Physlet Illustration: Vector Components

 
A red vector is shown on the coordinate grid. Drag the tip of the vector until its x component is 12 units and its y component is 18 units.

Hints

  1. The vector's components are given in the data table.
  2. How do the numbers that appear in the table correlate with the coordinate grid that you see on the screen?
  3. Now, can you make a vector with any set of components you want? Experiment.

Reference

See Walker, Section 3-2

Illustration written by Steve Mellema and Chuck Niederriter