

This vector represents the velocity of the football player.Ģ) The volume of that box at the west side of the building is 14 cubic feet. This is a vector because it represents a magnitude (10 mph) and a direction (towards the end zone). They can also be written with an arrow over the top of the letter.Įxample questions: Is it a scalar or a vector?ġ) The football player was running 10 miles an hour towards the end zone. Vectors are generally written as boldface letters. The arrow points in the direction of the vector. The magnitude of the vector is often described by the length of the arrow. It has a speed of 40 mph.Ī vector is drawn as an arrow with a head and a tail. The speed is the magnitude of the velocity. Speed is a scalar quantity, but velocity is a vector that specifies both a direction as well as a magnitude. You can tell if a quantity is a vector by whether or not it has a direction associated with it.

What is the difference between a scalar and vector?Ī vector quantity has a direction and a magnitude, while a scalar has only a magnitude. Some examples of vector quantities include force, velocity, acceleration, displacement, and momentum. Vector quantities are important in the study of motion. Some examples of scalar quantities include speed, volume, mass, temperature, power, energy, and time.Ī vector is a quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction. Below we will discuss what these words mean as well as introduce some basic vector math.Ī scalar is a quantity that is fully described by a magnitude only. These different quantities are often described as being either "scalar" or "vector" quantities. Examples of these include acceleration, velocity, speed, force, work, and power. There are a lot of different mathematical quantities used in physics.
