ADDING VECTORS

LEARNING COMPETENCY: Perform addition of

vectors
 VECTOR APPLICATION
▪ ADDITION: When two (2) vectors point in
the SAME direction, simply add them
together.
▪ When vectors are added together they
should be drawn head to tail to determine
the resultant or sum vector.
▪ The resultant goes from tail of A to head of
B.
Example
A man walks 46.5 m east, then another 20 m east.
Calculate his displacement relative to where he started.

46.5 m, E
+ 20 m, E

66.5 m, E
 VECTOR APPLICATION
▪ SUBTRACTION: When two (2)
vectors point in the OPPOSITE
direction,
simply subtract them.
46.5 m, E
Ex. A man walks 46.5 m east, -
then another 20 m west. 20 m, W
Calculate his displacement
relative to where he
26.5 m, E
started.
GRAPHICAL METHOD – (head to tail method)
Graphical Method
▪ Aligning vectors head to
tail and then drawing the
resultant from the tail of
the first to the head of the
last.
Graphical Vector Addition A + B

Step 1 – Draw a start point

Step 2 – Decide on a scale
Step 3 – Draw Vector A to scale
Step 4 – Vector B’s tail begin at
Vector A’s head. Draw Vector B to
scale.
Step 5 – Draw a line connecting the
initial start point to the head of B.
This is the resultant.
Example #1

1. A person walks 9 blocks east and 5

blocks North, What is the
displacement from his starting point
to its destination?

Assume in your ruler:

1 block = 1 cm
Example #2

2. Imagine you walk 10 m to the east

and then 5 m to the north. Find your
resultant displacement.

Assume in your ruler:

1 cm= 1 m
Example #3

3. Find the total displacement of a

person who walks the following three
steps on a flat field. First, she walks
25.0 m in a direction 49˚ north of
east. Then, she walks 23.0 m heading
15˚ north of east. Finally, she turns
and walks 32.0 m in a direction 68˚
south of east. ( 1mm=1m)
NON CO-LINEAR VECTORS
▪ When two (2) vectors are
PERPENDICULAR to
each other, you must use
the PYTHAGOREAN
THEOREM
 Let’s Practice
A man travels 120 FINIS
H
km east then 160 km the hypotenuse is
called the RESULTANT
north. Calculate his
resultant 160 km, N

displacement. VERTICAL
COMPONENT

c 2 = a2 + b2 → c = a2 + b2
S

(120) + (160) 
R 120 km, E
2 2
c = resultan t = T
A
T

c = 200 km HORIZONTAL COMPONENT

 WHAT ABOUT DIRECTION?
In the example, DISPLACEMENT is asked for and since
it is a VECTOR quantity, we need to report its
direction.
N

W of N E of N
N of E
N of W
N of E
W E
S of W S of E
NOTE: When drawing a right triangle that
conveys some type of motion, you MUST
W of S E of S
draw your components HEAD TO TOE.
S
 NEED A VALUE – ANGLE!
Just putting N of E is not good enough (how far north of east ?).
We need to find a numeric value for the direction.

To find the value of the

angle we use a Trig
function called TANGENT.
200 km

160 km, N
opposite side 160
Tan = = = 1.333
 N of E adjacent side 120
120 km, E  = Tan−1 (1.333) = 53.1o

So the COMPLETE final answer is : 200 km, 53.1 degrees North of East

 What are your missing components?
Suppose a person walked 65 m, 25 degrees East of North. What were
his horizontal and vertical components?
H.C. = ?
The goal: ALWAYS MAKE A RIGHT
TRIANGLE!
V.C = ?
25˚ 65 m To solve for components, we often use
the trig functions sine and cosine.

adjacent side opposite side

cosine = sine =
hypotenuse hypotenuse
adj = hyp cos  opp = hyp sin 

adj = V .C. = 65 cos 25 = 58.91m, N

opp = H .C. = 65 sin 25 = 27.47m, E
 Activity 1: Try this in your notebook

1. A boat moves with a velocity of 15 m/s, N in a river

which flows with a velocity of 8.0 m/s, west. Calculate
the boat's resultant velocity with respect to due north.

