Introduction to Vectors

Jayaditya Gupta

This article introduces vectors—quantities with magnitude and direction. It covers

coordinate systems, vector representation, basic operations, magnitude, and unit vec-
tors. Vectors are vital in physics and engineering for describing forces, velocities, and
displacements accurately.

Coordinate Systems
In two dimensions, the coordinate system consists of a horizontal line, the x-axis, and a
vertical line, the y-axis. The x and y axes are divided by adding ticks at regular intervals
of 1 unit. This way, each tick can be numbered according to its distance from the origin.

A point Z on the coordinate system can then be labeled based on its position. We do
this by drawing a line parallel to the y-axis onto the x-axis from Z, which gives the x
coordinate, and a line parallel to the x-axis onto the y-axis from Z, which gives the y
coordinate.

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 Figure 1: The coordinate system

Example. For example, in the above figure, the x coordinate of point A is 2 and
the y coordinate of point A is 3. Thus, A is represented as (2, 3).

Similarly, the x coordinate of point B is −4 and the y coordinate of point B is 1.

Thus, B is represented as (−4, 1).

Another special point in the graph above is the point where the x-axis and y-axis
intersect. This point is called the origin, and is denoted as O(0, 0). It has x coordinate 0
and y coordinate 0.

Vectors
Unlike points, vectors do not have a fixed position, and they are represented by arrows
instead. Vectors have two fundamental properties:

• They have a direction, which is given by the direction of the arrowhead.

• They have a magnitude, which is given by the length of the arrow.

This gives the following definition of a vector :

Definition — A vector is an entity which has a magnitude and a direction.

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Representation of Vectors
Just like we assign x and y coordinates to points, we can assign x and y components to
vectors. To find the x component of a vector, we calculate the number of units it moves
to the right or left. A positive number indicates rightward motion, while a negative
number indicates leftward motion.

Similarly, to find the y component of a vector, we calculate the number of units it

moves up or down. A positive number indicates upward motion, while a negative number
indicates downward motion.

Figure 2: Representation of vectors in terms of horizontal and vertical components

Example. For example, in this graph, for the vector AB, given by ⃗u, we move 5
units to the right, indicated by +5, and 3 units up, indicated by +3. The components
are written in square brackets, with the x component above the y component or
between angular brackets. Thus, this vector is represented as
 
5
⃗u = = ⟨5, 3⟩
3

For the vector CD, given by ⃗v , we move 4 units to the left, indicated by −4, and

3
 3 units up, indicated by +3. Thus, this vector is represented as
 
−4
⃗v = = ⟨5, 3⟩
3

Moving Vectors
When are two vectors, ⃗u and ⃗v , said to be equal? The magnitude and the direction are
the defining properties of any vector. As long as the magnitude and direction of a vector
remain the same, the vector remains unchanged. Thus, two vectors are said to be equal
if they have the same length and the same direction.

This means that vectors can be moved anywhere in the plane as long as their magnitude
and direction remain the same. We often reposition a vector such that its tail lies at
the origin. In this position, the coordinates of its head directly give the x and y compo-
nents of the vector. This is because to reach the head from the origin, we must move x
units right or left, and y units up or down, which is exactly what the components represent.

For example, in figure 2, in vector OE, the tail is at the origin,

  and the coordinates of
5
the other endpoint E are (5, 3). Thus, the vector is given by which is equal to vector
3
AB.
A vector in two dimensions is represented by the x component, and y component as
follows:  
v
⃗v = x = ⟨vx , vy ⟩
vy
A vector in three dimensions is given by the x component, y component, and the z
component as follows:  
vx
⃗v = vy  = ⟨vx , vy , vz ⟩
vz
Additionally, a vector in an n-dimensional vector space is represented as:
 
v1
 v2 
 
⃗v =  v3  = ⟨v1 , v2 , v3 , · · · , vn ⟩
 
 .. 
.
vn

Position Vectors
A position vector describes the position of a point in space relative to the origin. If a
point P has coordinates (x, y, z) in R3 , then the position vector of P is the vector that
starts from the origin (0, 0, 0) and ends at the point P . This vector is written as:
 
x
⃗r = y 

z

The coordinates of the point and the components of its position vector are the same.

4
  
⃗ 2
Example. For example, the vector OA = is a position vector. Similarly, the
3
 
⃗ = −2 is also a position vector.
vector OC
2

Operations on Vectors
Scalar Operations
A scalar operation is an operation between a scalar, or a quantity without any direction
(a number), and a vector. For example, consider the operation of multiplication. To
multiply a vector ⃗v with a scalar k, we multiply each component of the vector with the
scalar. In other words,

   
v1 k × v1
 v2   k × v2 
   
⃗v × k =   × k =  k × v3 
 v3   
 ..   .. 
.  . 
vn k × vn

Think of it as stretching the original vector k times, so that its magnitude becomes k
times the original, but its direction remains unchanged, that is, the vector is scaled by a
factor of k.

