Re: Do you include a +/- when giving a magnitude?

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1 total messages Started by 00h0fakhrudd Mon, 27 Sep 1993 18:57

#1811

Author: 00h0fakhrudd
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1993 18:57

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As for the +/- signs for the vectors (including forces) my understanding
is as follows.

The vectors _always_ have positive magnitudes.  One cannot assign +/-
signs to the forces just because they are attractive or repulsive.
However, a vector can be negative of another vector.

When trying to find the resultant of a number of vectors by component
method, the signs are assigned to the components (scalars): + if they
are pointing in the + x/y direction and - if they are pointing in
the - x/y direction.

The formula for the Coulomb law is used to determine the magnitude of
the force only.  Hence, I ask my kids to take the absolute value of
the product q1q2.  The direction depends on the charge configuration.

Any comments about this, welcome.

Hasan Fakhruddin
Indiana Academy
Muncie IN 47306

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