Aims

• Introduce vectors and scalars
• Understand the difference between displacement and distance.
• representing vector quantities with arrows
• Addition of vectors
• Examples of vector addition
• The sign of a vector.
• Pythagorus
• taking components

TOK

• The symmetry of nature, is everything either a vector or scalar?
• using vectors to represent totally different things.

Notes

Students really don't have to know that much about vectors, just how to add two together and resolve one into two perpendicular components. they will have to do this a lot over the next few weeks so its good to spend some time making sure everyone understands it.

I find it best to stick to displacement vectors at the start since it is easier to understand how the vector represents the quantity.

Test

Vectors and Scalars  

Vectors and Scalars answers

Vectors mc test

Vectors problems

Text Book

 Page 3 and 10-14

Homework

 Problems 12-16

Vocabulary list

Vector, vectorially
Scalar
Component 
Displace, displacement
Unit
Observation
Model 
Universe
Quantity

Displacement is a vector quantity so displacements need to be added vectorially.