Vector algebra

Vector algebra.

 

             A prototype of a vector is a directed line segment AB (see Figure ) that can be thought to represent the displacement of a particle from its initial position A to a new position B. To distinguish vectors from scalars it is customary to denote vectors by boldface letters. Thus the vector AB in Figure  can be denoted by a and its length (or magnitude) by |a|. In many problems the location of the initial point of a vector is immaterial, so that two vectors are regarded as equal if they have the same length