Scalar and vector quantities: vectors, notation, Posi- Parallel vectors

tion and displacement vectors, equality of vectors, When vectors act along the same direction, they
multiplication of vectors by a real number; addition called parallel vectors.
and subtraction of vectors. Relative velocity. Unit If two collinear vectors act in the same direction then
vector; Resolution of a vector in a plane - rectangu- the angle between them is , as shown in the figure below.
lar components ,. Motion in a plane. Cases of uni-
form velocity and uniform acceleration-projectile
motion
Scalars:
Quantities that can completely specify by a Figure 2: Parallel Vectors
number and unit means have magnitude only,
called scalars. Anti-parallel vectors
Some scalar quantities are real numbers, mass, length, time, Vectors said to be anti-parallel if they act in op-
density, energy and temperature. posite direction.
If two parallel vectors act in opposite directions, then the angle
Scalar quantities manipulated by the laws of arithmetic between them is or radians, as shown in the figure below.
applicable to real numbers means added and subtracted to-
gether in the same way as real numbers. are in opposite direction.

Vectors:
All physical quantities, which have direction as
well as magnitude, called vectors quantities.
Example of vectors quantities are weight, force, velocity, ac- Figure 3 Antiparallel Vectors
celeration, electric field strength and magnetic induction.
Unit Vector ( )
Vector quantities cannot add up or subtracted by the law
It is a vector having unit magnitude. It used to
of algebra. For addition or subtraction of vectors we have to
use rules of vector algebra viz triangle & parallelogram law denote the direction of a given vector.
of vector addition. A Unit Vector is a vector having length 1 and no units &
Vector notation: dimensions.
Vector quantities normally represented by bold letters such as Any vector can expressed in terms of its unit vector ( ) in
a, b, c or overhead arrow letters such as . the following way
Geometrical representation of vectors: , where , magnitude of the vector.
A vector in a plane represented geometrically by a directed Here, is unit vector in the same direction as . Thus,
line segment. The length of the directed line segment called mag-

,
nitude of the vector and the direction of the line segment repre-

sents the direction of the vector quantity. Therefore, if a given vector divided by its magnitude, we get a
unit vector.

( ) ( ) Figure 1

Types of vectors
Collinear vectors Figure 4
Collinear vectors are those vectors that act
along the same line. Three rectangular unit vectors
These vectors may act either in the same direction or in oppo- The three rectangular unit vectors illustrated in below
site directions. figure. These unit vectors used to specify the positive
Page 1 of 7
 directions respectively. In negative direction unit tors. We get
vectors represented by .

Figure 7

( )
( ) ()
In the right angled ANC,
Figure 5
Addition of Vectors
Vectors do not obey the ordinary laws of algebra, they added up geometri-
cally. This is because vectors possess both magnitude and direction.
Substituting for NC and AN in equation ( ), we get
When two or more vectors added, the result is a ( ) ( )
single vector called the resultant vector.
Three laws have evolved for the addition of vectors: ( )
Triangle law of vectors, for addition of two vectors
Parallelogram law of vectors, for addition of two vectors
Triangle law of vectors ( )
Let are two vectors making an angle of to each other The above equation ( ) gives the magnitude of the resultant
& we have to get their addition. vector
The direction of the resultant can be determined by calculation
of , which is the angle that makes with .
from the right-angled ONC,
( )
| |
(( )
) ((| | | | )
)

