SCALARS

Scalar quantities have only magnitude, e.g. time, distance, speed.

VECTORS

Vectors alternatively have magnitude and a direction, e.g. displacement, speed and acceleration ( the first two of these being the vector equivelents of distance and speed). There are a number of different ways of writing vectors including

1. Giving a angle and magnitude, e.g. a displacement might be 5 m at 53.1⁰ to magnetic north.
2. By reference to a grid system, with i being unit horizontal, and j unit vertical, so for instance the above example would become the equation 5i + 3j. The magnitude of a vector, xi+yj, is equal to SQR(x²+y²). If the vector is V, its magnitude is called |V|.

• Multiplying two vectors results in a scaler which is equal to the product of their two magnitudes and the Cosine of the anle between them.
  where A,B are two vectors A * B = |A|*|B| * Cos( &theta);
• As Cos(90)=0, the product of different unit vectors is always zero.