Using vector components proves very useful in physics. Many problems can be solved by resolving vectors into components. Without components, these same problems are very challenging! Head over to Zona Land Education and play around with their component visualizer. Within the applet, there are 4 "styles" from which to choose. Which style seems the most intuitive to you? When you imagine a vector's components, which style do you mentally picture?
Vector components allows us to easily add non-perpendicular vectors together. Even though this is not a difficult task, it is rather tedious. Many graphing calculators can add vectors, but the vectors are usually not in the same format that physics students are used to seeing.
Do an internet search and see if you can find any free, online vector calculators that can add two vectors together, and post a link to your favorite as a comment.
http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/vector_calculator.html
ReplyDeleteThis calculator calculates vectors in the parallelogram form. I like it because it snaps to the grid closest to where you place your vectors. This calculator also shows how to solve the resultant below your inputs.
(Might have to hit reset a couple times before it works)
I liked components 2 and 3 beacause it gets the job done quickly, and shows you where you calculated all your vectors.
ReplyDeletewhoops it didnt post it all sorry. i like 2 and 3 because it shows the triangles and it makes things easier for me. and that it gets the job done quickly, while it shows where you calculated all your vectors.
ReplyDeletehttp://comp.uark.edu/~jgeabana/java/VectorCalc.html
ReplyDeleteI was really excited that I found this website. I clicked on it and read about how it added the vectors and it sounded really easy. I waited like 10 minutes (because I have dial-up) and still nothing appeared. Then my computer froze, and it logged off the site. I retried this 2 or 3 more times and the same result occured. I was upset. This would have been my favorite because it looked very simple.
Poor Nibz. I went on the website in BMA, and played with it for a few minutes. It's very cool that they let you select wny of the three ways to show the "shadows" of the angle, or to show both of the latter two.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the "Vector Adder, Component Method" at
ReplyDeletehttp://zonalandeducation.com/mstm/physics/mechanics/vectors/componentAddition/componentAddition2.htm
It allows the user to directly compute the sum of two vectors by entering in their magnitudes and directions.
Thanks for the comments this week!
ReplyDelete