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 Figure 3: Multiplication of a vector by a scalar
 
⃗ = 3 is multiplied by the scalar 3, we get the vector
For example, when the vector AB
1
   
⃗ =3× 3 = 9 .
BC
1 3

• If a vector is multiplied by a positive scalar greater than 1, it gets stretched or

enlarged.

• If a vector is multiplied by a positive scalar less than 1, it gets compressed.

• If a vector is multiplied by a negative number, it points in the opposite direction.

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 Figure 4: Multiplication of a vector by −1

When a vector ⃗u is multiplied by −1, its magnitude remains the same, but it points
  in
⃗ = 3 is
the opposite direction. For example, in the above graph, when the vector AB
1
 
⃗ = −3 . Note that AC
multiplied by the scalar −1, we get the vector AC ⃗ points in the
−1
⃗
opposite direction as AB.

Addition of Vectors
To add two vectors,
 we add their
 individual
 components. For  example,
 when
  we add
4 −2 4 + (−2) 2
the vector with the vector , the resulting vector is = . In other
6 1 6+1 7
words,

     
x1 y1 x 1 + y1
 x 2   y2   x 2 + y2 
     
 x 3   y3   x 3 + y3 
 + = 
 ..   ..   .. 
 .  .  . 
xn yn x n + yn

To visualize this, while adding two vectors ⃗u and ⃗v , we move ⃗v so that the tail of ⃗v
coincides with the head of ⃗u. The resulting vector obtained by their addition is the vector
that starts at the tail of ⃗u and ends at the head of ⃗v .

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 Figure 5: Addition of two vectors using the triangle law

Example. For example, in this figure we move the tail of ⃗v to the head of ⃗u. The
resultant vector ⃗u + ⃗v , is obtained by drawing a vector from the tail of ⃗u to the head
of ⃗v , i.e.,  
2
⃗u + ⃗v =
7

To understand this, think of the vectors as displacements. We carry out the first
displacement, and then the second. Thus, the second displacement must start where the
first one finishes. However, the total displacement is just the vector from the initial point
of the first displacement to the final point of the second displacement. This is called the
triangle law for adding vectors.

Subtraction of Vectors
To subtract two vectors, ⃗u and ⃗v , we can use the addition operation. The subtraction
⃗u −⃗v can be thought of as ⃗u + (−⃗v ), where −⃗v is a vector of equal magnitude but pointing

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in the opposite direction as ⃗v . Thus, subtracting ⃗v from ⃗u will be the same as adding −⃗v
to ⃗u.

Figure 6: Subtraction of two vectors as addition of the negative vector

Example. For example, in this figure, we first obtain −v ⃗ which has the same
magnitude as ⃗v , but points in the opposite direction. Then, we move the tail of −⃗v
to the head of ⃗u. The vector obtained on joining the tail of ⃗u with the head of −⃗v is
 
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⃗u + (−⃗v ) = ⃗u − ⃗v =
5

Length of Vectors
The length of a vector ⃗v is also known as the magnitude or the norm ofthe vector and is
v
represented as ||⃗v ||. In two dimensions, the length of a vector ⃗v = x is given by
vy
q
||⃗v || = vx2 + vy2
 
v
To understand why this is true, consider a vector ⃗v = x in 2 dimensions, with its tail
vy
at the origin. The vector forms the hypotenuse of the right triangle, where the horizontal
and vertical component are the two sides.

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 Figure 7: Finding the magnitude of the vector

Note that AC = vx and BC = vy . Thus, by the Pythagoras theorem,

q
||⃗v || = AB = vx2 + vy2
 
v1
 v2 
 
In fact, for a vector ⃗v =  v3  in n dimensions, the length is given by
 
 .. 
.
vn

q
||⃗v || = v12 + v22 + v32 + · · · + vn2

 
1
Example. For example, the length of the vector ⃗v = 4 is
5
p √ √
12 + 42 + 52 = 1 + 16 + 25 = 42

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Unit Vectors
A unit vector is also known as a normalized vector. A unit vector is just a vector which
has a magnitude of 1. A unit vector is represented as a vector with a cap v̂ over it. Thus,

||v̂|| = 1

In fact, for an arbitrary vector, if we divide it by its magnitude, we get a unit vector
pointing in the same direction. That is,

⃗v
v̂ =
||⃗v ||

A few standard unit vectors include:

 
1
eˆx = 0
0

which is a unit vector pointing along the x-axis, also represented as î

 
0
eˆy = 1
0

which is a unit vector pointing along the y-axis, also represented as ĵ, and
 
0
eˆz = 0
1

which is a unit vector pointing along the z-axis, also represented as k̂.

This brings about a new representation of vectors, called the unit vector notation.
Vectors can be represented as the sum  oftheir components multiplied by the respective
vx
unit vectors. Thus, for a vector ⃗v = vy  in 3 dimensions,
vz

⃗v = vx eˆx + vy eˆy + vz eˆz

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 Figure 8: The unit vectors eˆx , eˆy and eˆz


3
Example. For example, the vector ⃗v = −2 can be written in this notation as
8

⃗v = 3eˆx − 2eˆy + 8eˆz

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