Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can say whether a quantity is a scalar or a vector, and explain my choice by asking whether it has a direction. (Guide: “Scalars and vectors”; Practice Q1)
- I can explain the difference between distance and displacement, and between speed and velocity. (Guide: “Scalars and vectors”; Practice Q7)
- I can explain why a unit vector has magnitude 1 and no unit. (Guide: “Position vectors and their unit vectors”; Practice Q5(b))
Skills
- I can draw a vector as an arrow to a stated scale and add vectors tip to tail. (Guide: Figure 1; Practice Q7(a))
- I can state a positive direction and use + and − signs for vectors along one axis. (Guide: “One dimension: the sign is the direction”; Practice Q6(a))
- I can resolve a vector given as a magnitude and direction into components, with correct signs, even when the angle is measured from the y-axis. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Q2)
- I can find the magnitude and direction of a vector from its components, checking the quadrant with a sketch. (Guide: “Unit vectors and components”; Practice Q4)
- I can write a position vector r in î, ĵ, k̂ notation, find |r| and the unit vector r̂. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q3)
- I can find a resultant by adding components, and a displacement by subtracting position vectors. (Guide: Worked examples 1 and 2; Practice Q4)
Reasoning
- I can state the largest and smallest possible resultant of two vectors and use them to check an answer. (Guide: “Adding vectors by components: the resultant”; Practice Q6)
- I can derive the magnitude of a symbolic vector and its unit vector. (Practice Q5)
- I can explain why average speed is usually larger than the magnitude of average velocity. (Practice Q7(d))
All ticked? Move on to Topic 1.2, Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration, or return to the course roadmap.