When we are specifying quantity, there are times where magnitude will do the job. For example, if you want to express how old you are, you simply tell me that you are 18 years old. But what if you wanted to tell me how to get to your house from the school? Is saying 100 m enough? Why or why not? ___________________________________________________________________
1- Geometrically: line segments without reference to coordinate system
2- Algebraically: line segments on a coordinate plane
Geometric Vectors:
A vector is represented by an arrow:
Important: The size (length) of the arrow shows the magnitude of the vector and the orientation of arrow shows the direction.
Note: A vector has no fixed position. You can move a vector anywhere that suits you provided its magnitude and direction remain fixed.
Notation: Vectors can be represented using any of the following 3 notations:
Magnitude:
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | or |𝑣|. The magnitude of a vector
The notation of representing the magnitude of a vector is |𝐴𝐵 is non-negative.
Practice: a) Given the vector 𝑎 , draw a vector 𝑏⃗ with twice the magnitude and same direction
b) Given the vector 𝑎 , draw a vector 𝑏⃗ with the same magnitude but a direction that is 180° rotated
c) Given the vector 𝑎 , draw a perpendicular vector 𝑏⃗ with 3 times the magnitude
Opposite Vectors: Opposite vectors are vectors that have the same magnitude but point in the opposite direction
The properties of opposite vectors are as follows
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ = −𝐵𝐴 𝐴𝐵 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | = |𝐵𝐴 |𝐴𝐵 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ |
Visually, the vectors must be parallel to each other and point in opposite directions. Equal Vectors:
Equivalent Vectors are vectors that have the same magnitude and direction. Visually, they are represented by using directed line segments that are ______________ and have the same _____________. In this diagram, 𝑝, 𝑞 and 𝑟 are all equivalent vectors. Furthermore, we can write 𝑝 = 𝑞 = 𝑟.
Equivalent vectors are coincident. Thus, if we pick them up, the vectors can lie perfectly on top of each other.
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ and 𝐶𝐷 Vectors 𝐴𝐵 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ are said to be equal iff: B D
1) ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐴𝐵 || ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐶𝐷 2) 𝐴𝐵 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐶𝐷 point in the same direction ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | = |𝐶𝐷 3) |𝐴𝐵 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | A C
Example: Figure ABCD in the diagram is a parallelogram. F is the point of intersection of its diagonals. By recalling relevant properties of a parallelogram, name all equal vectors in the diagram.
Example: Figure ABCD in the diagram is a parallelogram. F is the point of intersection of its ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | = 12 𝑐𝑚 and |𝐴𝐷 diagonals. |𝐴𝐵 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | = 5 𝑐𝑚 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | . Determine |𝐹𝐵 Algebraic Vectors:
Representation of vectors on a coordinate plane is called
algebraic representation.
In the diagram, the vector 𝑎 = (2,0) is a vector with its head at
(2, 0) and its tail at the origin. The magnitude of this vector is 2. How do we know that?
