ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

VECTORS

CHAPTER

Leonhard Euler (15 April 1707 18 September 1783) was a pioneering

Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields
as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced
much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly
for mathematical analysis, such as the notion of a mathematical function.
He is also renowned for his work in mechanics, fluid dynamics, optics, and
astronomy.
Euler was featured on the sixth series of the Swiss 10-franc banknote and
on numerous Swiss, German, and Russian postage stamps. The asteroid
2002 Euler was named in his honor. He is also commemorated by the L eonhar d Euler
Lutheran Church on their Calendar of Saints.
1707-1783

To differ entiate between scalar and vector

quantites with examples.

To find the resultant of vectors, and resolve a

vector into its rectangular components

3.1 CL ASSI FI CATI ON OF PHYSI CAL

QUANTI TI ES
All measurable quantities are called physical
quantities. Most of the physical Quantities are
classified into 'Scalars' and 'Vectors'.
Scal ar: - Physi cal quant i t i es havi ng onl y
magnitude ar e called Scalar s.
Exampl es : Length, t ime, volume, density,
temperature, mass, work, energy, electric charge,
electric current, potential ,resistance, capacity, etc.....
To describe a scalar quantity we require
a)

The specific unit of that quantity

b)

The number of times that unit is contained in

that quantity

Ex: A bag contains 100 kg of sugar. Here kg is the

unit and 100 is the number of units of sugar present
in the bag.
Note3.1: Unit is not a compulsion to represent a scalar
Ex : - Specific gravity, Refractive index
Note3.2: Mathematical operations of scalar quantities
yield scalar quantities and these quantities are
manipulated by ordinary algebraic rules.
Vector : - Physical quantities having both
magnitude and dir ection and that obeys laws of
vector addition ar e called vector s (or )
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To explain the Relative Motion.

To compute the product of vectors.

The vector, as a mathematical obj ect, is

defined as a dir ected line segment. I t should also
obey the laws of vector addition.
Examples : Displacement, velocity, acceleration,
force, momentum, angular momentum , moment of
force, Torque, magnetic moment, magnetic induction
field, Intensity of electric field, etc ....
To describe a vector quantity we require.
a)

The specific unit of that quantity.

b)

The number of times that unit is contained in

that quantity.

c)

The orientation of that quantity.

Ex : - A plane is flying from west to east with a

velocity of 50 ms1. Here ms1 is the unit, 50 is the
number of units of velocity and west to east is the
direction.
Note 3.3: 1) A physical quantity having magnitude
and direction but not obeying laws of vector addition
is treated as a scalar.
Ex : Electric current is a scalar quantity
Electric current is always associated with
direction, but it is not a vector quantity. It does not
obey law of vector addition for its addition.
i1
(i1 + i2)

q
i2

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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

The resultant of i1 and i2 is (i1 + i2) by Kirchoffs

current law. The resultant does not depend on angle
between currents i1 and i2.

b) Axial Vector s : The vectors whose direction

changes with the co-ordinate system in which it is
defined changes is called axial vector.

Note3.4: Equations in vector form indicate both

mathematical and geometrical relationships among
the quantities. Physical laws in vector form are very
compact and independent of choice of coordinate
system.

Ex:Angular velocity, torque, angular momentum

3.2 GEOM ETRI CAL REPRESENTATI ON

OF VECTORS

Any vector A can be represented geometrically

as a directed line segment
shown in
(an arrow), as
fig. The magnitude of A is denoted by A , and the

direction of A is specified by the sence of the arrow

and the angle that it makes with a fixed reference
line.

c) L ike vector s (or ) par allel vector s : Two or

more vectors (representing same physical quantity)
are called like vectors if they are parallel to each other,
however their magnitudes may be different.

d) Unlike vectors (or) anti parallel vectors : Two

vectors (representing same physical quantity) are
called unlike vectors if they act in opposite direction
however their magitudes can be different.

When using graphical methods, the length of

the arrow is proportional to the magnitude of the
vector, and the arrow head represents the direction.

Ex:- The velocity vector v is represented by

an arrow OP as shown in figure. The initial point of
the vector is O, the final point of the vector is P. The
length OP is the magnitude of the velocity and its
direction is 600 north of east (or) 300 east of north .
N

600 North of East or 300 Eash of North

N
30 0

NW

NE

Ex : Suppose two trains are running on parallel

tracks with same speed and direction. Then their
velocity vectors are equal vectors.
Note : If a vector is displaced parallel to itself its
magnitude and direction does not change.

450

q 60 0

e) Equal vect or s : Two or more vecto rs

(representing same physical quantity) are called equal
if their magnitudes and directions are same.

E
SW

SE
S

3.3 TYPES OF VECTORS

a) Polar Vector s : The vector whose direction
does not change even though the co-ordinate system
in which it is defined changes is called polar vector.
Ex : Force, momentum, Acceleration.
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Y
X

A B C

f) Negative Vector : A vector having the same

magnitude and opposite in direction to that of a given
vector is called negative vector of the given vector

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ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

g) Co-initial vector s : The vectors having same

initial point are called co-initial vectors.

h) Collinear vector s : Two or more vectors are

said to be collinear when they act along the same
line however their magnitudes may be different.

Ex : Two vectors A and B as shown are

collinear vectors.

A
B
(or)

i) Coplanar vector s : A number of vectors are

said to be coplanar if they are in the same plane or
parallel to the same plane. However their magnitudes
may be different.
Y

A
C
B

j) Unit vector : A vector whosemagnitudeequals

one and used to specify a convenient direction is
called a unit vector.
A unit vector has no units and dimensions. Its
purpose is to specify the direction of given vector.
In cartesian coordinate system, unit vectors
along positive x, y and z axis are symbolised as i , j
and
k respectively. These three unit vectors are
mutually perpendicular and their magnitudes
i j k 1 .

If A is a non zero vector, then the unit vector in

the direction of A is given by A

A

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3.4 REPRESENTATI ON OF ANGL E

BETWEEN THE TWO VECTORS
The angle between two vectors is represented by the
smaller of the two angles between the vectors when
they are placed tail to tail by displacing either of the
vectors parallel to it self.

Ex: The angle between A and B is correctly

represented in the following figures.

B
q

(or)

Fig.(ii)

Fig.(i)

a) If the angle between A and B is , then the

angle between A and KB is also . Where K is a

positive constant.

KB
B
q
q

A
A
b) If the anglebetween A
and B is , then the
angle between A and KB is (180 ) . Where
K is a positive constant.

q
B

KB
0
A

180 q
A

c) Angle between collinear vectors is always zero

or 1800C

q 00

or

q 1800

Problem : 3.1

Three vectors A, B, C are shown in the figure. Find

angle between (i) A and B (ii) B and C (iii) A and C.

A

300

300

450

Sol. To find the angle between two vectors we connect the

tails of the two vectors. We can shift the vectors
parallel

to themselves such that tails of A,B and C are

connected as shown in figure.

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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS
y

2.

A
300

300
450

Now we observe that angle between

and B is 60, B

A
and C is 15 and between A and C is 75
Problem : 3.2

I f A, B, C represents the three sides of an equilateral
triangle taken
the angle
in the

same
order then find
between i) A and B ii) B and C iii) A and C .

When two vector s are acting at some angle:

First join the initial point of Q with the final

point of P and then,
to find the resultant of these

two, draw a vector R from the initial pointof P to

the final point of Q . This
single vector R is the
resultant of vectors P and Q .

of
and
both in
R represents the resultant
P
Q

magnitude and direction. So, R P Q.

3.6 L AWS OF VECTOR ADDI TI ON

a) Vector addition obeys commutative law.

1200

Addition of two vectors is independent of the

orderof the vectors in which they areadded.

If
P

and Q are two vectors then P Q Q P as
shown in fig.

120

1200

Sol. From the

diagram
the angle between
the

vectors A and B is 1200 , the

angle
between
and
B
C

is 1200, the angle between A and C is 1200

3.
Now, draw an arrow from the initial point of
the first vector to the final point of the second vector.
This arrow represents the resultant of the two vectors.
1.

When two vector s ar e acting in the same direction.

Let the two vectors P and Q be acting in the

same direction.

R PQ

(a)

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(b)

R PQ
(c)

b) Vector addition obeys associative law.

While adding more than two vectors, the resultant is
independent of the order in which they are added.

If P,Q and R are three vectors, then

P Q R P Q R as shown in fig.

(P Q) R

PQ

c)

Q R

Examples :

2.
Join the initial point of the second vector with
the final point of the first vector by moving parallel
to itself.

Q P R

P Q R

3.5 ADDI TI ON OF VECTORS

(GRAPHI CAL M ETHOD)
1.
To add two vectors geometrically represent the
vectors by arrow head lines using the same suitable
scale, with their proper directions in the choosen coordinate system.

P Q R

Vector addition obeys distr ibutive law.

If k, k1, k2 are scalars then

k P Q kP kQ and P k1 k 2 k1 P k 2 P

Note 3.5 : Vector addition is possible only between

vectors of same kind.
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ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

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3.7 PARAL L EL OGRAM L AW OF VECTORS

Statement : I f two vector s ar e dr awn fr om a
point so as to r epr esent the adj acent sides of a
par allelogr am both in magnitude and the dir ection, the diagonal of the par allelogr am dr awn
fr om the same point r epr esents the r esultant of
the two vectors both in magnitude and dir ection.
B

Let the two vectors P and Q , inclined at angle

be acting on a particle at the same time. Let they
be represented
in magnitude
and direction by two
adjacent sides OA and OB of parallelogram OACB,
drawn from a point O.

