Experiment 2:

Vector Addition
Members: Bagalay, Maby ll Berdonado, Kim ll Bilasano, Jeanne ll Burgos, Minette

I. INTRODUCTION
II. THEORY
III. METHODLOGY
IV. DATA AND
V. CONCLUSION
RESULTS
VI. APPLICATION

WHAT IS A

VECTOR?

came from the Latin word carrier

first used by 18th century astronomers
investigating planet rotation around the Sun
examples: acceleration, displacement, velocity, weight,
etc.

WHAT IS

VECTOR ADDITION?

it is the operation of adding two or more vectors

together into a vector sum.

THREE WAYS OF

GETTING THE VECTOR

SUM

POLYGON
METHOD

PARALLELOGRAM
METHOD

COMPONENT
METHOD

POLYGON METHOD
Also known as tail-to-tip method
Steps:
o Link vectors tip (arrow) to tail (point)
o Draw the resultant vector R, from the tail of the first
vector to the tip of the last vector drawn.

THREE WAYS OF

GETTING THE VECTOR

SUM

POLYGON
METHOD

PARALLELOGRAM
METHOD

COMPONENT
METHOD

PARALLELOGRAM METHOD
Steps:
o Link vectors point-to-point.
o Draw the resulting parallelogram.
o The resultant vector R, bisects the parallelogram as
shown.

THREE WAYS OF

GETTING THE VECTOR

SUM

PARALLELOGRAM
METHOD

COMPONENT
METHOD

COMPONENT METHOD
Steps:
Use the projection of the x-axis at the x-component.
Use the projection of the y-axis at the y-component.
Compute the summation of x and y.
Get the resultant magnitude.
Get the angle.

I. INTRODUCTION
II. THEORY
III. METHODLOGY
IV. DATA AND
V. CONCLUSION
RESULTS
VI. APPLICATION

WHAT WERE THE

FORMULAS

USED?
In the POLYGON method and PARALLELOGRAM method:
To get the percent error:

*We follow the following formula for the %Error for Magnitude and the %Error
for Direction in which the absolute value of the difference between the
experimental value of density and the accepted value of density is divided by
the accepted value of density then multiplied by 100.

WHAT WERE THE

FORMULAS

USED?
COMPONENT method
To get the resultant magnitude
*We get the square root of the sum between the summations of the x and y
components

To get the direction of the resultant

*We get the inverse tangent of the absolute value of the summation of y
components divided by x components.

II. THEORY
III. METHODLOGY
IV. DATA AND
V. CONCLUSION
RESULTS
VI. APPLICATION

WHAT WERE THE

USED?

MATERIALS

FIRST ACTIVITY : POLYGON

METHOD
Materials:
o Meter stick
o Protractor
o Marking materials
Given displacements:
o A = 1m E,
o B = 2.5m N,
o C = 3m 30 N of W

Sequence (three trials):

o A+B+C
o B+C+A
o C+B+A
Formula:

FIRST ACTIVITY : POLYGON

METHOD

One member stood on the initial position while another member

marked the spot. The other member was in charge of measuring
the distance from one point to another point using the meter stick,
as well as determining the angle and direction using the protractor.
One member measured the distance from the final position to the
initial position in a straight manner which represented the
magnitude resultant displacement. The member also measured the
direction of the resultant using a protractor.

SECOND ACTIVITY :
PARALLELOGRAM METHOD
Materials:
o ruler
o protractor
o graphing paper
Given displacements:
o A = 1m E,
o B = 2.5m N,
o C = 3m 30 N of W

Sequence (two trials):

o A+B+C
o B+C+A
Formula:

Scale:
o 1 inch = 1 meter

SECOND ACTIVITY :
PARALLELOGRAM METHOD
For the first trial, the sequence was A+B+C. After following the
sequence, one member drew broken lines to connect A to C and
created a parallelogram to determine the length of the resultant
using a ruler. Then, the member measured the direction of the
resultant by using a protractor.
The same steps were done for the second trial.

THIRD ACTIVITY : COMPONENT

METHOD

Materials:
o calculator
Formula

THIRD ACTIVITY : COMPONENT

METHOD

The third activity was to determine the resultant displacement

using the component method. First, the group plotted the given
displacements on a Cartesian plane. Next, the group wrote the xcomponent and y-component then determined the summation for
each. After that, the group computed the magnitude of the
resultant using the Pythagorean Theorem, then computed for the
direction of the resultant.

