Vectors

Vectors are quantities which have both magnitude and direction. A vector can be 2 dimensional,
3 dimensional or more.
Every vector has 2 parts : Magnitude and Direction
There are 2 ways to represent a vector : Graphical and Analytical
Graphical- A vector is represented by an arrow with the direction of arrow representing the
direction of vector and length of arrow representing the magnitude.

Fig 1.Graphical representation of a vector

Analytical- This way of representing vectors is used while doing the analytical analysis of a
problem. In this, the vectors are represented with respect to a coordinate system.
There are mainly 2 coordinate systems used:
1)Cartesian coordinate system
2)Polar coordinate system
Cartesian coordinate system-

fig 2. fig 3.

In this system the vector is represented by its components in various directions.

(A )
2
A = Ax + Ay &
|A| = x + (Ay )2 (bold represent vector)

Polar coordinate system-

f ig 4.
In the polar representation of vectors, r represents the magnitude of vector and denotes the
direction of the vector with respect to the fixed coordinate system.
Polar coordinates could be converted to cartesian coordinates by simply taking components
along the axes such as,
Ax
|Ax| = r sin & |Ay| = r cos and tan = Ay

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Unit Vector-
A unit vector is a vector with magnitude 1.

fig 5.
Vector Addition-

. fig 6
For vector addition of A and B, draw a vector from ending tip of A to starting tip of B. The
resulting vector is the sum of the given vectors.
Analytically if,
A = Ax + Ay
B = Bx + By
A + B = (Ax + Bx) + (Ay +
By)
Vector subtraction-
Vector subtraction is similar to vector addition. For A - B just reverse the direction of B and then
add A to it.
Ex- C = A - B

fig 7.

Resolution of vectors along coordinate axes-

Let i ,j & k be unit vectors along the coordinate axes X, Y & Z. Then any vector could be
resolved along these axes using these unit vectors. Let Ax ,A y and Az be the components of A
along X, Y and Z axes, then:
A = Ax i + A y j + Az k
Component along another vector-
Let b be a unit vector along B, then component of A along B is given by
component = |A.b|

Vector Dot Product-

fig 8.
A.B = |A||B| cos = AxBx + AyBy + AzBz

Properties of vector dot product

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1) A.A = |A|2
2) A.B = B.A
3) A.(B + C) = A.B + A.C
4) m(A.B) = (mA).B = A.(mB) = (A.B)m

Vector Cross Product-

fig 9. If C = AxB, then |C| = |A| |B| sin

Direction of C is perpendicular to both A & B ie. perpendicular to plane containing both A & B.

Angle between 2 vectors -

Angle between 2 given vectors A and B = = cos1 ( |A||B|
A.B
)

Rectilinear Motion
Rectilinear or planar motion could be thought of as vector sum of 2 linear motions.
For simplicity,often any motion in a plane is resolved along the 2 coordinate. Both motions are
then solved separately and finally added vectorially to get the final solution.
Concepts:
Let position vector of a particle be r = x i + y j + z k
dr dy
Then , velocity vector, v = dt = ( dx
dt )i + ( dt )j + ( dz
dt )k
dv d2 r d2 x d2 y d2 z
acceleration vector,a = dt = dt2
=( dt2
)i + ( dt2
)j + ( dt2
)k
Relative velocity:-
Relative velocity of A with respect to B = vAB = vA - vB
Relative acceleration of A with respect to B = aAB = aA - aB
Constant acceleration motion-
For a motion with constant acceleration, following relations are useful, derived from the
differential equations mentioned above:
v = u + at here, u = initial velocity of particle, v = final velocity of particle
2
s = ut + 0.5at a = acceleration of the particle, s = displacement of the particle
v2 = u2 + 2as t = time passed since u

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Projectile Motion

fig10.
Equation of projectile motions path where, u = magnitude of initial velocity of projectile
= angle made by initial velocity and X-axis
v = velocity of particle at any instant
t = time passed
x = displacement along x axis
y = displacement along y axis
g = acceleration due to gravity downward
g
Equation = y = x(tan ) ( 2 u2 cos2 ) x2
by equation, we could say that path of motion of a projectile is parabolic.
Formulas for projectile motion
2
Horizontal range of motion, R = u sin
g
2
(As can be seen, range is maximum for = 450 )
(u sin)2
Maximum height , H = 2g
time of maximum height, t = u sin g
time of flight, T = 2t = 2u gsin

