Answer to Question #317110 in Mechanical Engineering for Brylle

Question

3-3.

Given five vectors whose lengths and direction-senses are as follows:

Ac, is 1.5 in. long and 90°; Aa, is 1.25 in, long and 315°; Aay is 2 in. long and

0°; AQ, is 1.25 in. long and 225°; Ad, is 1.5 in. long and 45°. Find the vector

sum of the first four, and subtract Ad, from this resultant vector.

Answer 1

A vector is a quantity that has magnitude and direction. Displacement, velocity, acceleration, and force, for example, are all vectors. In one-dimensional, or straight-line, motion, the direction of a vector can be given simply by a plus or minus sign. In two dimensions (2-d), however, we specify the direction of a vector relative to some reference frame (i.e., coordinate system), using an arrow having length proportional to the vector’s magnitude and pointing in the direction of the vector.