According to
parallelogram law of vectors, their
resultant
vector R will be represented by the diagonal

of
the
parallelogram.
OC
M agnitude of r esultant :
The line OA is extended upto point N and draw
a perpendicular from point C on to the extended line
as shown in fig.
From the parallelogram OACB.

Dir ection of r esultant :

The magnitude of the resultant

R
depends on

the magnitudes of the vectors P and Q and also on

the angle between them.

If the line of action of the vector P is taken as

reference line, the resultant R makes an angle
with it. This angle indicates the direction of R .
Then from right angled triangle ONC,
CN
CN
Q sin
.....(4)

ON OA AN P Qcos

Note3.6: If is the angle between the resultant R

tan

P sin
and the vector Q, then tan 1
,
Q P cos
Special Cases:

a) If the magnitude of P > Q then . i.e., the

resultant is closer to the vector of larger magnitude.
b) When angle between two vectors increases, the
magnitude of their resultant decreases.
c) W hen t wo vect or s ar e i n t he same
direction(par allel).

BOA = CAN = and

OA = P, OB = AC = Q,
OC = R and

R PQ

In CNA, AN = AC cos = Q cos

CN = AC sin = Q sin

then = 00, cos 00 = 1 and sin 00 = 0

From triangle ONC

OC2

ON2

from eq.(3), R = P 2 Q 2 2PQ(1)

NC2

(OC)2 = (OA+AN)2 + (NC)2

R2 = (OA)2 + 2(OA)(AN) + (AN)2 +(NC)2
2

R2 = P2 + 2 PQ cos + QCos QSin

R 2 P 2 2PQCos Q 2
R=

P 2 Q 2 2PQ cos

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

........ (3)

(P Q)2 = (P + Q)

Q 0
= 0 or = 00.
P Q(1)
Thus for two vectors acting in the same
direction, the magnitude of the resultant vector is
equal to the sum of the magnitudes
oftwo vectors
and acts along the direction of P and Q .
from eq.(4), tan =

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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

(d) When two vector s ar e acting in opposite

directions (antiparallel).

P + Q cos = 0

R P Q

From eq. (3), R = P 2 Q 2 2PQ(1)

(P Q)2 = (PQ) or (QP)
Q0
From eq. (4), tan =
= 0
P Q(1)
or = 00 or 1800.

Thus for two vectors acting in opposite

directions, the magnitude of the resultant vector is
equal to the difference of the magnitudes of the two
vectors and its direction is along the vector of larger
magnitude.
(e) When two vectors are per pendicular to each
other,

= 900, sin = 1

R=

P 2 Q 2 2PQ(0) =

ii) The resultant vector is perpendicular to the

vector having smaller magnitude.
Q sin
P Q cos

Q sin
tan 90 0
P Q cos

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R P 2 Q 2 2PQ cos

R P2 P2 2P2 cos q

[P=Q]

2
R 2P2 2P2 cosq , R 2P 1 c os

R 2P 2 2 cos2 ,

2
and the resultant makes an angle with P is
Q sin
P s in
tan

P Q cos
P P cos
tan

P2 Q2

i) The angle between the two vectors is greater

than 900

h) If magnitudes of P and Q are equal and the

angle between them is then their resultant is

f) If the resultant of two vectors is perpendicular

to any one of the vectors, then

Q2 P2 ,
q
P
R
P
P
sin ,cos , tan .
Q
Q
R

The angle between P and Q is 900

R max P Q
P R max R min
g) R P Q and Q R R .
min
max
min

R 2P cos

P sin
s in

P 1 cos
2 cos2 / 2

2 sin cos

2
2
tan
tan
2
2 cos / 2
2

Q (1)
Q
From eq(4), tan =
=
P Q(0)
P
Q
or
= tan1
P

we know tan

P
and
Q

R=

then = 1800, cos 1800 = 1 and sin 1800 = 0.

and cos = 0
From eq(3),

cos =

tan tan ,
2

a)

If 600 , then R = 3P and 30 0

b)

If 90 0 , then R = 2P and 450

If 120 0 , then R = P and 60 0

The unit vector parallel to the resultant of two

PQ

vectors P & Q is n .
PQ
c)
I)

Note 3.7 : We can add a vector to another vector of

same kind but we cant add a vector quanity to a
scalar quantity.
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ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A
Problem : 3.3

Problem : 3. 7

The resultant of two forces whose magnitudes are in

the ratio 3 : 5 is 28 N. I f the angle of their inclination is
600, then find the magnitude of each force.
Sol : Let F1 and F2 be the two forces.

Then F1 = 3x; F2 = 5x; R = 28 N and 600

R F12 F22 2F1F2 cos

28

3x 2 5x 2 2 3x (5x)cos600

28 9x 2 25x 2 15x 2 7x

Theresultant of two vectors A and B is perpendicular

to A and equal to half

magnitude of B . Find
of the

the angle between A and B ?

Sol. Since R is perpendicular to A . figure shows the three

vectors A , B and R .

angle between A and

B is

B
R
R
B
1
sin =
=
=
p q
q
B 2B 2

A
A
= 30
angle between A and B is 150.

Problem : 3.8

28
4 ,
7

F1 = 3 4 = 12 N, F2 = 5 4 = 20 N.
* Problem : 3.4

I f vectors A and B are 3i 4j + 5k and 2i + 3j 4k

respectively then find the unit vector parallel to

A B

A B
5i j k
n
(Ans :
) Hint :
A B
27

What is the displacement of the point of a wheel

initially in contact with the ground when the
wheel rolls forward half a revolution? Take the
radius of the wheel as R and the x-axis as the
forward direction?
Sol: From figure, during half revolution of the wheel,
the point A covers AC R horizontal distance, and
BC = 2R vertical distance.

* Problem : 3.5

I f magnitude of the resultant of two vectors equal of

magnitude, is equal to the magnitude of either of the
vectors, what is the angle between them ? (Ans : 1200)
Hint : R 2P cos

B 7 2 24 2 25

A
3i 4j
1

3i 4j
and A
A
32 4 2 5

1
C 25 3i 4j 15i 20 j
5

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x = R and y = 2R; Displacement,

s

Problem : 3.6

I f A 3 i 4j and B 7i 24j , find a vector

having the same magnitude as B and par allel to A

Sol. The vector parallel to A and having magnitude of B is

A
^
C B B A
A

x2 y 2

( R)2 (2R)2 R 2 4

y
2R
2
and Tan 1 Tan 1
Tan 1 with

x
R

x-axis.

i.e., Displacement has magnitude R 2 4 and makes

2
an angle Tan 1 with x-axis.

3.8. TRI ANGL E L AW OF VECTORS

" If two vectors are represented in magnitude
and direction by the two sides of a triangle taken
in one or der, their resultant vector is represented
in magnitude and dir ection by the thir d side of
the tr iangle taken in r ever
" .
se or der
Let the two vectors P and Q , inclined at an
angle be acting on a particle at the same time. Let
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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

they be represented
in magnitude and direction by

two sides OA and AB of triangle OAB, taken in

the same order shown in fig.
Then, according to triangle law of vector
addition, the resultant R is represented by the third

side OB of triangle, taken in opposite order..

B

g
R

Q
p q
R P Q
a
q

O
P
A
N

M agnitude of r esultant R :
R P2 Q 2 2PQ cos

Dir ection of r esultant R :

is r epr esented by the closing side of the polygon

taken in reverse order in magnitudeand direction .

D
F

F
E
C
4

FR

F2

F1

(or)
I f a number of coplanar forces ar e acting simultaneously at a point keep the par ticle in equilibr ium, these forces can be r epr esented as the sides
of a polygon taken in or der both in magnitude
and dir ection.

D
F

F3

Q sin
Tan
.
P Q cos

F5

Statement of tr iangle law when thr ee for ces

keep a par ticle in equilibr ium :
When three forces acting at a point can keep
a par ticle in equilibr ium the thr ee for ces can be
r epr esented as the sides of a tr iangle taken in
or der both in magnitude and dir ection.

F2

A
B
F1

F1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F5 0

Note 3. 8 : I f x is the side of a hexagon ABCDEF

as shown in figur e
E

Q
F2

O
F3

have equal ratio i.e., F1 F2 F3 .

PQ PR QR
3.9 POLYGON L AW OF VECTORS
Statement : If a number of vector s are r epresented by the sides of a polygon both in magnitude and direction taken in or der, their resultant

3x

F2

R

Suppose three fo rece
F1 , F2 , F3 are
simultaneously acting at point O and the point is in
equilibrium. Then the three forces can be represented
as three sides of a triangle. The triangle PQR is
constructed by drawing parallel lines to the directions
in which the forces are applied. The magnitudes of
the forces and the corresponding sides of the triangle

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90

2x

F3

3x

F1

F1

600

AB = x, AC = 3x , AD = 2x, AE = 3x , AF= x
Problem : 3.9
ABCDEF is a regular hexagon with point O as centre.

Find the value of AB AC AD AE AF .

