Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search
275 bytes added ,  21:20, July 13, 2016
→‎top: clean up & uniformity
Line 1: Line 1: −
A '''vector quantity''' is physical measurement that contains directional information,<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Physical Science''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1999, 2000</ref> as opposed to a [[scalar quantity]].
+
A '''vector quantity''' is a measurement that contains both magnitude<ref>Stewart, James. ''Calculus: Early Transcendentals.  Brooks/Cole, 2008</ref> and directional information,.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Physical Science''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1999, 2000</ref> It is different from a [[scalar quantity]], which contains only magnitude.
   −
Force is an example of a vector quantity.  
+
Force is an example of a vector quantity, because it includes both a magnitude (push) and a direction (the direction the force is in).  For example, when an airplane is taking off, the air under the wings is exerting a force in an upward direction, gravity is exerting a force in a downward direction, the engine is exerting a force pushing the plane forward, while winds may be exerting forces from side to side.  
   −
For example, when an airplane is taking off, the air under the wings is exerting a force in an upward direction, gravity is exerting a force in a downward direction, the engine is exerting a force pushing the plane forward, while winds may be exerting forces from side to side.  
+
Temperature is an example of a scalar quantity. The temperature is simply a number of units: normal body temperature is 37° Celsius. You can't speak of an upward temperature, or a northeast temperature; it has no direction. The temperature [[trend]] however does have a direction ([[up]] or [[down]]).
   −
Temperature is an example of a scalar quantity. The temperature is simply a number of units: normal body temperature is 37° Celsius. You can't speak of an upward temperature, or a northeast temperature; it has no direction. The temperature [[trend]] however does have a direction ([[up]] or [[down]]).
+
For more detail on vectors, see [[vector space]].
    
==References==
 
==References==
Block, SkipCaptcha, apieditor, Automoderated users, Bots, edit, ratelimit-exempt
59,367

edits

Navigation menu