III. METHODLOGY
IV. DATA AND RESULTS
V. CONCLUSION
VI. APPLICATION

FIRST ACTIVITY : POLYGON

METHOD

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Magnitude of
R

4.21 m

4.81 m

4.50 m

% error for
magnitude

2.32%

11.60%

4.41%

70

74

72

N of W

N of W

N of W

2.64%

8.50%

5.57%

Direction of R
% error for
direction

SECOND ACTIVITY :
PARALLELOGRAM METHOD
ILLUSTRATION OF TRIAL 1: A + B + A = 1m E ll B = 2.5m N ll C = 3m 30 N of W
C

SECOND ACTIVITY :
PARALLELOGRAM METHOD
ILLUSTRATION OF TRIAL 2: B + C + A = 1m E ll B = 2.5m N ll C = 3m 30 N of W
A

SECOND ACTIVITY :
PARALLELOGRAM METHOD

Length
of
arrow
representing R
Magnitude of R
%
error
for
magnitude
Direction for R
%
error
for
direction

Trial 1

Trial 2

4 in

4.3 in

4m

4.3 m

7.19%

0.23%

70 N of W

70 N of W

2%

2%

THIRD ACTIVITY : COMPONENT

METHOD
DISPLACEME
NT
A
B
C

Trial 1

Trial 2

1m
0m
-2.6 m
- 1.6 m

0m
2.5 m
1.5 m
4m

4.31m
Direction of the resultant is 68.2 N of W.
Resultant magnitude is

IV. DATA AND

V. CONCLUSION
RESULTS
VI. APPLICATION

WE HAVE.
Successful applied three ways on how to add vectors:
POLYGON
PARALLELOGRAM
COMPONENT
Learned that the results were close to one another
PARALLELOGRA
COMPONENT
M
70 N of W
70 N of W
74 N of W
70 N of W
68.2 N of W
Recognized that it is both commutative (through
the polygon
72and
N of
W
method)
associative
(through the parallelogram method).
Hence, we can say that all objectives were accomplished.
POLYGON

V. CONCLUSION
VI. APPLICATION

PROBLEM no.

You are given only the magnitudes of two vectors: 3 units

and 4 units. What is the range of the magnitude of
resultant? What must be the angle between these vectors
to get A) maximum resultant, B) minimum resultant, C) a
resultant of magnitude 5 units, D) ) a resultant of
magnitude 6 units.

ANSWE
R

a) range:
*given: a = 3 ll b = 4
smallest
Formula:
range = b a
Solution:
range = 4 3
range = 1 unit
Final Answer:

largest
Formula:
range = a + b
Solution:
range = 3 + 4
range = 7 units

range = 1 - 7 units

ANSWE
R

*get the angle between the vectors to get:

b) maximum resultant

= 180

c) minimum resultant

= 0

*get the angle between the vectors to get:

d) a resultant of magnitude of 5 units

given: a = 3 units
b = 4 units
formula: Law of cosines
solution

25 =
25 - 25 = 0=-

c = 5 units

ANSWE
R

 solution
0==
=C

ANSWE
R

C = 90

e) a resultant of 6 units
given: a = 3 units
b = 4 units
formula: Law of cosines
solution:
36

c = 6 units

Solution:
36 =
36 - 25 = 11 =
=
=C

C = 117.28
C = 117 16 46.61

ANSWE
R

PROBLEM no.

Differentiate distance from displacement. Is it possible for

you to have no displacement even though you have
travelled a great distance? Explain by giving examples.

ANSWE
R
Displacement and distance are mostly mistaken as the same since
both touch on the idea of distance. Displacement is a vector
quantity (has magnitude, unit, and direction) that refers to how
far out of an object is. Therefore, it speaks of the objects overall
change in position. On the contrary, distance is a scalar quantity
(has magnitude and unit) that refers to how much ground an
object has covered. when there was motion. Therefore, it speaks
of the objects overall distance regardless of its change in position.
Given a situation wherein a person walks in a path from point A to
point B, wherein, point A is equals to 3 meters while point B is
equals to 4 meters. He walked back after then. Hence, the total
distance travelled is 14 meter and there is no displacement since
he walked back.

PROBLEM no. 3

To go to a grocery, a student has to walk 8.25m S, 4.0m E

then 2.5m SE from his dormitory. Specify the distance and
bearing of the grocery relative to the students dormitory.

ANSWE
R

a) distance
angle
8.25m S

cosine

4.0m E
2.5m SE

Sine

-8.25

-8.25

4
2.5cos45

4
-1.77

0
2.5sin45

0
-1.77

5.77

-10.02

ANSWE
R

b) bearing

Bearing is equals to the measurement of the angle with

north asits initial side.

So,
hence, the bearing is

REFERENCES
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png