VECTORS AND RELATIVE VELOCITY

SCALARS AND VECTORS

The quantities which have magnitude but no direction are termed as scalar.
The quantities which have magnitude as well as direction are termed as vectors.
ADDITION OF VECTORS
Triangular law of vector addition
If two vectors can be represented in magnitude and direction by two sides of triangle in
order, then the third side of the triangle taken in reverse order represents their sum in
magnitude and direction.

Properties of vector addition

1. Commutative law.

2. Associative Law

( ) C ( C ) ( C )

Laws of Parallelogram of Vectors

If two vectors and are

represented by two adjacent sides of a
parallelogram both pointing outwards,
then the diagonal drawn through the
intersection of two vectors represent

the vector sum of and .

17

The magnitude of resultant

R = [A2 +B2 + 2AB cos]1/2
The direction of resultant
B sin

= tan-1 A B cos

Important Points:

(i)

If and are parallel then R = A + B

(ii)

If and are anti parallel then R = A B

(iii)

If and are perpendicular then R =

(iv)

If A = B then R = 2A cos(/2)

A2 B 2

RESOLUTION OF VECTORS
In two dimension

In three dimension

Components of vector

Here

Magnitude of vector

= = Ax i + Ay j + Az k

Magnitude of vector

A=

A=

Ax = A cos , Ay = A sin

Ax 2 Ay 2

Direction of Vector
= tan (Ay/Ax)
-1

also = Ax i + Ay j

Ax 2 Ay 2 Az 2

Direction cosines
Cos =

MULTIPLICATION OF VECTORS

18

Ay
Ax
A
, Cos =
, Cos = z
A
A
A

(1)

Multiplication by a scalar.

When a vector is multiplied by a scalar s, then the resultant is a vector whose

magnitude is s time the magnitude of while direction is the same as that of .

(2)

Multiplication by a vector
(a) Dot or scalar product

. = AB cos = (AxBx + AyBy + AzBz)

Properties:

(i)
(ii)

Commutative law: . = .

Distributive law: .( + C )= . + . C

(iii) For perpendicular vectors: . = 0

(iv) For parallel vectors: . = AB

(b) Cross or vector product
i

j
Ay

k
Az

Bx

By

Bz

= Ax
x = AB Sin n

can be known either right hand screw rule or right hand

Direction of n
thumb rule.

Properties:

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Commutative law: x x

Distributive law: x ( + C )= x + x C

For perpendicular vectors: x = AB n

For parallel vectors : x = 0

Relative Velocity :

19

Consider two reference frames S1 and

S2 moving with constant velocity w.r.t.
each other. Observer in S1 frame and
observer in S2, study the motion of
particle p.

Let

r p S1

r p S2

= Position vector of particle (p) w.r.t. origin (O) of frame S1.

= Position vector of particle (p) w.r.t. origin (O) of frame S2.

rS 2 S1

= The position vector of O w.r.t. O

OP = OO + O P = O P + OO

rP ,S 1 = rP ,S 2 + rS

differentiating w.r.t.
d
d
rP 1 S 1
dt
dt

VP S = VP S

,S

time,

d
rP 1 S 2
rS S
dt 2 1

+ VS S

V A = Velocity of particle A

V B = Velocity of particle B, w.r.t. to reference frame (say ground).

V AB = V A - V B [Velocity of A w.r.t. B]

V BA = V B - V A [Velocity of B w.r.t. A]

Thus V AB = - V BA

| V AB | = | V BA |

Note If we know the velocities of two objects P and Q w.r.t. third object X then,

V PQ

= V PX + V XQ = V PX - VQX

20

EXERCISE 1
Q1

If a vector 2i 3j 8k is perpendicular to the vector 4j 4i k . Then the value of is

(a) 1

Q2

(b)

1
2

(c)

1
2

(d) 1

N. If
A particle moves from position 3i 2j 6k to 14i 13j 9k due to a uniform force of (4i j 3k)
the displacement in meters then work done will be
(a) 100 J

Q3

(b) 200 J

(d) 250 J

A particle moves with a velocity 6i 4j 3k m/s under the influence of a constant force
r
F 20i 15j 5k N. The instantaneous power applied to the particle is
(a) 35 J/s

Q4

(c) 300 J

(b) 45 J/s

(c) 25 J/s

(d) 195 J/s

r
r
The vector P ai aj 3k and Q ai 2j k are perpendicular to each other. The positive value of
a is
(a) 3

Q5

(b) 4

1
(b) cos

1
(c) sin

5
1

(d) sin

is
Angle between the vectors (i j) and (j k)
(a) 90

Q7

(d) 13

The angle between two vectors given by 6 i 6 j 3k and 7 i 4 j 4k is

1
(a) cos

Q6

(c) 9

(b) 0

(c) 180

(d) 60

r r r
r
r r r r
The position of a particle is given by r (i 2 j k) momentum P (3i 4 j 2k) . The angular
momentum is perpendicular to

Q8

(a) x-axis

(b) y-axis

(c) z-axis

(d) Line at equal angles to all the three axes

r r
r r
The value of (A B) (A B) is
(a) 0

Q9

(b) A2 B2

r r
(c) B A

r r
(d) 2(B A)

