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 Minds On 1D Kinematics Mission KC1 Scalars and vectors Help Help 4

Mission KC1 Scalars and vectors

The Question

Identify the following quantity as being either a scalar or a vector:

Define Help

Definition of a Scalar:
A scalar is a quantity which is fully described by magnitude alone.
 
Definition of a Vector:
A vector is a quantity which is fully described by both a magnitude and a direction.

Think About It

The distinction between a scalar and a vector quantity has to do with direction. Vectors are quantities which are conscious of direction; scalars are ignorant of direction. When expressing a scalar quantity, all that is necessary to state is the numerical value (magnitude); a direction such as north, south, east, west, left, right, up or down would not be stated. When expressing a vector quantity, both the numerical value (magnitude) and the direction must be stated.

Hot Link