B
A

Sol. From the diagram AB DE BC EF

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ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

AB AC AD AE AF

= AB AB BC AD AD DE

AD DE EF

3AD 3 2AO 6 AO

Application 3.1 : L ami's Theor em

3.10 NUL L VECTOR (OR) ZERO VECTOR

A vercotr whose magnitude is equal to zero is
called a null vector. Its direction is indeterminate.
Examples of zer o vector :
1. The velocity of a particle at rest.
2. The acceleration of a particle moving at uniform
velocity.
3. The displacement of a stationary object over any
arbitrary interval of time.
4. The position vector of a particle at the origin
Note 3.9 :

A 0 A , A 0 0

" I f thr ee coplanar for ces acting at a point

k eeps it in equilibr ium, t hen each f or ce is
pr opor tional to the sine of the angle between the
other two for ces"
If F1 , F2 , F3 are the magnitudes of three
forces

and , , are the

angle between forces F 2 and F 3 ,

F3 and F1 and F1 and F2 respectively, as shown in

fig. Then according to lamis theorem
F1
F
F
2 3
sin sin sin

F2

F3

F1

Problem 3.10 :
I n the given figure the tesion in the string OB is 30N.
Find the weight Wand the tension in the string OA.
A

3.11 EQUI L I BRI ANT

30 0

A vect or havi ng same magnit ude and

opposite in dir ection to that of the r esultant of a
number of vector s is called the equilibr iant. (or )
Negative vector of the r esultant of a number

of vector s is called the equilibr iant (E).

If F1 , F2 & F3 are the three forces

acting
on
a
body, then their resultant force is FR F1 F2 F3

E FR , E F1 F2 F3 .

Sol: Let T1 and T2 be the tensions in the strings OA and OB

respectively
A
T1

30 0
900
O

1500

Note 3.10 :
i) Single force cannot keep the particle in
equilibrium.
ii) Minimum number of equal forces required to keep
the particle in equilibrium is two.
iii) Minimum number of unequal coplanar forces
required to keep the particle in equilibrium is
thr ee.
iv) Minimum number of equal or unequal non
coplanar forces required to keep the particle in
equilibrium is four .
AKASH MULTIMEDIA

900

T2

According to lamis theorem

T1
sin 90 0

T2
sin150 0

W
sin120 0

(T2 = 30N)

on sloving w 30 3 N and T1= 60N

3.12 SUBTRACTI ON OF VECTORS

The pr ocess of subtr acting one vector fr om
another is equivalent to adding vector ially the
negative of the vector to be subtr acted.

Let P and Q be the two vectors as shown

in

figure. We want to find the difference P Q . Let a

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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

vector Q be added to the vector P by the laws of

vector
addition. Their resultant gives the value of
PQ .

180 q

A B C

B C

P 2 Q 2 2PQ cos and

Q sin (1800 -)
Q sin
tan

.
0
P Q cos (180 ) P Q cos

Note 3.7 : If P Q then P Q 2P sin .

2

S 2P sin
2

Note 3.8 : When two vector s P and Q have same

magnitude and is the angle between them

Resultant Difference
2Pcos / 2 2P sin / 2

00

2P

600

3P

900

2P

2P

1200

3P

1800

2P

C
A

B

PQ

Applications 3.2 : If v i is initial velocity of a particle

and vf is its final velocity. Then change in its

velocity is given by v v f v i .

v v2i v2f 2v i vf cos

Where ' ' is the angle between initial and final
velocities.
Application 3.3 : When a particle is performing
uniform circular motion with a constant speed v, the
magnitude of change in velocity when it describes

an angle at the centre is V 2vsin .
2
V

3.13 L AWS OF VECTOR SUBTRACTI ON :

a) the vector subtractio n does not follow
commutative law i.e.



P Q Q P, But P Q Q P

S P 2 Q 2 2PQ cos (1800 )

P Q R

A P Q

The magnitude of P Q is

S=

C
B

S PQ

b) the vector subtractio n does not follow

associative law ie. P Q R P Q R

QP

q
V

Application 3.4 : If velocity of a particle

changes from v i to vf in time t then the acceleration

vf v i
.
of the particle is given by a
t
Problem : 3.11
A particle is moving eastwards with a velocity of 5m/s.
I n 10s the velocity changes to 5 m/s northwards. Find
the average acceleration in this time

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ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A
Sol.

v vf v i
a av

t
t

v f 5m / s

5 2m / s

45

vi 5m / s

vi 5m / s

5j 5i 5 2
1
a av

m/s2
10
10
2

north west direction.

* Problem : 3.12

Two vectors A and B haveprecisely

equal magni
A B to be larger than
tudes. For the magnitude
of

the magnitude of A B by a factor n, what must be
the angle between them ?


Sol. A B n A B
2A cos
tan

n2A sin
2
2

(A = B)

1
1
1
, tan 1 , 2 tan 1

n
2 n 2
n

3.14RESOL UTI ON OF A VECTOR I NTO

RECTANGUL AR COM PONENTS
Resolution of a vector is the pr ocess of
obtaining the component vector s which when
combined, accor ding to laws of vector addition,
produce the given vector.
j

Y
Q

q
x

P i

from right angled triangle OPR

2
2
OR OP 2 PR2 or r x y .... (6)
The equation (6) gives the magnitude of the
vector in terms of its rectangular components.
Note 3.9 : Method involving resolution of vectors
into components to find the resultant of the vectors
is known as analytical method.

Note 3.10 : The components of a vector are

independent of each other and can be handled
separately.
X

Consider a vector r in the xy plane and it makes

an angle with x axis as shown in figure. i and j
are unit vectors along X-axis and Y-axis respectivley.
From t he point R, draw RP and RQ
perpendicular to X-axis and Y-axis respectively.
From the parallelogram law of vector addition, it
follows that

OR OP OQ ............ (1)

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

If OP = x and OQ = y, then

OP xi and OQ yj

From equation (1) r xi yj .......

(2)

In the above equation xi and y j are called the

x-component and the y-component of the vector r ,

and x and y are called magnitudes of the two
component vectors.
from the triganle OPR.
OP x
cos
x r cos ......... (3)
OR r
PR y
and sin
y r sin ......(4)
OR r
y
............. (5)
from (3) and (4) tan
x
The equation (3) and (4) gives the magnitudes
of the rectangular component vectors in terms of the
magnitude of the given vector and its inclination with
X-axis.

from equation (2), r r cos i r sin j

Note 3.11 : Theoretically, a given vector can be made

the diagonal of infinite number of parallelograms.
Thus there can be infinite number of ways to divide
a vector into components.
Note 3.12 :

-x

-y
75

PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

a)
b)

If the vector A is in first quadrant then it can

be written as A A x i A y j

If the vector B is in second quadrant then

B B i B j
x

Application 3.5 :

F sin q

c) If the vector C is in third quadrant then

C Cx i Cy j

d) If the vector D is in fourth quardant then

D D x i D y j

3.15 ADDITION OF TWO VECTORSIN TERMS

OF COMPONENTS

Let
us
consider
the
addition
of
two
vectors
P

and Q in terms of their components.

We have P P i P j, Q Q i Q j
x

A block is placed on smooth horizontal surface

and pulled by a force F making an angle with
horizontal.
The component of force along horizontal =
Fcos .
The component of force along vertical = Fsin .
Application 3.6 :

y
mg sin q

Qy

Ry

Qx

Px

Rx

Let R be the resultant vector with component.

Rx and Ry along x and y axis respectively. Then

R x R x i and R y R y i.
From the diagram Rx = Px + Qx and Ry = Py+Qy

R x Px Q x i, R y Py Q y j

R R x i R y j; R Px Q x i Py Q y j

Px Qx 2 Py Q y

Tan

Ry
Rx

, Tan

Py Q y
Tan 1
Px Q x
AKASH MULTIMEDIA

Py Q y
Px Q x

mg cos q

q
mg

Py

F cos q

A block of mass m is placed on inclined plane

of angle then the component of weight parallel to
the inclined plane is mg sin , the component of
weight perpendicular to the inclined plane is mgcos .
Application 3.7 :

2 x 2

T q

T cos q

T sin q

mg
A simple pendulum having a bob of mass m
is suspended from a rigid support and it is pulled by
a horizontal force F. The string makes an angle q
with the vertical as shown in figure.
The horizontal component of tension = T sin
The vertical component of tension = T cos
76

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

When the bob is in equilibrium

.............(1)
T sin F,
.............. (2)
T cos mg

mg
mgl

cos
l2 x 2

From equations (1) and (2)

Tan

F
x
F mgTan mg
2
mg
l x2

T F 2 mg

Note- 3.13 : If a vector is rotated through an angle

other than integral multiple of 2 (or 3600) it
changes, but its magnitude does not change.

Problem : 3.14
A weight mg is suspended from the middle of a rope
whose ends are at the same level. The rope is no longer
horizontal. What is the minimum tension required to
completely straighten the rope is
Sol. From the diagram
q
q
2Tsin q
2T sin = mg
T
T
mg
T
q
q
2 sin
T cosq
T cosq
The rope will be staraight when = 0
mg
T

2 sin 0 0
mg
The tension required to completely straighten the rope
is infinity.
Problem : 3.15
The sum of magnitudes of two forces acting at a point
is 16N. If their resultant is normal to the smaller force
and has a magnitude of 8N. Then the forces are

q

A B

F2

Ve
cto

Note - 3.14 : If the frame of reference is rotated the

vector does not change (though its components may
change).
S

q
900

F1

Sol. Let F be the resultant of two forces F1 and F2 as shown

in figure with F2 > F1.

F2 sin = F1 ...................... (i)

F2 cos = F = 8 ...................... (ii)

Squaring and adding Eqs (i) and (ii), we get
F22 = F12 + 64 ...................... (iii)

Problem : 3.13
A vector 3 i j rotates about its tail through an
angle 300 in clock wise direction then the new vector is
Sol: The magnitude of 3 i j is 3 1 = 2 The angle
made by the vector with x - axis is
Tan

Ay
Ax

3i j

1
300

300

When the given vector rotates 300 in clock wise its

direction changes along x - axis but its magnitude
does not change.

