Vectors and scalars

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Scalar quantities

Scalar quantities are those that have only a magnitude (size) and no direction. A good example of this is temperature.

Vector quantities

Vector quantities are those that have both a magnitude and a direction. Examples of vector quantities include velocity, force, and displacement. A vector would be shown with an arrow pointing in the direction of the vector.

Adding vectors

When two vectors are in force they must be added to get the resultant force on an object.

$$\begin{array}{rl}A& =2.0N\\ B& =4.0N\\ \text{Resultant vector}=A+B& =6.0N\end{array}$$

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See also

• Units in physics
• List of physical quantities - Wikipedia WEB
• Physical quantity - Wikipedia WEB

References

• A Level Physics OCR (Pages 12,13,14,15) BOOK
• Scalars and Vectors - John Vince PDF