Equation ( ) can also expressed in the following ways

| | | | | | | || |

Figure 6 | | | | | | | || |

First, draw vector . ( ) Parallelogram Law of addition of two

Now draw from the arrowhead of making an angle
vectors:
with .( ) Consider two vectors as shown in below figure. Vector
Now join tail of to the head of & we get resultant displaced parallel to itself until the tail end of both the vectors
tor . This resultant called as sum of .( ) touch at a point O. The parallelogram completed as shown in the
Therefore figure. Applying the law of triangle of vectors, to the triangle OAC,
This leads to the statement of the law of triangle of vectors. we have,
If two vectors can be represented in both mag-
nitude and direction by the two sides of a trian-
gle taken in the same order, then the resultant is
represented completely, both in magnitude and
in direction, by the third side of the triangle
taken in the opposite order.
To determine analytically the resultant Figure 8
of two vectors, using triangle law of
vectors: The above example can stated in the following way as the law
of parallelogram of vectors
In the right angled ONC, considering magnitudes only of vec-
Classes 11th and 12th Page 2 of 7
 If two vectors acting simultaneously at a point When & acts perpendicularly =
can be represented in both magnitude and direc- In this case,
tion by the two adjacent sides of a parallelogram
drawn from a point, then the resultant is repre-

sented completely, both in magnitude and direc- | |
| | | |
tion by the diagonal of the parallelogram pass-
ing through the point. ( )
( )
To determine analytically the resultant
of two vectors, using parallelogram law If &
of vectors: & ( )

In the figure two vectors & completely represented by the
two sides OA and OB respectively of a parallelogram. Then, diag- resultant bisects the angle b/w the two vectors.
When & acts in opposite direction
onal OC of the parallelogram will be resultant such that
.
Let be the angle between two given vectors & . From C, ( ) ( )
drop a perpendicular CN on OA produced. In the right angled tri- ( ) ( )
angle ANC, Therefore | | | | | |
This implies the positive difference b/w
= () i.e., the resultant vector also points in the direction of the vec-
tor with greater magnitude. This is minimum resultant, which we
get on addition of two vectors acting in opposite direction.
Thus, we can say that resultant of two vectors always lies
{| | | |} {| | | |}

If | | | |, then
Figure 9 on solving
Also ( )
( ) Angle b/w resultant & calculated by expression
( (
Now Consider the right angled ONC, ) )

( ) ( ) It implies that if two vectors of same magnitude acts an angle
, then their resultant always bisects angle b/w them.
( ) Resultant always makes a lesser angle to that vector,
which is of greater magnitude comparatively.
Equilibrant vector:
A single vector, which balances two or more
This is the magnitude of the resultant R.
vectors acting simultaneously at a point. The
The direction of the resultant is given by the angle , which is equilibrant and the resultant vectors are equal
determined in the following way in magnitude and opposite in direction.
( )
(( )
)
Special cases:
When & acts in same direction =

Figure 10
Therefore | | | | | | Position vector
A position, location, or radius vector, usually denoted by
& ( )
ter , is a vector, which represents the position of a point P in
i.e., the resultant vector also points in the direction of the given space relative to an arbitrary reference origin O. Unlike a free vec-
vector. This is maximum result, which we can get on addition of tor, a position vector is "tied" or "fixed" to the origin.
two vectors.
Page 3 of 7
 The displacement vector gives the position of Q with ref-
erence to P.
The displacement vector is independent of the choice of the
origin.

We have,
Thus, displacement vector is the difference between two posi-
tion vectors.
( ) ( ) Figure 11 If ( )( ) are the coordinates of P and Q respective-
Position vectors are different for different positions of ly, then,
point . ( ) ( )
Position of a point with reference to another point (not
origin) called displacement vector. Magnitude of is
| | ( ) ( )
The position vector at any time , in terms of co-ordinates
Extending to three dimensions,
, given by
Let represent the displacement vector from point P with
The magnitude as is evident from coordinates ( ) to point Q with coordinates
above figure. ( ). Examine the total displacement vector from point P
Magnitude of a vector: to Q. It has magnitude
The magnitude of the vector is the length of the line seg- | | ( ) ( ) ( )
ment ( ). It is denoted by .
The magnitude of a vector is always a positive number or zero.