The new vector is 2i

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2i

Given F1 + F2 = 16 ...................... (iv)

Solving Eqs. (iii) and (iv), we get
F1 = 6N and F2 = 10N

* 3.16 RESOL UTI ON OF A VECTOR

I NTOTHREE RECTANGUL AR
COM PONENTS :

Let us consider a vector A be represented by

OP as shown in fig. With O as origin, construct a

rectangular parallelopiped with three edges
along the
three rectangular axes which meet at
O.
A becomes

the diagonal of the parallelopiped. A x , A y and A z

are three vector intercepts along x, y and z axes respectively. These are the three rectangular components of A .
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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

Applying triangle law of vectors,

OP OK KP .................... (1)

Squaring and adding

Applying parallelogram law of vectors,

A 2x

cos 2 cos 2 cos 2 =

A2

Y
S

A 2y
A2

A 2z

A2

A 2x A y2 A z2
A2

A2
A2

and sin 2 sin 2 sin 2 2

Ay

Ax

Az

3.18 POSI TI ON VECTOR

Position vector of any point, with r espect to
an ar bitr ar ily chosen or igin, is defined as the
vector which connects the or igin and the point
and is dir ected towar ds the point.

T
Z

OK OT OQ ....................... (2)

from (1) and (2) OP OT OQ KP


But KP OS, OP OT OQ OS

A Az A x A y , or A Ax i Ay j Az k

Again, OP2 = OK2 + KP2 = OQ2+OT2+KP2

or A2 = Ax2 + Az2+Ay2 KP OS A y
2
2
2
or A A x A y A z

This gives the magnitude

of
A in terms
of the magnitudes of components A x , A y and A z .

* 3.17 DI RECTI ON COSI NES :

The dir ection cosines , m and n of a vector
ar e the cosines of the angles , and which a
given vector makes wit h x-axis, y-axis and
z-axis respectively.
Z

A
k

p x, y , z

Z
Position vector of a point helps in locating the
position of the point. Its magnitude gives the
distance between origin and the point. Consider a
point P having co-ordinates (x,y,z) as shown in

figure. If O is the origin, then OP is called the

position vector (r), r xi yj zk

Magnitude of r is, r x 2 y 2 z 2

The unit vector along r is given by

r
xi yj zk
r
r
x2 y 2 z2

Application 3.8 Displacement vector :

Y

r1

X
O

A x1 , y1, z1

s
B x ,y ,z
2 2 2

r2

j
Y

If , , are angle made by A with x, y, z axis

and cos ,cos ,cos are called direction cosines.
Ay
A
A
cos x ,m cos
, n cos z
A
A
A

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

If r1 is initial position vector of the particle and

r2 is final position vector of the particle then the dis

placement of the particle is given by s r2 r1 .

s x 2 x1 i y 2 y1 j z 2 z1 k
78

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

The magnitude of the displacement vector is

S AB

x2 x1 y2 y1 z2 z1

Application 3.9 Condition for collision :

Consider two particles, 1 and 2 move with con

stant velocities v1 and v 2 . At initial moment (t=0)

their position vectors are r1 and r2 .

If particles then collide at the point P after time
y
t sec.

s v t
1
P
From the diagram

r
s v t
r
r r1 s1 r2 s2
2

r r1 v1t r2 v2 t
r1
x
O




r1 r2 v2 v1 t (or) r1 r2 v2 v1 t ... (1)

r r
t 1 2
v2 v1
2

Problem : 3.16
Find the resultant of the vectors shown in figure.
Sol.
y

A
m
5c

370

C
4cm
B

R OR AB BC

R 5 cos37i 5sin 37 j 3i 4 j

R 4i 3j 3i 4j

R = 7i + 7j, R 7 2 cm and

450 with horizontal

Problem : 3.17

Find the resultant of the vectors OA, OB, OC asshown in
figure. Theradiusof thecircleisR.

Sol : R OA OB OC

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R
R
R R
i R
j

2
2

R = 2R+R along OB .

450
450

Problem : 3.18
A man walks 40m north, then 30m east and then 40m
south. The displacement from the starting point is

N
Sol. S 40 j 30i 40 j

E
W
S 30i
S
displacement is 30 m east
Problem : 3.19

Vector A is 2 cm long and is 600 above the x axis in

the first quadrant, vector B is 2cm long and is 600

below the x axis in the fourth quadrant. Find A B .
Sol:
A

600

-X

600

By

-Y

Ay

Bx

R AB

R 2 cos60 0 i 2 sin 60 j +2cos60 i 2sin60 j

R 4 cos60i 2i
2cm, along x axis
* Problem : 3.20

substitute t in equation ........(1)

r1 r2
r1 r2 v 2 v1
v2 v1


r1 r2
v 2 v1

r1 r2
v 2 v1

3cm

R Ri R cos 45i R sin 45j Rj

A vector has x component of -25.0 units and y

component of 40.0 units find the magnitude and
direction of the vector.

Sol. Consider a vector A A x i A y j

A 25i 40 j

2
2
2
A A 2 x A y 25.0 40.0

= 47.16 47.2 units.

and tan

Ay
Ax

40.0
1.6
25.0

an (-1.6)= 58.00with ve x - axis.

(This is in clock wise direction).

This is equivalent to (1220 ) in anticlockwise direction
with the x axis.
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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS
y

* Problem : 3.21

y1

Find the resultant of the vectors shown in fig by the

component method

rps

y
b

-X

rs| s

370

1
0

53

If the position of frame S1 relative to S at any

time is rs|s .

R y 3j 3j 4.8j R y 1.2j

6.6 2 1.22
y

Rx1.2

R x6.6

Then from the above diagram

rps rps| rs|s

6.7

R y1.2

10.30

tan

Ry
Rx

1.2
0.18; tan 1 0.18 10.30
6.6

with ve x axis in clock wise direction or 169.70 with

+ ve xaxis in anti clock wise direction.
* Problem : 3.22

Two vectors a and b have equal magnitudes of 12.7

units. These vectors are making angles 28.20 and
133.20 with the x axis respectively. Their sum is r.
Find (a) the x and y components of r, (b) the magnitude of r, (c) the angle r makes with the +x axis.
Ans : 2.5, 15.3, 15.5, 6.120
Hint : same as 3.21

3.19 REL ATI VE VEL OCI TY

When we consider the motion of a particle,
we assume a fixed point relative to which the given
particle is in motion. For example, if we say that water
is flowing or wind is blowing or a person is running
with a speed v, we mean that these all are relative
to the earth.(Which we have assumed to be fixed)
AKASH MULTIMEDIA

Now to find the velocity of a moving object

relative to another moving object, consider a par
ticle P whose position relative to frame S is rps and

relative to S| is rps| .

-Y

R x 1i 5 cos 370 i 6 cos 53i

R x 1i 4i 3.6i R x 6.6i

R y 3j 5sin 37j 6 sin 530 j

R R 2x R 2y

x1

S1

Sol.

rps|

Differentiating the above equation with respect

to time

d rps d rps1 d rs1s

dt
dt
dt

vps v ps1 vs1s ; v ps1 v ps v s1s ...... (1)

Thus, if the velocities of two bodies (here particle and frame S| ) are known with respect to a common frame (s), we can find the velocity of one body
relative to the other.

Note 3.15 : I f vA and vB are velocities of two

bodies A and B relative to earth, then the velocity of

A relative to B is v AB v A v B .
a) If two bodies are moving along the same
line in the same direction with velocities vA and vB
relative to earth then the magnitude of velocity of A
relative to B is given by vAB = vA vB
If vAB is positive the direction of vAB is that of
A and if negative the direction of vAB is opposite to
that of A (or) along the direction of B.
b) If two bodies are moving towards each other
or away from each other with velocities vA and vB.
Then the magnitude of velocity of A relative to B is
given by
vAB = vA ( vB ) = vA + vB
and directed towards A (or) away from A
80

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

c) If two bodies A and B are moving with velocities vA and vB in mutually perpendicular directions, then the magnitude of velocity of A relative to
B is given by v AB v 2A v B2 .
The direction of vAB with vA is tan

If the boy is running on the train in a direction

opposite to the motion of train, then
VBG = VBT VTG
Problem : 3.23

vB
vA

d) If two bodies A and B are moving with ve

locities vA and v B , and is the angle between the

velocities, then the magnitude of velocity of A relative to B is given by
v AB v A2 v B2 2v A v B cos

and the direction of vAB with vA is given by

An object A is moving with 5 m/s and B is moving with

20 m/s in the same direction. (Positive x-axis). Find
a) velocity of B relative to A.
b) Velocity of A relative to B.

Sol. a) VB 20i m/s ; VA 5i m/s ;

VB VA 15i m/s

/ s, V 5i m/s ;
b) VB 20im

A
V V V = 15 i m/s
AB

v B sin
v A v B cos

Two object A and B are moving each with velocities

10 m/s. A is moving towards East and B is moving
towards North from the same
point as shown. Find
velocity of A relative to B (VAB ) .

Application 3.10: If two bodies A and B are mov

ing with accelerations a A and a B with respect to

ground the acceleration of A relative to B is

aAB aA aB

a AB a 2A a B2 2a A a B cos q

Where is the angle between a A and a B .

