Motion in a Plane

Scalars are quantities with only magnitude

Scalars are quantities with only magnitude (like mass, temperature, distance) while vectors have both magnitude and direction (like displacement, velo

Vectors can be added using head

Vectors can be added using head-to-tail method or parallelogram method. Vector addition is commutative (A + B = B + A) and associative. Multiplication

Any vector can be broken down

Any vector can be broken down into component vectors along chosen axes. For a vector A at angle θ with x-axis: Ax = A cos θ, Ay = A sin θ. The magnitu

Position vector r locates an object

Position vector r locates an object relative to origin. Displacement vector Δr = r' - r represents change in position, independent of the actual path

Average velocity = Δr/Δt

Average velocity = Δr/Δt, instantaneous velocity v = dr/dt. Similarly, average acceleration = Δv/Δt, instantaneous acceleration a = dv/dt. Both are ve