Vectors

Objective

1. Define a vector

2. Give the different ways in which a vector may be represented

3. Add and subtract vectors using component form i. e. vectors written as 2 × 1 column matrices

4. Add vectors by the triangle and parallelogram laws

5. Multiply a vector by a scalar number

6. Recognize that a scalar may be distributed over addition of vectors

7. Recognize zero vectors and the negative of a vector

8. Determine the magnitude of a vector

9. Identify parallel vectors

Study Resources

• Vector from Despicable Me!

• Video explaining the triangle law of vectors
• Video explaining the parallelogram law of vectors

• Video showing how to find the magnitude of a vector
• Video explaining how to identify parallel vectors and how to use properties of parallel vectors in problems.

11. Associate a unit vector as a vector of unit length

12. Use vectors to solve problems in geometry (e.g. proving that points are collinear, proving line segments parallel, prove shapes to be a parallelogram, etc)

• This video, beginning at 2:25.
• This video shows how to use vectors to prove that three points are collinear.
• This video shows how to use vectors to prove that line segments are parallel, and to prove that a shape is a parallelogram.