N
VB

450
0

Sol:

45

Differentiating equation (1) with respect to time

d |
d
d |
v PS v PS
vS S
dt
dt
dt

a PS | a PS aS |S ............. (2)

Problem : 3.24

v B sin 180
Tan
v A v B cos 180

Tan

VA

VAB VA VB = 10i 10j

V AB 10 2 10 2 10 2 ms1 along SE

Problem : 3.25
Find the speed of two objectsif when they move unifomly
towards each other, they get 4.0 metres closer each
second and when they move uniformly in the same direction with original speeds, they get 4.0 metres closer
each 10 sec.
Sol. Let their speeds be v1 and v2 and let v1 > v2 .

Application 3.11:

I n Fir st Case:

Relative M otion on a moving tr ain :

If a boy is running with velocity VBT

relative to

train and train is moving with velocity VTG relative to

ground
, then the velocity of the boy relative to ground

VBG will be given by:

Relative velocity, v1 + v2 = 4

VBG VBT VTG

So, if the boy is running along the direction of

train
VBG = VBT + VTG
AKASH MULTIMEDIA

VAB

......

(1)

I n Second Case:
4
= 0.4 ...... (2)
10
Solving eqns. (1) and (2), we get
v1 = 2.2 m s1, v2 = 1.8 m s1

Relative velocity, v1 v2 =

Problem : 3.26
A person walks up a stationary escalator in time t1. I f
he remains stationary on the escalator, then it can take
him up in time t2. How much time would it take him to
walk up the moving escalator ?

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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS
Sol. Let L be the length of escalator. Speed of man w.r.t.

escalator is vme

L
.
t1

L
Speed of escalator ve =
.
t2
Speed of man with respect to ground would be
1 1
vm vme ve L
t1 t 2

The desired time is t

tt
L
12 .
v m t1 t 2

Two ships A and B are 10km apart on a line running

south to north. Ship A farther north is streaming west
at 20 km/h and ship B is streaming north at 20 km/h.
What is their distance of closest approach and how
long do they take to reach it ?
Sol.

VB

V B 20 km / h

VA

VBG = VBW + VWG

The time taken for the boat to move to a distance d along the direction of flow of water is
d
.................(1)
t1
VBW VWG
b) If the boat is moving opposite to the direction of flow of water (up stream)
VBW
A

A
C

VAB
450
B

45

VA 20km / h

Velocity of B relative to A is VBA VB VA

20 2 202

= 20 2 km/h

i.e., VBA is 20 2 km/h at an angle of 450 from east

towards north.

Condition A is at rest and B is moving with VBA in the

direction shown in figure.
Therefore, the minimum distance between the two is
1
Smin = AC = AB sin 450 = 10
km = 5 2 km
2
BC
5 2
1
and the time is t

20 2 4
VBA

h= 15 min

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

VWG

VBA 20 2km / h

VBA

Suppose
a boat moves relative to water with
velocity VBW and water is following relative to

ground with
velocity VWG, velocity
of boat
relative
to

ground VBG will be given by : VBG VBW VWG

a) If the boat is moving along the direction of
flow of water (down stream)
VBW

Problem : 3.27

1Gm1m2
2 d2

3.20M OTI ON OF A BOAT I N THE L I NE OF

RI VER FL OW

VWG

VBG = VBW VWG

The time taken for the boat to move to a
distance d opposite to the direction of flow of
water is
d
t1
.........(2)
VBW VWG
t1 VBW VWG
From equations (1) and (2) t V V
2
BW
WG
c) If the engine of boat is switched off , then
the boat will be carried by the river current.
VBG = VWG

(VBW = 0)

The time taken for travel a distance d is

d
t3
VWG
time taken by person to go down streams a distance d and comes back
T td t u
d
d
T

VBW VWG VBW VWG

82

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

3.21 M OTI ON OF A BOAT ACROSS A RI VER

a) To cross the r iver over the shotest distance:

V WG

V BW

V BW

V BG

Suppose a boat starts from a point A on one

bank of the river of width d. To cross the river over
the shortest distance, the boat should move by making an angle q with the normal to the flow of water
as shown in above figure.

Let V WG is
the velocity of the water with respect to ground, V BW is the velocity of boat in still
water (or) velocity of boat relative to water.
Velocity of boat with respect to ground is

given by VBG VBW VWG

from the triangle ABC
2
2
.......... (1)
VBG VBW
VWG

V
and cos BG ......... (2)
VBW
V
sin WG ......... (3)
VBW
To cross the river in shortest path the angle
made by the velocity of boat with the flow of water
is 90 +
VWG
= 90 + sin1
VBW
The component of velocity of boat normal to
the flow of water is = VBW cos .
The time taken for the boat to cross the river is
d
......... (4)
t
VBW cos
d
d
t

V VBG
VBW BG
VBW
2
2
VBW
VBG

V BG

A
To cross the river in shortest time the boat
should be rowed along the normal to flow of water
(or) by making an angle of 900 with the flow of water
The minimum time taken to cross the river is

t min

d .... (5)
VBW

[from (4) 0 ]

The velocity of boat with respect to ground is

2
2
... (6)
VBG VBW
VWG

In this case the boat reaches the other bank at

point C, due to the flow of water.
The displacement of boat along the direction
of flow of water (or) drift is given by

x = VWG (tmin) , x VWG d

.... (7)
V
BW
The displacement of the boat is

s d2 x2
Note 3.16 :
The time can be obtained by dividing the
distance in a particular direction by velocity in that
direction.
AB
BC
AC
t

VBW VWG VBG

c) Suppose the
boat starts at point A on one bank
with velocity V BW and reaches the other bank at
point D as shown in the diagram.
B
x
D
C

V BW

........... (5) [ from (1)]

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

V WG

Shor test Time :

900

b)

VBW sinq

VBW cosq

V BE

VWG

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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

The componentof velocity of boat parallel to

the flow of water is V BW

Substitute (1) and (3) in (2) we get t1 = t2

The component of velocity of boat normal to

the flow of water is of VBW Cos

T = 2t1 = 60 min
and the distance (AB+BC) travelled by the boat before
meets the cork is
D = 2d x

The boat meets the cork again after

The time taken for the boat to cross the river is

t

D 2 VB VW t1 VW 2t1

d
VBW Cos

D 2VB t1 2VW t1 2VW t1

The horizontal displacement of the boat (or)

drift is
x VWG VBW sin t

d
x VWG VBW sin
VBW Cos

D 2VB t1 2 5

Problem : 3.29
A man wishe 00000s to cross a river flowing with
velocity u jumps at an angle with the river flow. Find
the velocity of the man with respect to ground if he can
swim with speed v. Also find how far from the point
directly opposite to the starting point does the boat
reach the opposite bank. I n what direction does the
boat actually move. I f the width of the river is d.

Note 3.17 : i) If VWG > VBWsin , the boat reaches

the other end of the river to the right of B.
ii) If VWG < VBWsin , the boat reaches the
other end of the river to the left of B.

Sol.

v
d

Problem : 3.28

Sol.

iii) If VWG = VBWsin , the boat reaches the

exactly opposite point on the other bank. i.e, at B.

A boat ismoving with a velocity vbw = 5 km/hr relative to

water. At time t = 0, the boat passes through a piece of
cork floating in water while moving downstream. If it
turns back at time t1=30 min,
a) when the boat meet the cork again ?
b) The distance travelled by the boat during this time.

30
5km
60

fq

V MG V MW V WG

and is the angle between V MG and V WG

VMG V 2 u2 2Vu cos

t=0

drift = u V cos
A

tan

C
vw

vw

Liet AB=d is the distance travelled by boat along down

stream, in t1 sec and it returns back and it meets the
cork at point C after t2 sec.

Let AC=x is the distance travelled by the cork dur-ing (t1 + t2) sec.
d VB Vw t1 .................. (1)
d x VB Vw t 2 ........... (2)
and x Vw t1 t 2 ............. (3)

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

d
V sin

V sin
u V cos

Problem : 3.30
A swimmer crosses a flowing stream of width dto and
fro in time t1. The time taken to cover the same distance up and down the stream is t2. If t3 is the time the
swimmer would take to swim a distance 2d in still water, then
Sol. Let v be the river velocity and u the velocity of swimmer in still water. Then

d
t1 2
..... (i)
u2 v2

84

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A
t2

Sol : Let the velocity of the boat with respect to water be u,

the velocity of the water current with respect to the
banks is v, and the width of the river ' '.

d
d
2ud

2
.... (ii)
u v u v u v2

2d
........ (iii)
u
from equations (i), (ii) and (iii)

and t3 =

t12 t 2 t 3 t1 t 2 t 3

Problem : 3.31
Two persons P and Q crosses the river starting from
point A on one side to exactly opposite point B on the
other bank of the river. The person P crosses the river
in the shortest path. The person Q crosses the river in
shortest time and walks back to point B. Velocity of
river is 3 kmph and speed of each boat is 5 kmph w.r.t
river. I f the two persons reach the point B in the same
time, then the speed of walk of Q is
Sol : For per son (P) :
B
C

For person (Q) :

VB

tP

VB2 VW 2

d
52 32

Then = ut1
........(2)
Now we consider the case when the boat moving with
velocity u makeing an angle ' ' with the line AB.