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Questions
Easy:
1. Problem: Find angle between 2 vectors, A = i + j and B = -i + j ?
Solution: A . B = (i+j).(-i+j) = (i).(-i) + (j).(j) = - 1 + 1 = 0

(1 [( 1) ]
2
|A| = + 12 ) = 2 |B| = 2
+ 12 = 2

= cos1 ( |A||B|
A.B
) = cos1 ( 2 0. 2 ) = cos1 (0) = 900 Ans.
2. Problem: If A = 8 i + 4 j and B
= 4 i +
1 j , find magnitude of A + B and A -
B?
Solution: A + B = (8 i + 4 j) + (4 i +
1 j) = (8+4) i + (4+1) j = 12 i + 5 j
|A + B| = 122 + 52 = 13
A - B = (8 i + 4 j) - (4 i + 1 j) = (8-4) i + (4-1) j = 4 i + 3 j
|A - B| = 42 + 32 = 5 Ans.
3. Problem: Which one of the following statements is true?
(a) A scalar quantity is the one that is conserved in a process.
(b) A scalar quantity is the one that can never take negative values.
(c) A scalar quantity is the one that does not vary from one point
to another in space.
(d) A scalar quantity has the same value for observers with
different orientations of the axes.
Solution: A scalar quantity has magnitude only therefore it is independent of orientation of
coordinate axes.
4. Problem: In a river with current velocity 5 kmph in 600 east to south, a steamer is racing
towards north with velocity 20 kmph. Find resultant velocity of boat.
Solution:

Let velocity of boat = Vb and velocity of current = Vc

Magnitude of resultant velocity,R could be found using law of cosines,

V 20
2
R= b + V c2 + 2V b V c cos120 = 2
+ 52 + 2.20.5 cos120 = 325 18 kmph
For direction, we apply law of sines
R Vc V c sin 5 sin 1200
sin = sin or sin = R = 325
= 0.2402
= sin-1 0.2402 13.90 Ans.

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5. Problem: The component of a vector r along X-axis will have maximum value if
(a) r is along positive Y-axis
(b) r is along positive X-axis
(c) r makes an angle of 45 with the X-axis
(d) r is along negative Y-axis
Solution:Answer is (b) as component is maximum if whole vector is along the X-axis.
6. Problem: In a two dimensional motion, instantaneous speed V0 is a positive constant. Then
which of the following are necessarily true?
(a) The average velocity is not zero at any time.
(b) Average acceleration must always vanish.
(c) Displacements in equal time intervals are equal.
(d) Equal path lengths are traversed in equal intervals.
Solution: Answer is (d) since, only speed is constant and direction of motion may vary. Since
path length traversed depends only on speed and time independent of direction of motion,
therefore equal lengths are traversed in equal time intervals with constant speed.
7. Problem: If a stone is thrown with initial speed of 20 ms-1 at an angle of 450 with horizontal,
find the horizontal range?(assume g = 10 ms-2 )
Solution: Given u = 20 ms-1 and = 450
2
202 sin 2.45
horizontal range, R = u sin
g
2
= 10 = 40 m Ans.
8. Problem: For the same stone as in previous question, find the maximum height achieved by
the stone?
(u sin)2 (10 sin 45)2
Solution: Maximum height ,H = 2g = 2.10 2.5 m
= Ans.
9. Problem: For problem 7,find the time of flight of the stone?
Solution: Time of flight , T = 2u gsin = 2.1010
sin 45
= 2 s = 1.41 s Ans.
10. Problem: If in the problem 7, angle of throw is changed from 450 to 300 ,find the new
horizontal range of throw?
Solution: For u = 20 ms-1 and = 300
2
202 sin 2.30
horizontal range, R = u sin
g
2
= 10 = 20 3 m = 34.64 m Ans.

Moderate difficulty
11. Problem: The horizontal range of a projectile fired at an angle of 30 is 50 m.
If it is fired with the same speed at an angle of 45, its range will be ?