Two adjacent sides of a parallelogram are represented by the two vector i 2j 3k and 3i 2j k .
What is the area of parallelogram
(a) 8

Q10

(b) 8 3

(c) 3 8

(d) 192

The position vectors of radius are 2i j k and 2i 3j k while those of linear momentum are
2i 3j k . Then the angular momentum is

21

(a) 2i 4k
Q11

Q19

(c) + 13 J

(d) 7 J

(b) 45 km/hr

(c) 30 km/hr

(d) 15 km/hr

(b) 20 km/hr

(c) 30 km/hr

(d) 40 km/hr

(b) 5km / h

(c) 10 3 km/h

(d) 5 / 3 km/h

(b) 6i 8j

(c) 6i + 8j

(d) 5 2

A 150 m long train is moving to north at a speed of 10 m/s. A parrot flying towards south with
a speed of 5 m/s crosses the train. The time taken by the parrot the cross to train would be:
(a) 30 s

Q18

(b) + 7 J

A boat is moving with a velocity 3i + 4j with respect to ground. The water in the river is moving
with a velocity 3i 4j with respect to ground. The relative velocity of the boat with respect to
water is
(a) 8j

Q17

(d) 18i 13j 2k

In the above problem, the speed of raindrops w.r.t. the moving man, will be
(a) 10 / 2 km / h

Q16

(c) 4i 13j 6k

A man standing on a road hold his umbrella at 30 with the vertical to keep the rain away. He
throws the umbrella and starts running at 10 km/hr. He finds that raindrops are hitting his
head vertically, the speed of raindrops with respect to the road will be
(a) 10 km/hr

Q15

(b) 6i 2j 8k

Two cars are moving in the same direction with the same speed 30 km/hr. They are separated
by a distance of 5 km, the speed of a car moving in the opposite direction if it meets these two
cars at an interval of 4 minutes, will be
(a) 40 km/hr

Q14

(d) 4i 8k

r
N is applied over a particle which displaces it from its original position to the
A force F (5i 3j)
r
. The work done on the particle is
point s (2i 1j)m
(a) + 11 J

Q13

(c) 2i 4j 2k

r
r
What is the value of linear velocity, if 3i 4j k and r 5i 6j 6k
(a) 6i 2j 3k

Q12

(b) 4i 8k

(b) 15 s

(c) 8 s

(d) 10 s

A river is flowing from east to west at a speed of 5 m/min. A man on south bank of river,
capable of swimming 10 m/min in still water, wants to swim across the river in shortest time.
He should swim
(a) Due north

(b) Due north-east

(c) Due north-east with double the speed of river

(d) None of these

A person aiming to reach the exactly opposite point on the bank of a stream is swimming with
a speed of 0.5 m/s at an angle of 120 with the direction of flow of water. The speed of water in
the stream is
(a) 1 m/s

(b) 0.5 m/s

(c) 0.25 m/s

22

(d) 0.433 m/s

Q20

A moves with 65 km/h while B is coming back of A with 80 km/h. The relative velocity of B
with respect to A is
(a) 80 km/h

Q21

(c) 15 km/h

(d) 145 km/h

A thief is running away on a straight road on a jeep moving with a speed of 9 m/s. A police
man chases him on a motor cycle moving at a speed of 10 m/s. If the instantaneous separation
of jeep from the motor cycle is 100 m, how long will it take for the policemen to catch the thief
(a) 1 second

Q22

(b) 60 km/h

(b) 19 second

(c) 90 second

(d) 100 second

A man can swim with velocity v relative to water. He has to cross a river of width d flowing with
a velocity u (u > v). The distance through which he is carried down stream by the river is x.
Which of the following statement is correct
du
v

(a)

If he crosses the river in minimum time x

(b)

x can not be less than

(c)

For x to be minimum he has to swim in a direction making an angle of

du
v

sin 1
2

v
with
u

the direction of the flow of water.

(d)

x will be max. if he swims in a direction making an angle of

v
sin 1 with direction of
2
u

the flow of water

Q23

Q24

Q25

A man sitting in a bus traveling in a direction from west to east with a speed of 40 km/h
observes that the rain-drops are falling vertically down. To the another man standing on
ground the rain will appear
(a)

To fall vertically down

(b)

To fall at an angle going from west to east

(c)

To fall at an angle going from east to west

(d)

The information given is insufficient to decide the direction of rain.

