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College Physics (Urone)
Found in: Page 118
College Physics (Urone)

College Physics (Urone)

Book edition 1st Edition
Author(s) Paul Peter Urone
Pages 1272 pages
ISBN 9781938168000

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Short Answer

Which of the following is a vector: a person’s height, the altitude on Mt. Everest, the age of the Earth, the boiling point of water, the cost of this book, the Earth’s population, the acceleration of gravity?

Acceleration due to gravity is only a vector quantity.

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Step by Step Solution

TABLE OF CONTENTS :
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Step 1: Vector definition

A quantity that has both magnitude and direction is known as a vector. Some examples of the vector quantity are displacement, velocity, force, torque, etc.

Step 2: Vector quantity

A person’s height is measured in inches and is independent of direction; thus, it is a scalar quantity.

The altitude of Mt. Everest is measured in meters and is independent of direction; thus, it is a scalar quantity.

The age of the Earth is measured in years and is independent of direction; thus, it is a scalar quantity.

The boiling point of water is 100°C and is independent of direction; thus, it is a scalar quantity.

The cost of this book is measured in currency and is a fixed number; thus, it is a scalar quantity.

The Earth’s population may change, but there is no direction of its movement; thus, it is a scalar quantity.

The acceleration due to gravity may be positive (for an object moving towards the center of the planet) and negative (for an object moving away from the planet's center), depending on its direction; thus, it is a vector quantity.

Hence, the acceleration due to gravity is the only vector quantity.

Most popular questions for Physics Textbooks

You fly \(32.0{\rm{ km}}\) in a straight line in still air in the direction \(35.0^\circ \) south of west.

(a) Find the distances you would have to fly straight south and then straight west to arrive at the same point. (This determination is equivalent to finding the components of the displacement along the south and west directions.)

(b) Find the distances you would have to fly first in a direction \(45.0^\circ \) south of west and then in a direction \(45.0^\circ \) west of north. These are the components of the displacement along a different set of axes—one rotated \(45.0^\circ \).

Explain why a vector cannot have a component greater than its own magnitude.

(a) Use the distance and velocity data to find the rate of expansion as a function of distance.

(b) If you extrapolate back in time, how long ago would all of the galaxies have been at approximately the same position? The two parts of this problem give you some idea of how the Hubble constant for universal expansion and the time back to the Big Bang are determined, respectively.

Find the following for path D in Figure

(a) the total distance traveled and

(b) the magnitude and direction of the displacement from start to finish.

In this part of the problem, explicitly show how you follow the steps of the analytical method of vector addition.

The various lines represent paths taken by different people walking in a city. All blocks are \(120{\rm{ m}}\) on a side.

Answer the following questions for projectile motion on level ground assuming negligible air resistance (the initial angle being neither \(0^\circ \) nor \(90^\circ \)):

(a) Is the acceleration ever zero?

(b) Is the acceleration ever in the same direction as a component of velocity?

(c) Is the acceleration ever opposite in direction to a component of velocity?
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