Lesson Plan: Finding the Components of a Vector Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to find the 𝑥- and 𝑦-components of a vector given its magnitude and the angle between the vector and one of the axes.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- use ij notation to represent the components of a vector,
- work out what the - and -components of a vector are from a graphical representation of the vector on a grid,
- use trigonometry to work out an unknown component of a vector or the length of a vector.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- what a vector is: it represents a distance and a direction,
- the idea that vectors can be used to represent physical quantities such as displacement and velocity,
- how to use trigonometry to find unknown sides of triangles.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- vector addition,
- vector subtraction,
- vectors in three dimensions,
- the scalar product of two vectors,
- the vector product of two vectors.
