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A vector describes a movement from one point to another.
Vector notation
A vector quantity has both direction and magnitude (size).
(In contrast a scalar quantity has magnitude only - eg, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4...)
For example this arrow represents a vector. The direction is given by the arrow, while the length of the line represents the magnitude.
This vector can be written as:
, a, or
.
In print, a
is written in bold type. In
handwriting, the vector is indicated by putting a squiggle
underneath the letter:
- Question
Write down the 3 ways to describe the vector if the arrow is now pointing from B to A.
- Answer
Remember that the arrow describes the direction. So, in this case, the vector is from B to A. If we move 'backwards' along a vector, it becomes negative, so a becomes -a. Moving from B to A entails moving 3 units to the left, and 4 down.
So the three ways to write this vector are:
, -a
and
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