VW

d
4

The relative velocity of the boat with respect to the

bank along the river is v u sin = 0,
or v = u sin

d d
x

,
4 5 Vman

d
But x VW
VB

VW d
d d

,
4 5 VB Vman

d d
3d

4 5 5 Vman

1 1
3

,
4 5 5Vman

1
3

20 5Vman

320 12kmph
5

* Problem : 3.32
A man in a boat attempts to cross a river from point A.
I f he rows the boat perpendicular to the banks, he
reaches point C at a distance s = 120m down stream,
from point B, in 10 minutes shown in figure. I f the man
rows his boat at an angle to the straight line AB he
reachesthe point B in 12.5 minutes. Find a) the width of
the river, (b) velocity of the boat relative to the water, (c)
velocity of the curent and (d) the angle . Assume the
velocity of the boat relative to the water to be constnat
and of the same magnitude in both cases.

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

Then BC = s = vt1 = 120m............(1)

d
d
tQ
, t P t Q t
VB 5

Vman

When boat is rowed perpendicular to the banks the resultant velocity of the boat with respect to the banks is
along AC. The boat moves along the river with velocity
v. Suppose the boat moves a distnace BC = s along the
river in time t1.
Exactly in this time t1 boat moves across the river and
travels a distnace' ', (width of the river), with velocity
u.

VW

B x C
VB

........(3)

The relative velocity of the boat with respect to the

bank and perpendicular to it is ucos a . If the time taken
to reach the point B in the case is t2
then (ucos )t2 =
......... (4)
From (1), (2), (3) & (4) t1 = s/v; t2 = /ucos
sin = s/ ; cos = t1/ t2
We know that sin2 + cos2 = 1. From this identity

s / 2 t1 / t 2 2 1
Solving for ' ' we get

= st2 t 22 t12 and substituting the values

s = 120 m, t1 = 10 minutes, t2 = 12.5 minutes,
we get = 200m.
using (1) and (2) we get
u = 19.2 mmin; v = 12 m/min
and sin1(v/u) = sin1(12/19.2)
= sin1(0.6667) = 410.49
85

PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

3.22 A M AN I N RAI N
Let
a veloc
us consider the rain is falling with
ity VR and a man moves with a velocity VM relative to ground, he will observe the rain falling with

a velocity VRM V R V M . Since VR is assumed

as a constant (for the rain falling at a constant rate),
the man will record different velocities of the rain if
he moves with different velocities relative to ground.

i) If rain is falling vertically with a velocity VR

and
an observer is moving horizontally with velocity

,
VM the velocity of rain relative to observer will be :

V RM1 V R V M1

From the diagram tan

and tan

x v M1
y

.......... (2)

iii) If the man speeds up, at a particular velocity

V M 2 , the rain will appear to fall vertically with

V RM2 V R V M2 as shown in figure.

VRM 2
VRM 2

VR

VM 2

VR

VRM

V M 2

VR

VM

x
......... (1)
y

VM

iv) If the man increases his speed further, he will see

the rain falling with a velocity as shown in figure.

VM

VRM VR VM

V RM 3

The magnitude of velocity of rain relative to

man is VRM VR2 VM2
If is the angle made by the umbrella with
V
V
horizontal, then tan R (or) sin R (or)
VM
VRM
VM
cos
.
VRM
If is the angle made by the umbrella with
V
V
vertical, then tan M (or) sin M (or)
VRM
VR
VR
cos
VRM
ii) When the man is moving with a velocity
VM1 relative to ground towards east, and the rain is

falling with a velocity VR relative to ground by

making an angle with vertical.Then the velocity
of rain relative to ground VRM1 is as shown in figure.
N

VRM1

VR

VRM1

VM

VM 1

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

VM 2

VM 1

V RM 3

VR

VM 3

VM3

VM 3

vM x
x
V RM3 V R V M3 tan ; tan 3
y
y
(where x and y are assumed unknowns involved
in the problem and their value can be either obtained
or eliminated).
From the above threee cases we understand that
sometimes the man obseves the rain falling forwards,
sometimes vertically downwards, and sometimes the
rain appears to fall backwards. Hence the velocity
of rain relative to man depends upon the velocity of
man relative to ground.
* Problem : 3.33
A pipe is fixed to a moving cart such that the axis of
the pipe makes an angle with the floor of the cart.
The cart moves uniformly along a horizontal path with
velocity v1 = 2ms-1. I f rain drops which are falling with
a velocity v2 = 6ms-1 vertically down reach the bottom
of the pipe without touching the walls of the pipe find
the value of . Assume that the air resistance is
negligible and velocity v of the drops is constant.

86

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A
Sol.

v1

v1

From the fig .

v
6
tan 2 3 .
v1 2

v21

tan (3)

Now,

Velocity of Rain relative to man = VRM VM

v2

(5i)

15i)
(20K
Vertical

v1

Problem : 3.34

20K

To a man in car which is moving due east with a speed of

20 m/s, the rain appears to fall at an angle of 300 with
vertical. When he reduces the speed to 8 m/s, again the
rain appears to fall at the same angle with vertical. Find
the velocity of rain.

Vr m 300
y

VR

Tan

300

x
Tan 300 =

Tan 1

1
2

To a man walking at the rate of 3km/h the rain appears

to fall vertically. When he increases his speed to 6 km/
h it appearsto meet him at an angle og 450 with vertical.
Find the angle made by the velocity of rain with the
vartical and its value.
Sol.

VR

VRM

1
2

Problem : 3.36

Vm 20

20 x
.... (i)
y

10i

10i
20K

Sol:

Tan300

VR

VRM

VRM

From the diagram Tan450

x = 14 and y 6 3

Hence V rg 14i 6 3 j

From (1) and (2) 450

and sin 450

Resultant velocity of rain and wind =

15i
VRM 20K

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

3
....... (1)
y

3
.............. (2)
y

and Tan

Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 20ms1. A

person is running in the rain with a velocity of 5 ms1
and a wind is also blowing with a speed of 15ms1
(both from the west). The angle with the vertical at
which the person should hold his umbrella so that he
may not get drenched is:

Sol. VRain VR 20(K)

VMan VM 5i

Vwind VW 15i

VM 3kmph

Solving eq. (i) and (ii), we have

Problem : 3.35

VR

-VM = 8

x8
...............(ii)
y

450

3
,
VR

1
2

3
VR

VR 3 2 kmph

3.23 M ULTI PL I CATI ON OF

A VECTOR BY A SCAL AR

Consider a vector P as shown in figure (a).

When it is multiplied by a scalar m, the result is

another vector R such that

R mP
So, whenever a vector is multiplied by a scalar
m the result is another vector having magnitude m
times that of the first and directed along the first vector.
87

PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

B 2A

C 2 A

b
c

An illustration of this for m = + 2 and m= 2 is

shown in figure (b) and figure (c )respectively.
If m = 0, the result is a null vector.
If m

then R is a unit vector..

P

3.24 SCAL AR PRODUCT OR

DOT PRODUCT
Dot pr oduct of two vector s is defined as the
pr oduct of their magnitudes and the cosine of the
angle between the two.
(or)
The dot pr oduct is the pr oduct of the magnitude of one of the vector quantities and the scalar component of second vector in the dir ection
of the fir st vector

q
(i)

(d) Scalar product of two vectors will be maximum

when cos = max = 1, i.e., = 0, i.e., vectors are
parallel.

(P.Q)max PQ

(e) P.Q P (Q cos ) = Q (P cos )
(f) If the scalar product of two non zero vectors
vanishes, t hen the vect ors are orthogonal.
(perpendicular).

i.e., = 900, P.Q PQ cos 90 0 0
(g) The scalar product of a vector by itself is
termed as self dot product and is given by

0
P.P = PP cos = P2 ( 0 )
(h) In case of unit vector n ,
n . n = 1 x 1 x cos = 1
n . n = i . i = j . j = k . k = 1
In case of orthogonal unit vectors i , j and
k ; i . j = j . k = k . i = 0

If P P i Py j Pz k and

Q Q i Q y j Q z k

P.Q P i Py j Pz k . Q i Q y j Q z k

(i)

(j)

The Scalar product of the two vectors, P and

Q is defined as P.Q P Q cos . Here is the

angle between P and Q .

The angle between the two vectors P and Q is

P.Q
P.Q
1
given by cos cos
P Q
P Q

PROPERTI ES OF SCAL AR PRODUCT :

(a) The Dot product between
two vectors obeys
commutative law. i.e., P.Q Q.P
(b) The Dot product obeys distributive law,


i.e., P.(Q R) P.Q P.R
(c) It is always a scalar which is positive if angle
between the vectors is acute (i.e. < 90) and negative
if angle between them is obtuse (i.e. 90 < 180)
AKASH MULTIMEDIA

= (PxQx + PyQy + PzQz)

(k) The product of vectors is possible between
vectors of different kind.
Application 3.12 :
Geometrically,
Q cos is the projection
of

Q onto P and P cos is the projection of P onto Q

Q
as
ofthe magnitude of
shown. So P . is the product

Q
and
the
component
of
along
P
P and vice versa.

Q cos q

sq
co

P.Q
(a) Component of Q along P = Q cos =
P

P.Q
88

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

(b) The vector component of Q along P =

P.Q

Bcos P
P P.Q
P
P

P.Q

(c) Component of P along Q = P cos =

Q

P.Q

(d) The vector component of P along Q =

P.Q

P.Q
Q

P cos Q
Q
Q

e) The component of P perpendicular to Q and

Q

in the same plane is C P P.Q

f) The component of Q perpendicular to P and

P
in the same plane is D Q Q.P

Examples of Scalar Pr oduct

a) The scalar product of force and displacement,
is called workdone by that force.

