How to Solve Vector Algebra Problems | Physics

Tips and Tricks | Physics
How to solve vector algebra problems

Class : 11

You will come across vectors in physics problem very frequently.So it is must to know to solve the vector mathematics in short time.And Making sure you have done in correctly.You will find vectors in every module be it mechanics, electrostatics, magentics

When you need to add or substract two or more vectors, you can use following procedure

• Select a coordinate system that is convenient. (Try to reduce the number of components you need to find by choosing axes that line up with as many vectors as possible.)
• Draw a labeled sketch of the vectors described in the problem.
• Find the x and y components of all vectors
• Compute the resultants in x and y direction
• If necessary, use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of the resultant vector and select a suitable trigonometric function to find the angle that the resultant vector makes with the x axis.

Products
When u need to perform scalar or vector product.It is nice to following procedure

• Select a coordinate system(x,y,z) that is convenient. (Try to reduce the number of components you need to find by choosing axes that line up with as many vectors as possible.).Use i,j,k as the unit vector across x,y,z axis.
• Draw a labeled sketch of the vectors described in the problem.
• Express all the vector in form in i,j,k forms
• Perform the multiplication