Skip to Content Go to sign in Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Skip to Page Navigation Skip to Header Navigation Skip to Footer Navigation Read more about accessability options and our navigation

Physics Classroom is making strides to make our site accessible to everyone. Our site contains 6 navigation areas. The Primary, Secondary, and Page Level navigations have a screen reader version of their nav structure that allows using the left and right keys to navigate sibling navigation items, and up or down keys to navigate parent or child navigation items. The others can be navigated using tabs. The Primary Navigation handles the first 2 levels of site pages. The Secondary (which is not always available) handles the 3rd and 4th level of structure. The Page level navigation allows you to navigate the current page's headings quickly. The Header Navigation contains the Light/Dark Mode toggle, Search, Notifications and account login. The Breadcrumb Navigation contains the breadcrumb of the current page. If the current page has a breadcrumb, you can get to it by skipping to the content and tabbing in reverse (shift plus tab). The Footer Navigation contains links such as Privacy, Contact, about and terms. Some resources contain an Audio Player that can be activated by holding down the T key for 3 seconds, and then using K to pause and resume. While not every area of Physics Classroom is usable purely from keyboard and screen reader, we are committed to continue work on making this possible. If you have questions or need additional help, please use this link to contact us.

Return to screen reader navigation
Home Concept Builders Vectors and Projectiles Vector Direction Directions

Vector Direction - Directions

Using the Vector Direction Concept Builder is quite simple. In the first two activities - Counter-clockwise from East and Angle from the Nearest Axes - you will be presented with a diagram of a vector and you will use a protractor to measure an angle. You will then express the direction of the vector using one of the two conventions. The protractor is draggable; tap on it and drag it into position in order to measure an angle. There are bold markings on the protractor that are separated by 15° increments from one another. The answer is thus a multiple of 15°. In the second activity, there is one additional step; you will have to indicate the angle of rotation that you are measuring. For instance, you will have to say that your 30° angle you've measured is an angle rotated West of North or rotated North of West. Tapping on the box with the "--" allows you to toggle through the eight options. Once you have reached the eighth option the options recycle through from the beginning. Once you are satisfied with your answer, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answer will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

In the third activity - Convention Conversions - you must convert from a direction given in one convention to another convention. To answer the question, simply type the answer in the provided answer field. In one half the questions, you will have an additional step: you will have to indicate the angle of rotation from the nearest axes. For instance, you will have to indicate whether the 30° angle you've indicated is an angle of rotation West of North or North of West. Tapping on the box with the "--" allows you to toggle through the eight options. Once you have reached the eighth option the options recycle through from the beginning. Once you are satisfied with your answer, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answer will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

There are three different activities. Your goal is to earn "Stars" and to complete one or more activities. Stars are earned when you show success on a particular question. Once you show success on all the questions at a particular difficulty level, you will earn the medal for that level.

Concept Builder Teacher Notes