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Physics Lesson 2.2.1 - Equal, Opposite and Different vectors
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Welcome to our Physics lesson on Equal, Opposite and Different vectors, this is the first lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of Addition and Subtraction of Vectors, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.
Equal, Opposite and Different vectors
a) By definition, two vectors are equal when they have both the same magnitude and direction (when they are parallel). Look at the figure.
Figure 1. Two equal vectors a⃗ and b⃗
b) Two vectors are opposite when they have equal magnitude but opposite direction (when they are antiparallel). Look at the figure.
Figure 2. Two opposite vectors a⃗ and b⃗
c) If two vectors are neither equal, nor opposite, they are different. This includes the cases when vectors:
- have neither equal magnitude nor the same direction
- have equal magnitude but different direction, and
- when they have the same direction but different magnitude.
The image below provides an example from each of the abovementioned cases.
Figure 3. Different vectors in various cases
You have reach the end of Physics lesson 2.2.1 Equal, Opposite and Different vectors. There are 5 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Addition and Subtraction of Vectors, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.
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- Equal Opposite Feedback. Helps other - Leave a rating for this equal opposite (see below)
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- Check your calculations for Vectors and Scalars questions with our excellent Vectors and Scalars calculators which contain full equations and calculations clearly displayed line by line. See the Vectors and Scalars Calculators by iCalculator™ below.
- Continuing learning vectors and scalars - read our next physics tutorial: Multiplication of a Vector by a Scalar
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