6
Solution: Assuming the initial speed u remains constant in both cases.
2
Range, R = u sing
2
, R1 = 50 m, we need to find R2
since u and g remain constant in both cases, therefore R sin 2
R sin 2.30
thus R1 = sin 2.45
= R50 = sin 60
sin 90
= 3 (0.5) = 0.866 R2 = 0.866 50
= 57.74 m
2 2
Ans.
12. Problem: A particle starts from the origin at t = 0 s with a velocity of 10.0 j ms-1 and moves
in the x-y plane with a constant acceleration of ( 8.0 i + 4.0 j) m s-2 .At what time is the
x-coordinate of the particle 16 m? What is the y-coordinate of the particle at that time?
Solution: Initial velocity in x-direction,ux = 0
Initial velocity in y-direction,uy = 10
Acceleration in x-direction,ax = 8
Acceleration in y-direction,ay = 2
For sx = 16, using equation s = ut + 0.5at2
16 = 0.t + (0.5)8t2 16 = (0.5)8t2 t2 = 4 t = 2 s
Ans.
At t = 2 s using s = ut + 0.5at2
sy = 10.2 + 0.5(4)(2)2 = 28 m
Ans.
13. Problem: i and j are unit vectors along x and y- axis respectively. What are the components
of a vector A= 2 i +3 j along the directions of i + j and i j ?
Solution: B = i + j and C = i j
B
= |B|
unit vectors b = 1 (i + j) C
and c = |C| = 1 (i - j)
2 2
2 3
component of A along B = A.b = 2 + 2
= 3.54 Ans.
2 3
component of A along C = A.c = 2 2 = - 0.707
Ans.
14. Problem: Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 20 ms-1
. Winds blowing after some time
-1 -1
with a speed of 20 ms in east to west direction. In which direction should a boy waiting at a
bus stop hold his umbrella ?

Solution: To find the direction of rain with wind, we vectorially add the velocity of rain and
wind.As shown in the diagram resultant direction of rain,
= tan-1 (20/20) = tan-1 (1) = 450
Therefore the boy should hold the umbrella at 450 to vertical.
Ans.
15. Problem: A hiker stands on the edge of a cliff 500 m above the ground and throws a stone

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horizontally with an initial speed of 20 ms-1. Neglecting air resistance, find the time taken by the
stone to reach the ground, and the speed with which it hits the ground. (Take g = 10 ms-2 ).
Solution: Here, a = -10 ms-2 (since g is downwards while initial velocity is upwards)
u = 0 (stone is thrown horizontally, the component of its initial velocity along downward is 0)
and s = 500 m
therefore, s = ut + 0.5at2
500 = 0.t + 0.5(10)t2 gives t = 10 s
Ans.
16. Problem: A football is kicked into the air vertically upwards. What is its (a) acceleration, and
(b) velocity at the highest point?
Solution: The acceleration on football would be due to gravity only as it is the only force acting
on it mid-flight.
Since in any projectile motion, the highest point is reached when the upward component of
velocity of projectile becomes 0, therefore at highest point the velocity of ball is 0.
acceleration,a = g downwards and v = 0 at highest point.
Ans.
17. Problem: A fighter plane is flying horizontally at an altitude of 1 km with speed 360 km/h. At
what angle of sight (w.r.t. horizontal) when the target is seen, should the pilot drop the bomb in
order to attack the target?

Solution:
Given H = 1 km = 1000 m and ux = u = 360 km/h = 100 ms-1
taking downward positive
time of flight,t could be found using relation s = ut + 0.5at2 , where s = 1000 m , u = ux = 0,
a = g = 10 ms-2 giving
1000 = 0.5(10)t2 => t = 102 s = 14.14 s
R = ux t = ut = 100 . 102 = 10002
tan = H/R => = tan-1 (1000/10002) = tan-1 (1/2) = 35.260 Ans.
18. Problem: A projectile is fired in such a way that its horizontal range is equal to twice its
maximum height. What is the angle of projection?
Solution: Given R = 2 H => R / H = 2
(u sin)2 2
since H = 2g nd R = u sin
a g
2

