Lesson 2 of 11 · 6 min
Types of vectors
NCERT §10.3
Two club drones cruise side by side at 5 m/s due north, one over the gate and one over the canteen. Are their velocities the same vector, even though the drones are in different places?
The lesson in notes
In short
Zero (null) vector 0: initial and terminal points coincide, as in AA. Its magnitude is 0 and it has no definite direction.
Unit vector: magnitude 1. The unit vector along a is written â.
Coinitial vectors share the same initial point. Collinear (parallel) vectors lie along parallel lines, whatever their lengths or senses.
Equal vectors have the same magnitude and the same direction, whatever their initial points: a = b means both match.
The negative of a vector has its magnitude but the opposite direction: BA = −AB.
Vectors in this chapter are free vectors: sliding a vector parallel to itself, without turning or stretching it, gives the same vector. So any vector can be redrawn to start at the origin.