Let co-ordinates of initial point of above vector are

( ) while of end point are ( ). Then length of the
vector is ( ) ( )
Displacement Vector
Figure 13
Displacement is the shortest distance of b/w the initial and
final positions of a point/ object. Resolution of a vector:
A displacement vector represents the length and direction The process of splitting a vector into various parts or compo-
of that imaginary straight path. nents called resolution of vector
This gives the position of a point with reference to a point
These parts of a vector may act in different directions and
other than the origin of the coordinate system.
called "components of vector.
Let a particle at a point at any instant of time and move to
We can resolve a vector into a number of components. Gen-
another point Q. The position vectors of P and Q with reference to
erally, there are three components of vector, Viz
the origin O are respectively. The vector directed from
P to Q, is the displacement vector corresponding to the motion Component along X-axis called X-component
of the particle from position P to Q. Thus, Component along Y-axis called Y-component
( ) ( ) ( ) Component along Z-axis called Z-component
Here we will discuss only two components x-component & Y-
component, which are perpendicular to each other. These com-
ponents are called rectangular components of vector.
Rectangular components of a vector:
Rectangular components of vectors are just two
perpendicular vectors that added together
would give original vector.
(Sometimes called orthogonal components)
Usually they called either component and compo-
nent or horizontal and vertical component.
Figure 12

Classes 11th and 12th Page 4 of 7

 would change.
Relative velocity:
Relative velocity refers to the speed and direction of an object
with respect to some other reference. There is no standard refer-
ence for a relative velocity; however, some references, such as
the ground, are much more convenient than others are. However,
if we determine the velocity of one moving object
with respect to another moving object then in this
situation velocity of one object as compared to
another is termed as relative velocity.
Figure 14
Basic rule for determination of relative velocity
The figure illustrates a vector represented by . Through when two bodies moving along a straight line:
the point, O two mutually perpendicular axes and are drawn. If two cars A & B are moving with velocities re-
From the point , two perpendiculars, and are dropped spectively then to find the relative velocity of car A with respect to
on and axes respectively. car B, we subtract the velocity of car B, from the actual velocity of
The vector is the resolved part of along the .It car A & Vice versa.
is ccomponent of and is the projection of the on
If two car A & B are moving with velocities re-
spectively in the same direction then
. In similar way vector is the resolved part of Relative velocity of car A w.r.t. car B is
along the .It is ccomponent of and is the projec-
tion of the on . Relative velocity of car B w.r.t. car A is
Applying the law of triangle of vector addition in ONP,
Or ,
Which also confirms that are the components of .
Moreover, in the right-angled ONP,
| | Figure 16
()
| |
| | If two cars A & B are moving with velocities re-
( ) spectively in the opposite direction then
| |
Squaring and adding ( ) ( ) Relative velocity of car A w.r.t. car B is
( )
( )
Relative velocity of car B w.r.t. car A is
( )
This equation gives the magnitude of the given vector in terms
of the magnitudes of the components of the given vector.
In below figure velocity vector represented by the vector
On resolving into two rectangular components, we have Figure 17
In terms of unit vectors
Relative Velocity in the Case of Two
, Where Velocities Inclined to Each Other at some
& angle:
Below figure shows two cars moving with velocities &
inclined to each other at an angle . Let the relative velocity of
B with respect to A is

Figure 15

The components are mutually independent, that is if one Figure 18

of them changes it will not affect the other. For example, if Therefore ( ),
got bigger, would still be the same. Only the resultant However, from the parallelogram of vectors
Page 5 of 7
 ( ) in the x-direction is constant.
The maximum horizontal distance reached by the projec-
( ) () tile called the RANGE.
( ) The maximum vertical distance reached by the projectile is
Also ( )

called the MAXIMUM HEIGHT
( )
( )
The velocity of the projectile in the direction is equal to
zero at the maximum height reached by the projectile (just as
the motion of an object in free-fall, the object thrown upward
has to stop before it eventually comes back down). Means
vertical component of velocity of a projectile becomes zero at
maximum height
The vertical and horizontal motion of a projectile is inde-
pendent.
Equation of path of Projectile:

Figure 19

In a similar way, the relative velocity with respect to ,

that is, can also be determined. The figure below illustrates
this case. It seen that the magnitude of relative velocity in both
cases is the same with the direction reversed.
Special cases Figure 20
When both the cars are moving in the same direction, i.e., The figure above shows a projectile thrown with a velocity at
degrees
an angle with the horizontal. The velocity is resolved into its
( ) two rectangular components.
( ) along axis which is constant, since, the force
Thus, the relative speed between two bodies moving in the of gravity in the horizontal direction is zero.
same direction is equal to the difference of the individual speeds in the vertically upward direction, decelerating
of two bodies. with time, since, it is acted upon by the force of gravity in the
When two cars are moving along parallel lines in opposite vertically downward direction.
direction i.e., degrees If is the distance covered in the horizontal direction in time
, then
( )
( ) ()
( )
However, relative speeds cannot be negative. Let be the vertical distance covered by the projectile in time
( ) . Considering the vertical motion of the projectile
i.e., the relative speed between two bodies moving in opposite ( ) ( )
directions is equal to the sum of the individual speeds. Using equation ( ) ( ) , and substituting
Projectile Motion the above values, we get ( )
If an object projected into the air under the action of gravity at Now on putting value of from ( ) we get
any angle to the ground other than then particle
( )( ) ( ) on solving we get
traverse a curved path called a projectile motion. The ideal motion
of a cricket ball, a golf ball or a bullet is an example of projectile ( ) ( )
motion. We assume that the effect of air have negligible effect on This is the equation of a parabola, thus a projectile traverse a
their motion. Moreover, we also neglect parabolic path.
The effect due to curvature of the Earth
It is clear from equation( ) that the trajectory completely
The effect due to rotation of the Earth
For all points on the trajectory, the acceleration due to known if and are known. It is also important to remember that
gravity 'g' is constant in magnitude and direction. equation ( )is valid only if .
Terms related to Projectile Motion: Maximum Height:
Object, which we throw in air called projectile.
Projectile motion is a combination of un-accelerated
direction motion and free-fall direction.
Since there is no acceleration in the x-direction, the velocity
Classes 11th and 12th Page 6 of 7
 We get ( ) ()
For maxima & minima put ( )
we get
Again differentiating we get ( )
Figure 21
For , is negative, which shows that for a pro-
Maximum height is denoted by the letter or . It also
known, as the vertical range of projectile. It is the maximum height jectile, projected oblique from earth, will get maximum range when
to which a projectile rises above the horizontal plane of projection. it is projected at an angle of .
In order to calculate the maximum height , use fact that the ve- Two angles of projection for the same
locity ( ) of the projectile at the maximum height is zero. range:
( )
Thus according to equation Horizontal range given by;
, here As we know from trigonometry ( )
. Putting these values in Thus
above equation, we get ( ) ( )

( ) ( ) ( )

If = 900

Time of flight:
It is total time taken by the projectile to return to the same level
from where it has thrown.
Since projectile comes back to same level after completion of Figure 23
its trajectory, thus vertical height covered by projectile is zero. This shows that there are two angles of projection for the
Thus in this condition same horizontal range i.e. and ( - ) with the horizontal. The
Thus from equation projectile will cover the same horizontal range whether projectile
thrown at an angle ( ) with the horizontal, or an angle
, Now put above value in this equation with the vertical.

Horizontal range:

Figure 22

It is the total horizontal distance from the point of projection, to

the point where the projectile returns to the plane of projection. It
denoted by .
To calculate the horizontal range, we need to consider the hor-
izontal motion of the uniform velocity , in the horizontal
direction. Hence, the horizontal range given by,
( )
( )

For R to be maximum should maximum. As we
know that maximum value for is +1, thus maximum
value of will be .

Angle for maximum range of projectile

( )
Differentiating equation , w.r.to

Page 7 of 7