2. A plane moves with a velocity of 63.5 m/s at 32

degrees South of East. Calculate the plane's horizontal
and vertical velocity components.
 Analytical Method

 Analytical method eliminates the chances for human

errors related to the measuring and plotting of vectors
when the graphical method is employed.
 A vector on the Cartesian plane can be represented by
its components on the horizontal (x- axis) and vertical (y-
axis).
 Analytical Method

 Analytical Method

 Both vectors need to be RESOLVED into

their components.
 The components are then added together
to find the resultant.
 A to be resolved into Ax and Ay.
Ax = Acos θ Ay = Asin θ

 B to be resolved into Bx and By.

Bx = Bcos θ By = Bsin θ
Adding Vectors by the Component Method –
Resolve each vector into components

B = 25 km @ 10° N of E

A = 10 km @ 60° N of E
Adding Vectors by the Component Method –
Resolve each vector into components

B = 25 km @ 10° N of E

By
Bx
Ay
A = 10 km @ 60° N of E

Ax
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

B = 25 km @ 10° N of E

By
Bx
Ay
A = 10 km @ 60° N of E

Ax
Ax = 10cos60° Ay = 10sin60°
Bx = 25cos10° By = 25sin10°
 Adding Vectors by the Component Method

Bx By

Ay

Ax
 The x-components and y-components can each be
considered legs of the resulting triangle.
 Adding Vectors by the Component Method

By

Ay
Bx
Ax
 The x-components and y-components can each be
considered legs of the resulting triangle.
Adding Vectors by the Component Method –
Construct the “resulting triangle” from components

By
Ry
R
Ay
Rx Bx
Ax
 Rx = Ax + Bx Ry = Ay + By
 Adding Vectors by the Component Method

Rx = 29.60
Ry = 13.00
By R = ??
Ry
R
Ay
Rx Bx
Ax
How do we find R?
YES!! Pythagorean Theorem: R2 = Rx2 + Ry2
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

By
Ry
R
Ay
Rx Bx
Ax
 R2 = RX2 + RY2
Adding Vectors by the Component Method
 Math – IN DEGREE MODE
 Ax = 10cos60° = 5.00 km
 Ay = 10sin60° = 8.66 km
 Bx = 25cos10° = 24.6 km
 By = 25sin10° = 4.34 km
 Rx = Ax + Bx = 29.6 km
 Ry = Ay + By = 13.00 km
 R = 32.33 km
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

 Another way to organize data

x-axis y-axis

A 10cos60° 10sin60°

B 25cos10° 25sin10°

R
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

 Another way to organize data

x-axis y-axis

A 5.00 8.66

B 24.62 4.34

R
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

 Another way to organize data

x-axis y-axis

A 5.00 8.66

B 24.62 4.34

R 29.62 13.00
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

Rx = 29.60
Ry = 13.00
By R = 32.33
Ry
R
Ay
Rx Bx
Ax
Is this it? 32.33 km?
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

Rx = 29.60
Ry = 13.00
By R = 32.33
Ry
R
Ay
Rx Bx
Ax
Is this it? No!! Now we have to find the
direction.
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

Rx = 29.60
Ry = 13.00
R = 32.33
Ry
R

θ Rx

tan θ = Ry/Rx
θ = tan-1(Ry/Rx)
Adding Vectors by the Component Method

Rx = 29.60
Ry = 13.00
R = 32.33
Ry
R

θ Rx

θ = 23.71° N of E
How do we know it is North of East?
 Adding Vectors by the Component Method
N (north)
A

W (west) 40° N of E
B E (east)
C

S (South)
 Adding Vectors by the Component Method

B = 25 km @ 10° N of E

A = 10 km @ 60° N of E

 Final answer: 32.33 km @23.71° N of E