If a force F acts on a body and displaces it

through a displacement S , the work done by the force

W F.S F(Scos ) (F cos )S

Workdone is maximum when force and
displacement are in the same direction (the angle
between them = 0) and is equal to FS.
If force and displacement are perpendicular to
each other, the workdone by the force is zero.
b)

Dot product between force and velcity vecotors

F.S
gives power i.e., power =
F.V
t
c) A block of mass 'm' is lifted to a vertical height
'h' from the surface of the earth. The work done (W)
against the gravitational force (F=mg) is

W F.h Fh cos 0
W = Fh
h

W = mgh

mg

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

If h decreases, potential energy of the body will

decreases.
d) The dot product of the magnetic field
induction and area of the coil gives the magnetic flux.


d B.ds (or) B.ds.

ds

q
O

e) The dot product of current density J and area

ds gives electric curret i.e., dI J.ds (or) I J.ds

f) Electric potential is the scalar product of electric

field intencity E and position vector dr .

dV = E.dr or V E.dr.

g) If a magnetic dipole ofmoment of M is in a

magnetic field of induction B, the potential energy

of the dipole is given by U B M.B.

3.25 CROSS PRODUCT OF TWO VETORS

The vector pr oduct of two vetor s is a vector
whose magnitude is equal to the pr oduct of
magnitudes of the two vector s and sine of the
angle between them.
T he pr oduct vect or i s i n a pl ane
per pendicular to the plane of two vector s. The
dir ection of pr oduct vector can be known either
with r ight hand scr ew r uleor with r ight hand

thumb r ule.
PQ
n

According to vector product P Q PQ sin n

n is a unit vector perpendicular to plane of P

and Q as shown in fig.

The direction of P Q is given by the following
rules.
89

PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

(a) Right handed scr ew r ule : Imagine a righ

handed screw to be placed along
the normal of the

plane (ABCD) containing

P and Q . Rotate the
cap of the screw from P to Q through the smaller
angle between them. The direction of motion
of the
tip of the screw gives
the direction of P Q .
P Q

Q
q

P
B

c) The vector product of two parallel vectors is

a null vector i.e.,

P Q PQ sin n = PQ isn 0 n = 0
d) The vector product of a vector by itself is a
null vector (zero)

P P = P P sin n = PP sin 0 n = 0
e) The magnitude of the vector product of two
vectors mutually at right angle is equal to the product
of the magnitude of the vectors.

P Q = P Q sin n = PQsin900 n = PQ n
f) The vector product of unit orthogonal
vectors, i, j and k have the following relations.

QP

It is clear from fig. that tip

of
the screw moves

up when cap is rotated from P to Q . Hence P Q
directed upwards. Similarly, it can be proved that

Q P is directed downward along the normal.
(b) Right hand thumb r ule : Imagine
the

normal to the plane (ABCD) containing P and Q

to be held in the right hand with the thumb
erect. If
the fingers curl in the direction from P to Q , through
smaller angle between them, then the direction of

thumb gives the direction of P Q .

i i j j k k 0
i j j i k,

j k k j i, and
k i i k j

They follow the right hand screw rule as shown

in fig.
j

P Q

O
A

QP

Fig. shown as that P Q is directed along the

normal in the up ward direction while Q P is
downward.
Pr oper ties of vector pr oduct : Following are
the properties of vector product :
a) The vector product is not commutative

PQ QP.
b) The vector product is distributive


P QR PQPR .

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

g) The vector product of two vectors interms

of their x, y and z components can be expressed in
the form of determinant.

If
P P i P j P k
x

Q Q x i Q y j Q z k

i

P Q Px
Qx

j
Py
Qy

k
Pz
Qz

Py Q z Pz Q y i Px Q z Pz Q x j Px Q y Py Q x k

h) The unit vector perpendicular to both P and

P Q
Q is n
PQ
90

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

P Px i Py j Pz k,
Q Q x i Q y j Q z k

i) If

are parallel then

Py
Px
P

z = constant
Q x Qy Qz

Note 3.18 :

1) The angle between P and P Q is 900

2) The angle between Q and P Q is 900


3) The angle between (P Q) and (P Q) is 900


4) The angle between (P Q) and (P Q) is 900


5) The angle between P Q and Q P is 1800
Application 3.13 : Area of pr ar allelogr am :

If P and Q are the two adjacent sides of a

parallelogram OABC as shown in figure.

From the diagram

d1 P Q and d 2 P Q



d1 d 2 P Q P Q

= PPPQQP Q Q

= OPQ P Q O

= 2(P Q)


d1 d 2 2 P Q

q
O

1
(base)(height)
2
1
= (OA)(BC)
2
From the triangle OBC
BC Q sin
1
Area of the triangle = P Q sin
2

1
1
PQ sin P Q
2
2
Area of triangle is equal to half the magnitude
of the cross product of two vectors representing two
sides of the triangle .

Area of the triangle =

The area of parallelogram

= OA X perpendicular distance BN
= OA X OB sin
= PQ sin

= PQ
Application 3.14 :
Area of par allelogr am in termsof diagonals.

If d1 and d 2 are the diagonals of a parallelogram

of OABC as shown in fig.
B

1
d1 d 2 .
2

Application 3.15 : Area of tr iangle

: Let OAB be

a triangle formed with P and Q as its two sides as

shown in figure.

Area of the pralleogram =

BN is the perpendicular drawn from B on OA.

B

d2

d1

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

Examples of Vector Product :

a) Rel at i on bet ween L i near Vel oci t y V,

Angular Velocity and Position Vector r .

a) Consider a particel is moving in a circular
pat h about an axis passing thro ugh OO 1 ,
perpendicular t o plane of t he path, wit h a

constant angular velocity . P is the position of the

91

PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

body at any time given by the position vector r

described with 'O' as the origin. The radius of the
circular path is O1 P = r sin . The linear velocity v
= (rsin ). The direction of the velocity is tangential
to the path at 'P' and it is perpendicular to the plane

contained by and r . So vectorially v r .
z

w
O

r sin q
r

b)

Torque (M oment of force) :

Turning effect of a force is called torque,
and is equal to the pr oduct of the for ce and the
per pendicular distance between axis of r otation
and the line of action of for ce.

Let F be the force acting on a particle at a

point P in XY plane. The position vector of the

particle be r . The torque acting on the particle

with respect to the origin O is given by ON F

r sin Fn ON r sin
The torque acts perpendicular to XY plane i.e.,
along Z axis.
Magnitude of torque is r sin F
Z

Consider a particle of mass m at a point Q in

XY plane. The position vector of Q is r . If it is

moving with a velocity v in that plane, its

momentum P mv.
Angular momentum = perpendicular distance
from origin to the line of action of momentum x
momentum
L = ON(P) = (rsin )P

L r p, L rp sin n
The direction of angular momentum is along
Zaxis.
d) For ce on a char ged par ticle
q moving with

velocity v in a magnetic field B is given by

F q(v B)

e) Tor que on a magnet i c moment

M i n
magnetic field B is given by (M B)
f) The for
ce on a cur r ent car rying conductor
of length in a magnetic field B is given by

F i( B)
g) If ' i ' denotes a unit vector along incident r ay
r a unit vector along refracted ray into a medium
of r efr active index and n is unit vector normal
to boundar y of medium dir ected towar ds the
incident medium, the law of r efr action is
i n (r n)

* Problem : 3.37

Find the angle between two vectors A 2i j k

and B = i k.

A.B
Hint : cos , Ans : 300
A B

q
Y

c)

Angular momentum :
T he moment of moment um is cal led
angular momentum.

Show that the vectors

a 3i 2 j k, b i 3 j 5k

and c 2i j 4k from a right angled triangle.

Sol.

r
Q

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

L rp

Problem : 3.38

a 9 4 1 14, b 1 9 25 35 and

c 4 1 16 21.

92

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A
which gives b2 = a2 + c2

(2i j 4k)
3i 2j k a
b c (i 3j 5k)

Hence, a,b, c are coplanar..
So they form a right angled triangle.

Problem : 3.44
A particle of massm is moving with velocity 'v' parallel
to x axis along line y = b. I ts angular momentum w . r
to origin after time (t) will be

Problem : 3.39

I f a1 and a2 are two non collinear unit vectors and if

a1 a2 3, then the value of ( a1 a2 ).(2a1 a2 )
is

Sol: Shortest distance between line of momentum and origin

is 'b'.

mv

(0,b)

Sol. a1 = a2 = 1 and

a12 +a22 + 2a1a2cos

(0,0)

3 or

Hence angular
momentum of the particle with respet
.
to origin is L mvb( k)

1 + 1 + 2 cos = 3 or cos = 1/2

Now (a1 a2 ).(2a1 a2 ) 2a12 a 22 a1a 2 cos
1 1
= 2 1
2 2

Problem : 3.40

If a and
b are two unit vectors such that a 2b and

5a 4b areperpendicular to each other, then theangle

between a and b is

Sol. (a 2b).(5a 4b) 0

5a 2 4ab cos 10ab cos 8b2 0

= 5 4 cos + 10 cos 8 = 0 [a = b = 1]
= 3 + 6 cos = 0
cos = 1/2, = 600
Find the component of 3 i + 4 j along i j ?

Sol. Componant of A along B is given by

A.B (3i 4 j).(i j) 7
2
2
B

135

Sol. Unit vector in the direction of

i 2 J 2 k 1
i 2 j 2k is n
i 2 J 2 k
3
9
Angular velocity of rigid body

3 i 2 j 2k , i 2 j 2k
3

and position vector r 2i 3 j 4 k 2i j k ,

r 4 J 3k

= 17i+13j+5k
* Problem : 3.43

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

134

Fi nd the uni t vector per pendi cul ar

A 2i 3 j k and B i j k.

