1]: SME: Why just scalar quantities?
Why not include vector quantities as well? The course
“Physical Science” is a combination of more than one
branch of science. You might run out of weeks to cover all
topics that need to be considered for the course.
Commented [O2]: SME: The course content that you
will develop is on “Physical Science”. Please start
developing the concept of physics from “Physical Science”

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Define what a scalar quantity is.
2. Define what a vector quantity is.
3. Identify and gGive examples of scalar quantities.
2.4. Give examples of vector quantities.

Learning about scalar and vector quantities is important since

it will help you to further understand the succeeding modules
that will be involving both scalar and vector quantities.

What is a Scalar Quantity?

A scalar is a type of quantity or measurement that is limited with the
magnitude or size of a quantitative measurement of an object. Since it is a Commented [O3]: SME: Please elaborate your
measurement, there must be a unit of measure that must always be attached discussion about scalar quantities.

to it. Numbers alone are not considered scalar. As an example, 512 is a

number that is meaningless and is not considered as a scalar quantity unless
a unit of measure is attached to it to such as meters to denote that it is a
distance or seconds to denote that it is time.

Scalar Quantities
As stated in the definition of a scalar quantity, only the magnitude of a
measurement is involved in this type of quantity. There is no directional
component present. The list below gives the common examples of scalar
quantities.

1. Time
It is the measurement of the progression of events. It is what a clock
measures. Time may be expressed in seconds, minutes, hours, days,
months, and years.

Examples:
a. 5 seconds or 5 s
b. 15 minutes or 15 mins
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Scalar and Vector Quantity

c. 2.5 hours or 2.5 hrs

2. Mass
It is the amount of matter present in an object. Mass may be expressed
in grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds, tons, and so on.

Examples:
a. 100 grams or 100 g
b. 50 kilograms or 50 kg
c. 7 tons

3. Volume
It defines the amount of space occupied by an object. Volume may be
expressed in liters, milliliters, pints, and so on.

Examples:
a. 200 Liters or 200 L
b. 80 milliliters or 80 mL
c. 20 pints

4. Distance
It gives the amount of space covered by an object during its motion.
Distance may be expressed in meters, kilometers, inches, feet, miles,
and so on.

Examples:
a. 90 meters or 90 m
b. 25 kilometers or 25 km
c. 16 feet or 16 ft

5. Speed
It tells you how fast an object covers a certain distance.
Mathematically, it is the ratio of distance with respect to time. Speed
may be expressed in meters per second, miles per minute, kilometers
per hour, and so on.

Examples:
a. 65 meters per second or 65 m/s
b. 30 miles per minute or 30 M/min
c. 40 kilometers per hour or 40 km/hr
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Scalar and Vector Quantity

6. Temperature
It tells you how hot or how cold an object is. Temperatures are often
expressed in Kelvin, degrees Celsius, and degrees Fahrenheit.

Examples:
a. 300 Kelvin or 300 K
b. 100 degrees Celsius or 100°C
c. 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 400°F

What is a Vector Quantity?

A vector is a type of quantity or measurement that involves both the
magnitude or size of a quantitative measurement and a directional
component. The directional component simply denotes where the vector is
pointed at or directed to. Words such as North, South, East, West, left, right,
up, and down are often used to signify the direction of a vector.

Vector Quantities
As explained above, vectors involve both the magnitude of the measured
quantity and a directional component. The absence of a directional
component means the quantity is not a vector. The list below gives the
common examples of vector quantities.

1. Displacement
It refers to how far out of place an object is based from its original
position. This quantity is often misunderstood as distance since they
have the same unit. Note that a change in position is not the same as
the amount of covered space.

Examples
a. 5 meters North or 5 m North
b. 90 miles down or 90 M down
c. 7 kilometers left or 7 km left

2. Velocity
It tells you how fast an object has changed in position. Mathematically,
it is the ratio of displacement with respect to time. This quantity is
often mistaken as speed since they have the same unit. Note that
speed has no direction involved unlike velocity.

Examples
a. 25 meters per second West or 25 m/s West
b. 10 miles per minute up or 10 M/min up
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Scalar and Vector Quantity

c. 70 kilometers per hour right or 70 km/hr right

3. Acceleration
It is the rate at which velocity changes with respect to time.
Mathematically, it is the ratio of velocity over time. It is commonly
expressed in terms of meters per second squared and kilometer per
hour squared.

Examples
a. 15 meters per second squared West or 15 m/s2 West
b. 20 miles per minute squared down or 20 M/min2 down
c. 50 kilometers per hour squared right or 50 km/hr2 right

4. Momentum
It refers to the amount of movement of an object. Mathematically, it is
the product of the mass of a moving object and its velocity. It is
expressed in units such as grams meter per second, kilograms
kilometers per hour, kilograms miles per minute, and so on.

Examples
a. 17 grams meters per second East or 17 gm/s East
b. 12 kilograms miles per minute up or 12 kgM/min up
c. 35 kilograms kilometers per hour lefy or 35 kgkm/hr left

Glossary

Magnitude: It refers to the size, amount, or quantity alone.

Kelvin: It is the base unit of a measure of thermodynamic temperature in the

International System of units (SI) and is based on the absolute
temperature scale. It is denoted by the symbol K.

Celsius: It is a unit of measure of temperature where water freezes at 0°C and

boils at 100°C. It is denoted by the symbol C.

Fahrenheit: It is a temperature scale where water freezes at 32°F and boils at

212°F. It is denoted by the symbol F

References and Supplementary Materials Commented [O4]: SME: Please provide the glossary
here as indicated in the template provided.
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Scalar and Vector Quantity

Paul G. Hewitt, John A. Suchocki, Leslie A. Hewitt; 2017; Conceptual Physical

Scicene, 6th Edition; San Francisco; Pearson
Commented [O5]: SME: Please provide the references
Examples of Vector and Scalar Quantity in Physics; here as indicated in the template provided.

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-vector-scalar-quantity-
physics.html; March 2, 2017

Kelvin; http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/kelvin-K, March 9, 2017

Celsius; http://www.yourdictionary.com/celsius; March 9,2017

Fahrenheit; http://www.dictionary.com/browse/fahrenheit; March 9, 2017

Scalar quantities only contain magnitude. There is no direction

involved. Once you see a direction involved, it is now a vector
quantity. Commented [O6]: SME: If this is not part of the
discussion, please place this inside a box.