Topics
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Vectors
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Vector Components
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Vector Addition
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Equations
Description
Explore vectors in 1D or 2D, and discover how vectors add together. Specify vectors in Cartesian or polar coordinates, and see the magnitude, angle, and components of each vector. Experiment with vector equations and compare vector sums and differences.
Sample Learning Goals
- Describe a vector in your own words
- Explain a method to add vectors
- Compare and contrast the component styles
- Decompose a vector into components
- Describe what happens to a vector when it is multiplied by a scalar
- Arrange vectors graphically to represent vector addition or subtraction
Standards Alignment
Common Core - Math
HSN-VM.A.1
(+) Recognize vector quantities as having both magnitude and direction. Represent vector quantities by directed line segments, and use appropriate symbols for vectors and their magnitudes (e.g., v, |v|, ||v||, v).
HSN-VM.A.2
(+) Find the components of a vector by subtracting the coordinates of an initial point from the coordinates of a terminal point.
HSN-VM.B.4
(+) Add and subtract vectors.
HSN-VM.B.4a
Add vectors end-to-end, component-wise, and by the parallelogram rule. Understand that the magnitude of a sum of two vectors is typically not the sum of the magnitudes.
HSN-VM.B.4b
Given two vectors in magnitude and direction form, determine the magnitude and direction of their sum.
HSN-VM.B.4c
Understand vector subtraction v - w as v + (-w), where -w is the additive inverse of w, with the same magnitude as w and pointing in the opposite direction. Represent vector subtraction graphically by connecting the tips in the appropriate order, and perform vector subtraction component-wise.
HSN-VM.B.5
(+) Multiply a vector by a scalar.
HSN-VM.B.5a
Represent scalar multiplication graphically by scaling vectors and possibly reversing their direction; perform scalar multiplication component-wise, e.g., as c(vx, vy) = (cvx, cvy).
HSN-VM.B.5b
Compute the magnitude of a scalar multiple cv using ||cv|| = |c|v. Compute the direction of cv knowing that when |c|v ≠ 0, the direction of cv is either along v (for c > 0) or against v (for c < 0).
Version 1.0.0
HTML5 sims can run on iPads and Chromebooks, as well as PC, Mac, and Linux systems.
iPad:
iOS 12+ Safari
iPad compatible sims
Android:
Not officially supported. If you are using the HTML5 sims on Android, we recommend using the latest version of Google Chrome.
Chromebook:
Latest version of Google Chrome
The HTML5 and Flash PhET sims are supported on all Chromebooks.
Chromebook compatible sims
Windows Systems:
Microsoft Edge, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Google Chrome.
Macintosh Systems:
macOS 10.9.5+, Safari 9+, latest version of Chrome.
Linux Systems:
Not officially supported. Please contact phethelp@colorado.edu with troubleshooting issues.