Physics for Engineers

Class 02
Introduction to Scalars and Vectors
August 21, 2014
Last Modied: Wednesday 27
th
August, 2014, 01:13
Todays lecture is from sections 1.31.6 of Text book [1].
1 Announcements
Were going to follow [1] as Text book.
Text and reference books have been uploaded on SLATE.
Were not going to go into the details of onedimensional kinematics. We will
start with vector analysis today.
2 Revision
The goal of this course is to understand Maxwells equations that govern the working
of electromagnetics.
Scientic and engineering notations.
3 Scalars and Vectors (1.3S)
3.1 Scalars
A scalar quantity has only magnitude. Distance, mass, time, etc. are examples of some
scalars. A scalar quantity is represented by a plain letter, e.g, A, t, m.
3.2 Vectors
Vector quantities require a direction along with magnitude. If you want directions to the
nearest restaurant and ask someone, you get an answer like this: Walk a distance of 100
m and youll get there. Does this make any sense? You know how much distance you have
to travel but you dont know which direction to go! Instead if you are told: Walk 100 m
westward. This gives a complete description of where your destination is. Some examples
of vectors are displacement, velocity, force, electric eld, etc.
A vector quantity is represented by boldface (capital) letter or a letter with a bar or
arrow above. Unit vectors are usually represented with small boldface letters or with a hat
above. Examples of vector notation are: A,

A,

A, x, x.
Boldface notation is usually used in printed text. It is easier to use a bar for vectors in
handwritten text.
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4 Unit Vector (1.4S)
A vector A has both magnitude and direction. The magnitude of vector A is a scalar
quantity written as A or |A|. A unit vector a
A
along A is dened as a vector that has the
same direction as A but a magnitude of 1.
a
A
=
A
|A|
=
A
A
(1)
Note that | a
A
| = 1. Vector A can be written as,
A = A a
A
(2)
5 Representation of Vectors in Cartesian Coordinate
System
A vector A in Cartesian coordinate system is written as,
(A
x
, A
y
, A
z
) or A = A
x
x + A
y
y + A
z
z (3)
A
x
, A
y
and A
z
are called components of A in x, y and z directions, respectively. The unit
vectors x, y and z point in the increasing direction of x, y, and z.
Figure 1: Representation of a vector in Cartesian coordinates [1, g. 1.1]
The magnitude of A is given by,
|A| = A =

A
2
x
+ A
2
y
+ A
2
z
(4)
The unit vector along A is given by,
a
A
=
A
A
=
A
x
x + A
y
y + A
z
z

A
2
x
+ A
2
y
+ A
2
z
(5)
2
6 Addition and Subtraction of Vectors (1.5S)
Vectors A and B can be added together to give a third vector C,
C = A+B (6)
If A = (A
x
, A
y
, A
z
) and B = (B
x
, B
y
, B
z
) then,
C = (A
x
+ B
x
) x + (A
y
+ B
y
) y + (A
z
+ B
z
) z (7)
Vector subtraction is carried out in a similar manner.
D = AB = A+ (B) = (A
x
B
x
) x + (A
y
B
y
) y + (A
z
B
z
) z (8)
Graphically, vectors are added or subtracted using the parallelogram rule or headtotail
rule.
7 Function
Warning: This is a very loose denition of function but one that is convenient and suitable
for us. In calculus you might come across a stricter denition.
A function is a rule (or relationship) between two quantities.
Two variables, independent and dependent are associated with a function.
All possible values that independent variable can take is called domain of function.
All possible values that dependent variable can take is called range of function.
In the function x(t) = 2t, x is dependent variable, t is independent variable and the
rule is value of x is twice that of t or simply 2t.
8 Scalar and Vector Fields
8.1 Field
A eld is a function of space or the coordinates x, y and z. A eld species or denes a
scalar quantity in the whole space or region.
8.2 Scalar Field
A scalar eld is a function that assigns to each point in space a scalar or number. For example,
temperature in a room at each point is dened by a function T(x, y, z) = 2x + 3y z.
8.3 Vector Field
A vector eld is a function that assigns to each point in space a vector. For example, electric
eld in a region is given by

E(x, y, z) = 2y x + 3z y + xy z.
3
9 Exercises
Question 1: Given A = 10 x

4y + 6 z and B = 2 x + y, nd,
(1) The scalar component of A along y.
(2) The vector component of A along y.
(3) The magnitude of 3A 4B.
(4) A unit vector along A+ 2B
Question 2: Given vectors A = x + 3 z and B = 5 x + 2y 6 z, nd,
(1) |A+B|.
(2) 5AB.
(3) The scalar and vector components of A along y.
(4) A unit vector along (or parallel to) 3A+B.
Question 3: An airplane has a ground speed of 350 km/hr in the direction due west. If
there is a wind blowing northwest at 40 km/hr calculate the true air speed and heading or
plane.
References
[1] M. N. O. Sadiku. Elements of Electromagnetics. 2nd edition.
Prepared By: Attique Dawood Last Modified By: Arshad Hassan
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