Direction

The orientation of a vector in space. It can be indicated by either an angle, a unit vector, or vector components.

Example: Express the direction of a vector with a magnitude of $5$ that is ${45}^{\circ }$ N of W using the three methods described above.

1. Angle: ${45}^{\circ }$ N of W is the same as ${135}^{\circ }$ counterclockwise from the x-axis. So, the answer is ${135}^{\circ }$.
2. Vector components: $-\frac{5}{\sqrt{2}}\hat{i}+\frac{5}{\sqrt{2}}\hat{j}$
3. Unit vector: $-\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}\hat{i}+\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}\hat{j}$

Vector

Chapter 1 - Vectors

Chapter 1 - Vectors

Chapter 1 - For Future Reference - Forces as Vectors