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 u2 sin 2
R g 2 sin 2 2.2.sin . cos 4 cos 4
H = (u sin)2
= sin2
= sin2
= sin = tan =2
2g

tan = 4
2 = 2 = tan 1 (2) = 63.440
Angle of projection = = 63.440
Ans.
19. Problem: The ceiling of a long hall is 20 m high. What is the maximum horizontal distance
that a ball thrown with a speed of 40 ms-1 can go without hitting the ceiling of the hall ?
2 (u sin)2
Solution: Given H = 20 m and u = 40 ms-1 ,R = u sin
g
2
and H = 2g
(40 sin)2
using expression for H, 20 = 2.10 = 80sin2 sin2 = 20
80 = 1
4
sin = 1
2 = 300
402 sin 2.30
= 160. 23 = 803 = 138.56 m
2
therefore R = u sin
g
2
= 10 Ans.
20. Problem:A cricketer can throw a ball to a maximum horizontal distance of 90 m. How much
high above the ground can the cricketer throw the same ball ?
Solution: Cricketers hand strength decides initial speed i.e. u,therefore u would be same in
both cases of maximum horizontal distance and maximum height.
Maximum horizontal range is possible when throwing angle is 450 .
therefore R = 300 m, = 450 and g = 10 ms-2
2 2
R = u sin
g
2
90 = u sin102.45 u2 = 900 u = 30 ms1
since height is maximum when = 900 ,

(u sin)2 (30 sin90)2 900

H = 2g = 2.10 = 20 = 45 m Ans.

Hard diffic
Problem. 21: An athlete can throw the ball with a speed v. If he throws the ball while
running with speed u at an angle to the horizontal, find
(a)The effective angle to the horizontal at which the ball is projected in air as seen by a
spectator.
(b)Time of flight?
(c)What is the distance (horizontal range) from the point of projection at which the
ball will land?
(d) Find at which he should throw the ball that would maximise the horizontal
range as found in (c).

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Solution:
Spectator will see the velocity of ball w.r.t. inertial frame of reference.The velocity of ball could
be found out by vectorially adding u and v as shown in diagram.

(vsin)
2
|u+v|= + (u + v cos)2
vsin
The effective angle, = tan-1 ( u+vcos )
Ans(a)
2(|u + v|) vsin
2(|u + v|) sin 2(|u + v|) sin |u+v| 2.v.sin
Time of flight,T =
g = g = g = g
Time of flight,T = 2.v.sin
g
Ans(b)
Horizontal range, R =
(vcos+u)
(|u+v|)2 sin 2 (|u+v|)2 2.sin.cos (|u+v|)2 .2. vsin
|u+v| . |u+v| 2.vsin.(vcos+u)
g = g = g = g
2.vsin.(vcos+u)
therefore range,R = g
Ans(c)
Since horizontal range is maximum when effective throwing angle is 450
vsin
therefore for maximum range, = 450 = tan-1 ( u+vcos )
vsin u
u+vcos = tan(45) = 1 v sin = u + v cos sin cos = v
solving the equation, we will get
(to solve put sin=(1-cos2 ),square and then solve quadratic)
u+u2 +8v 2
max = cos1 ( 4v ) Ans(d)

Problem. 22: A fighter plane flying horizontally at an altitude of 1 km with speed 1080 km/h
passes directly overhead an anti-aircraft gun. At what angle from the vertical should the gun be
fired for the shell with muzzle speed 600 ms-1 to hit the plane ? At what minimum altitude should
the pilot fly the plane to avoid being hit ? (Take g = 10 m s-2 ).
Solution:

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For plane, H = 1 km = 1000 m and v = 1080 kmph = 300 ms-1
muzzle speed, u = 600 ms-1
Let be the angle for hitting and t be time between shot and hit.
Therefore (ucos)t = vt (since both cover equal horizontal distance for
hitting)
600 cos=300 cos = 0.5 = 600 for hitting the plane.
Minimum height to avoid being hit depends on maximum height reached by projectile from
bullet.
(u sin)2
Therefore, maximum height, H = 2g
(600 sin60)2
H = 2.10 =225*3 = 675 m
Therefore plane should fly at minimum height of 675 m to avoid being hit.
Ans.

Problem. 23: A hill is 400 m high. Supplies are to be sent across the hill using a canon that can
hurl packets at a speed of 100 m/s over the hill. The canon is located at a distance of 800m
from the foot of hill and can be moved on the ground at a speed of 2 m/s; so that its distance

11
from the hill can be adjusted. What is the shortest time in which a packet can reach on the
ground across the hill ?
Solution:

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