A boat takes two hours to travel 8 km and back in still water. If the velocity of water 4 km/h,
the time taken for going upstream 8 km and coming back is
(a) 2h

(b) 2h 40 min

(c) 1h 20 min

(d) Cannot be estimated with the information given

A 120 m long train is moving towards west with a speed of 10 m/s. A bird flying towards east
with a speed of 5 m/s crosses the train. The time taken by the bird to cross the train will be
(a) 16 sec

(b) 12 sec

(c) 10 sec

23

(d) 8 sec

Q26

A boat crosses a river with a velocity of 8 km/h. If the resulting velocity of boat is 10 km/h
then the velocity of river water is
(a) 4 km/h

Q27

(d) 10 km/h

(b) 1

(c) 2

(d) 3

If the resultant of n forces of different magnitudes acting at a point is zero, then the minimum
value of n is
(a) 1

Q29

(c) 8 km/h

r
If a vector P making angles , , and respectively with the X, Y and Z axes respectively.
(a) 0

Q28

(b) 6 km/h

(b) 2

(c) 3

(d) 4

Can the resultant of 2 vectors be zero

(a) Yes, when the 2 vector are same in magnitude and direction
(b) No
(c) Yes, when the 2 vectors are same in magnitude but opposite in sense
(d) Yes, when the 2 vectors are same in magnitude making an angle of

Q30

2
with each other
3

The sum of the magnitudes of two forces acting at point is 18 and the magnitude of their
resultant is 12. If the resultant is at 90 with the force of smaller magnitude, what are the,
magnitude of forces
(a) 12, 5

(b) 14, 4

(c) 5, 13

(d) 10, 8

EXERCISE 2
Q1

r
r
A vector a is turned without a change in its length through a small angle d. The value of | a |
and a are respectively
(a) 0, a d

Q2

(c) 0, 0

(d) None of these

uuur uuur
uuur
Find the resultant of three vectors OA, OB and OC shown in the following figure. Radius of the
circle is R.

(a) 2R
Q3

(b) a d, 0

(b) R(1 2)

(c) R 2

(d) R( 2 1)
uuur uuur uuur uuur uuu
r
Figure shows ABCDEF as a regular hexagon. What is the value of AB AC AD AE AF

24

uuur
(a) AO
Q4

uuur
(d) 6AO

(b)

30 2

cm / sec

(c)

cm / sec
30

(d)

2
cm / sec
30

A particle moves towards east with velocity 5 m/s. After 10 seconds its direction changes
towards north with same velocity. The average acceleration of the particle is
(a) Zero

Q6

uuur
(c) 4AO

The length of seconds hand in watch is 1 cm. The change in velocity of its tip in 15 seconds is
(a) Zero

Q5

uuur
(b) 2AO

(b)

1
2

m / s2 N W

(c)

1
2

m / s2 N E

(d)

1
2

m / s 2S W

r
(where K is a positive constant) acts on a particle moving in the x-y plane.
A force F K(yi xj)
Starting from the origin, the particle is taken along the positive x- axis to the point (a, 0) and
r
then parallel to the y-axis to the point (a, a). The total work done by the forces F on the particle
is
(a) 2 Ka2

Q7

(b) 2 Ka2

(c) Ka2

(d) Ka2

r
r
The vectors from origin to the points A and B are A 3i 6j 2k and B 2i j 2k respectively.
The area of the triangle OAB be
(a)

Q8

5
17sq.unit
2

2
17sq.unit
5

(c)

3
17sq.unit
5

(d)

5
17sq.unit
3

A metal sphere is hung by a string fixed to a wall. The sphere is pushed away from the wall by
a stick. The forces acting on the sphere are shown in the second diagram. Which of the
following statements is wrong

(a) P = W tan
Q9

(b)

ur u
r uur
(b) T P W 0

(c) T2 = P2 + W2

(d) T = P + W

The speed of a boat is 5 km/h in still water. It crosses a river of width 1 km along the shortest
possible path in 15 minutes. The velocity of the river water is
(a) 1 km/h

(b) 3 km/h

(c) 4 km/h

25

(d) 5 km/h

Q10

A man crosses a 320 m wide river perpendicular to the current in 4 minutes. If in still water he
can swim with a speed 5/3 times that of the current, then the speed of the current, in m/min
is
(a) 30

(b) 40

(c) 50

(d) 60

Assertion Reason questions

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Q16

Both A and R are true and the R is a correct explaination of the A

Both A and R are true but the R is not a correct explaination of A
A is true but the R is false
Both A and R are false
A is false but R is true

Assertion

Angle between i j and i is 45

Reason

i j is equally inclined to both i and j and the angle between i and j is

90
r r
r
r
AB
If be the angle between A and B , then tan r r
A.B
r r
r r
A B is perpendicular to A.B

Assertion

Reason

Assertion

Reason

Assertion

A negative acceleration of a body is associated with a slowing down of a

body.

Reason

Acceleration is vector quantity.

Assertion

The scalar product of two vectors can be zero.

Reason

If two vectors are perpendicular to each other, their scalar product will be
zero.

Assertion

r
r
If dot product and cross product of A and B are zero, it implies that one
r
r
of the vector A and B must be a null vector.

Reason

Null vector is a vector with zero magnitude.

Vector product of two vectors is an axial vector

r
r
r
If v = instantaneous velocity, r = radius vector and = angular velocity,
r r r
then v r .

26

EXERCISE 1 ANSWER KEY

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Q16

Q17

Q18

Q19

Q20

Q21

Q22

ac

Q23

Q24

Q25

Q26

Q27

Q28

Q29

Q30

EXERCISE 2 ANSWER KEY

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Q16

27