Peter's Physics Pages
Peter's Index Physics Home Lecture 2b Course Index Lecture 4
Bridging Course - Lecture 3 (Vectors and Scalars)
In this lecture the following are introduced:
Descartes and Cartesian co-ordinates
Vectors and scalars
Polar co-ordinates
Adding vectors sequentially and simultaneously
Subtracting vectors
Vector components and adding by components
Where am I?
This question has either many answers or none; because it is incomplete.
In spatial terms it probably asks: "where am I, with reference to my home, or my destination?"
Cartesian Coordinates
Rene Descartes (1596 to 1650) said, we need a
reference point and reference direction and
from this we can uniquely identify every point in a plane (or in space). He continued with this approach and created what is known as Coordinate Geometry. |
The Cartesian co-ordinate system has an origin and two (or three) perpendicular axes, "x" and "y" (and "z").
A point is space is specified by co-ordinates along each axis. |
Distance and displacement
Once we can uniquely define where we are, we have to distinguish between distance and displacement.
The distance you measure between two points depends
on the actual path you take between the points (and there are an infinite number of paths you can take!). |
The displacement has the length and direction of the minimum straight-line between the two points. |
Vectors and Scalars
Because displacement has both length and direction, two numbers are needed to describe it.
It is called a "vector" quantity. Distance only needs one number. Quantities that are described by one number are called "scalars".
Examples of scalars are mass, angle and time.
To distinguish between vectors and scalars, textbooks use boldface type for vectors and plainface for scalars.
You need to distinguish between displacement (written as r) and distance (written as r).
In Cartesian co-ordinates: | |
A vector of length one unit (a "unit vector") along the x-axis is written as
i and a unit vector along the y-axis is written as j.
Hence rx = rxi and ry = ryj. |
Polar co-ordinates
There is another system called the Polar co-ordinate system, where you specify a displacement by its straight-line length and its angle from the reference direction. In the Polar co-ordinate system, |
Example: an angle which is 22O towards the East of South.
Angle conventions
|
Circular measure
|
The angle between two vectors
This can be tricky at times, so it is best to put the two "tails" of the arrows together and then measure the smaller angle. |
Changing between Cartesian and Polar
r = (400m, 300m) in Cartesian notation is shown in the diagram below. |
For Polar notation with maths angle convention. so, r = (500m, 370) |
Adding displacements
Displacements add in a different way from familiar quantities like mass, angle and time. One way to show how they add is to draw a scale diagram. Here are two displacements, 3000 km Sydney to Darwin then 2600 km Darwin to Perth. They are equal to a 3200 km displacement Sydney to Perth. |
This triangle diagram is clear when the displacements are
sequential.
In the triangle method you place the tail of the second arrow on the head of the first arrow and then join start to finish. When things happen simultaneously, a parallelogram diagram is appropriate (though in practice, either can be used for either situation). |
Subtracting vectors
To subtract vectors you simply add the negative. The negative of a vector has the same size but is in the opposite direction to its positive direction. |
Formal definition of Vector quantities
Vectors are quantities which have
size (or magnitude),
direction, and
add like displacements.
Force
A force is a physical push or pull. It is vector quantity because both size and direction matter. The size is measured in a unit called the Newton. When a force is seen to have effects at right angles, the parts of the force in those directions are called "components".
This can be seen in the case of a yacht where the wind force (at right angle to the sail area) pushes the yacht forward but also tilts it sideways.
We can express this in a diagram this as follows |
Component Notation
If North is vertically up the page, then θ is an azimuthal angle and in polar coordinates, the force F = (F , θ).
It would be written in Cartesian notation (with x as the East direction) as (F·Sinθ , F·Cosθ)
But note carefully:
If the maths convention is to be used, then the angle would be the complement of θ (i.e. 90O - θ) and so the force
would be written in Cartesian notation as (F·Cosθ , F·Sinθ)
Adding by components
Instead of scale diagrams it is often more accurate to add vectors by using the method of components.
For example, adding two vectors (with the maths convention for angles). Let the vectors be A=(A , α) and B=(B , β)
Taking components, i.e. expressing in Cartesian form, A = (A·Cosα , A·Sinα ) and
B = (B·Cosβ , B·Sinβ )
The magnitude of the sum is written as: |
and the angle is |
The sum is thus, (|A+B|,θ).
Vector addition example 1
Add the vectors (3,13) and (4,7) then subtract (2,8) and express the result in polar form.
Vector addition example 2
Add the vectors (2,30O) and (3,45O) then subtract (1,60O), (where the angles follow the maths convention). Express the result in Cartesian form.
Summarising:
The Cartesian co-ordinate system has an origin and perpendicular axes. A point is space is specified by co-ordinates along each axis.
The distance between two points depends on the actual path you take.
The displacement has the length and direction of the minimum straight-line between the two points.
Polar coordinates have a straight-line length in a specified direction.
Vectors can be added by arrowed lines in scale diagrams. The arrowed lines may be positioned sequentially or simultaneously.
Vector subtraction is done by adding the negative.
Vector components are vectors at right angles which add to give the original vector.
Vectors may be added without scale diagrams by using components.
Peter's Index Physics Home Lecture 2b Top of Page Lecture 4
email Write me a note if you found this useful
Copyright Peter & BJ Eyland. 2007 -2015 All Rights Reserved. Website designed and maintained by Eyland.com.au ABN79179540930. Last updated 17 January 2015 |