Vectors and Scalars

what is a scalar quantity

a scalar quantity is a quantity that has magnitude only and no direction in space

what is a vector quantity

a vector quantity is a quantity that has both magnitude and direction in space

what is the resultant(combined effect) of 2 vectors

the resultant of 2 vectors is the single vector that, acting alone, has the same effect as the 2 other vectors acting together.

what are the two laws for finding the resultant of two vectors

the triangle law and the parallelogram law

how do you resolve a vector into perpendicular components

resolving a vector into perpendicular components means expressing the vector in terms of two other perpendicular vectors, such that the original vector is the resultant of these two vectors. These two vectors are called perpendicular components of the given vector.

calculating the magnitude of the perpendicular components

if a vector of magnitude v, has 2 perpendicular components x and y, and v makes an angle ϴ with the component x, then the magnitude of the components are:

x = vcosϴ y = vsinϴ