AB
4i j 5k

Hint : n , Ans :
AB
42

, = sin1

I f a rigid body is rotating about an axis passing

thr ough the poi nt 2i j k and paral l el to
i 2 j 2k with an angular velocity of 3rad/sec.
Find the velocity of the point of the rigid body whose
position vector is 2i 3 j 4k

i j k

r F 1 1 6 = i(118)j(112)+k(3+2)
3

5 27

Problem : 3.46

* Problem : 3.42

I f F 2i 3 j k and r = ij+6k find r F..

134

sin =

Problem : 3.41

Sol.

Problem : 3.45

I f A = ( i j ) and B = ( i j + 5 k ). Find angle

between A and B .

i
j k

Sol. A B = 2 1 0
1 1 5

= i (5 + 0) j (10 0) + k (2 1)

A B = 5 i 10 j 3 k

2
2
52 10 3
| AB|

sin =
AB
22 1 1 1 25

to

Linear velocity of the point 'P' is

j
i

v r 1 2
0

2
3

v 2i 3 j 4 k
93

PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS
Problem : 3.47

* Problem : 3.49
Find the angle between the diagonals of a cube with
edges of length a.

Fi nd the vector components of vector

A =2
i + 3 j along the directions of B =
i + j .
Sol.

Sol.

A.B B

C= Acosq B=
B B

z
F

* Problem : 3.48

From the diagram

OG d1 ai+aj+ak, CF d2 ai+ aj + ak

A particle is in equilibrium under the simultaneous

action of three forces. Prove that each force bears a
constant ratio with the sine of the angle between the
other two.

Sol : Let, P+Q and R be the three forces acting at a point O

shown in figure. Since the particle is in equilibrium.

............... (1)
P+Q +R=0

(or) (P+Q)=-R
................ (2)

Taking cross product, with P on both sides of (2),

P P+Q =-PR (or) PP+P Q=RP

(or) P Q=RP
............... (3)

Taking cross product, with Q on both sides of (2)

2+3 i+j 5

C=

= i+j .
1+1 1+1 2

The angle between the daigonals is

d1d2
1 1
Hint : cos
Ans : cos
3
d d
1

1.

L ong Answer Questions

Define scalar and vector products and explain

their properties. Give two examples for each

Shor t Answer Questions

1.

Define scalar product. Give its properties and

two examples.

2.

Define vector product. Give its properties and

two examples

3.

State parallelogram law of vectors. Derive an

expression for the magnitude and direction of
the resultant vector.

From (3) and (4)

PQ=QR=RP

4.

State triangle law of vectors and explain it.

5.

What is relative motion. Explain it?

Taking their magnitudes

6.

Show that a boat must at an angle of 900 with

respect to river water in order to cross the river
in minimum time ?

7.

Define unit vector, null vector and position

vector.

If a b a b prove that the angle between

a and b is 900.

Q P+Q =- QR

QP+Q Q=-QR


QP= QR

(or) P Q=QR

g
b

PQ sin = QR sin RP sin

Dividing throughout by PQR

PQ sin QR sin RP sin

PQR
PQR
PQR
(or)

P
Q
R

sin sin sin

AKASH MULTIMEDIA

8.

94

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

Ver y Shor t Answer Questions

1.

2.

3.

4.
5.

6.
7.

The vertical component of a vector is equal to

its horizontal component. What is the angle
made by the vector with xaxis?

A vector V make an angle with the horizontal. The vector is rotated through an angle

. Does this rotation change the vector V ?

Two forces of magnitudes 3 units and 5 units
act at 600 with each other. What is the magnitude of their resultant?

A i j. What is the angle between the vector and xaxis ?

When two right angled vectors of magnitude
7 units and 24 units combine, what is the magnitude of their resultant?

If P = 2i + 4j + 14k and Q = 4i +4j + 10k find

the magnitude of P Q .
A force 2i + j k newton acts on a body which
is initially at rest. At the end of 20 seconds the
velocity of the body is 4i + 2j + 2k ms1. What
is the mass of the body?

8.

Can a vector of magnitude zero have a nonzero components?

9.

What are the units of a unit vector?

10. Can two vectors of unequal magnitude add up

to give the zero vector? Can three unequal vectors and upto give the zero vector?
11. During practice a player throws a ball high in
to the air, and then runs in a straight line and
catches it. Which had and greater displacement,
the player or the ball ?
12. In the below fig. there are four forces that are
equal in magnitude. Identify any three of them
which act on a body simultaneously and keep
it with unchanged velocity.
C

B
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13. The mass of a body is 5kg and its velocity is

4i 2 j k ms1. What is the momentum of the
body?
2 2
14. Find the values o f a.b a b and
2 2
a.b a b .
15. Does vector subtraction obey commutative
law?
Assess Your self
1)

Identify the vector and scalar quantities among

the following.
a) temperature b) force c) volume of the milk
in a bottle d) bus fare to Hyderabad from your
village/town e) height of Charminar f) velocity
of horse - cart you travel, the age of the Earth.

Ans : 1) Force, velocity of horse - cart are vectors.

2) Temperature, volume of the milk, bus fare,
height of charminar, the age of the earth are
Scalars.
2. Can we add a vector quantity to a scalar quantity
?
Ans : We can add a vector to another vector of same
kind but we cant add a vector quantity to a
scalar quantity.

3. The magnitudes of two vectors A and B are

8 units and 5 units respectively. What are the
maximum and minimum possible values for the

magnitude of the resultant vecor R A B ?
Ans. is maximum when A and B are in the same
directions. The magnitude of R is equal to the
magnitude of A and B.
Rmax = A + B = (8+5) unit = 13 units.
R has minimum magnitude when A and B are
opposite (antiparallel) to each other.

4.

Rmin = A B =(85) units = 3 units.

If A and B are two vectors, under what

conditions A B A B . Under what

condition the resultant vector equals to zero ?
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PHYSICS - I A

ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

The angle made by this vector with Xaxis is

180 + 66 = 2400 in anti clock wise

Ans. when these vectors have same direction. A +

B = 0 when they are oppositely directed.
A displacement vector in x y plane has
magnitude 25m and direction 300 with x axis.
What are its x and y components?
Y

y
X

3
x 25 cos30 25 21.65N
2

Ans. All their components may or may not be equal.

If one component of a vector is not zero, can
the magnitude of the vector be zero ?

Ans. The magnitude of vector A is given by

A 2x +A 2y +A 2z . Hence if any component is
non zero, A can never be zero.
9.

1
y 25sin 30 25 12.5N
2

6.

Ans :

A certain force has magnitude of 200N, its x

component is 80N. What is its y component
and its direction. Two possible answers exist
find them.
in first case

80N

Under what circumstances can the component

of a vector be equal to the magnitude of the
vector ?

Ans : If vector is directed along positive direction of

one of the three axes x, y or z then the
magnitude of the vector is the same as the
component associated with the direction, other
components are zero.
10. Write the following vectors in their unit vector
form in cartesion coordinate system in two
dimensions (i.e., consider x y plane only.)

Y
200N
-X

a) A velocity vector of 10 ms1 at an angle of

elevation of 600;

-Y

Ans :

a) F Fx2 Fy2

200

183

90 + 24 = 1140 in anticlock wise direction.

b)

s
m
10
600
O
Vx Q

200 80

183
tan

Fx
80
66 0

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-X

-80

200N

b) A vector A of magnitude A = 5m and angle

= 2250

Fy2

Ans :

in second case
Y

Fy 183N

Fy

2250
-X

O
Fy
-Y

V=10cos60i+10sin60j

V 5i 8.66 j

= 240

The angle made by the force with Xaxis is

Fy2

-1

Vy

Fx
80

and tan
Fy

2
80 Fy 2 Fy 183N

Fx2

Vx
45

s -1

m
25
30
O x

If A B , what can you conclude about the

components of A and B.

8.

Ans :

7.

10
m

5.

Vy

-Y

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ELEMENTS OF VECTORS

PHYSICS - I A

V 10 cos 45i 10 sin 45 j

V 3.54 i 3.54 j

Ans : The boat which heads straight across reaches

the opposite side first because it takes where

c) A displacement from the origin to the point

x = 14m, y = 6m

Ans : S S i 5 j , S 14i 6 j

minimum time to cross i.e., t

11. If the resultant of three vectors is zero, must

they all be in the same plane ?
Ans. Yes, the vectors must be in the same plane.
Resultant of two vectors lies in the plane in
which the vectors lie. Hence the third vector
which is equal to the resultant of the two and
opposite in direction should lie in the same
plane.

and VWG is river velocity. The boat which heads

upstream at an angle crosses the river following
the shortest path. The condition for that is

12. Two boats travelling at the same speed set off

across a river at the same time. One heads
straight across and is pulled downstream
somewhat by the currentThe other one heads
upstream at an angle so as to arrive at a point
opposite the starting point. Which boat reaches
the opposite side first ?

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2
2
VBW
VWG

is width of the river and VBW is boat velocity

V
= sin1 WG .
VBW

13. Prove that P.P = Px2+Py2+Pz2 = P2.

Ans. Consider P Px i Py j Pz k.

P.P Px i Py j Pz k . Px i Py j Pz k

P.P Px2 Py2 Pz2 P 2

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