Saclars and Vectors

Coord planes color vector By: Michaelnelson

Summary: In physics, there are two types of ways that people measure quantities in, scalars and vectors. A scalar quantity is when the only thing that is measured is the magnitude, like speed or power. A vector not only measures a magnitude, but it also measures direction, like up or down, north, south, east, and west. When a vector is changed, acceleration happens; if a car is going at a constant speed and turns a corner, it's accelerating because a change in the direction is happening. If a change in the direction is happening that means that a vector is being changed, so acceleration is happening.

SP4: Analyzing and interpreting data
To test our knowledge on scalars and vectors we were given a variety of small situations in which we had to decide whether something was a scalar or a vector. The various situations that we were given had a speed, and the ones that were vector quantities had an associated direction as well. Some of the problems that we were given were images, which made it harder to decide whether something was a scalar or a vector.

XCC:
When talking about scalars and vectors it is impossible to ignore the fact that they largely have to do with scale and quantity. The magnitude is the part where seeing scales and quantities is the easiest. Things like speed and power can be easily scaled compared to other forces of similar qualities. Using a scale, you can also quantify how fast something is, how strong something is, and various other units of measurement.