Define or clearly explain the meaning of each of the following terms: scalar, ve

Question

Define or clearly explain the meaning of each of the following terms: scalar, vector, resultant, equilibrant, component. Explain why the force polygon must close when a body is in equilibrium. Would the forces have been in equilibrium if the force table has been just a little off level Explain. If the weight of the hangers were exactly the same could their weight be neglected Explain. Could the weight of the ring have been neglected if it had weighed considerably more Was the ring in equilibrium when it was not in the center of the scale on the force table Explain why the ring had to be in the center in this experiment.

Explanation / Answer

1)

A scalar quantity is a one dimensional measurement of a quantity, like temperature, or weight. A vector has more than one number associated with it. A simple example is velocity. It has a magnitude, called speed, as well as a direction, like North or Southwest or 10 degrees west of North

Vector is a measurement that refers to both the magnitude of the medium as well as the direction of the movement the medium has taken.

The resultant is the vector sum of two or more vectors. It is the result of adding two or more vectors together. If displacement vectors A, B, and C are added together, the result will be vector R

Equilibrant Force as defined by Prof. Samuel udofia is a force which brings equilibrium state. It is considered to be the equal and opposite of the resultant force. Equilibrant force is the force, which keeps any object motionless and acts on virtually every object in the world that is not moving.

In physics, when you break a vector into its parts, those parts are called its components. For example, in the vector (4, 1), the x-axis (horizontal)component is 4, and the y-axis (vertical) component is 1

2)

A closed polygon means all the vectors add to zero. The condition for equilibrium is exactly the same; all the forces (vectors) must add to zero.

3)

4)  yes because force of each weight cancels out the weight opposite to it self

5)

The answer should be no to both. With vectors, you will want to take into account all factors that create the vector.

The only time you could take a short cut and not include the ring or hangers is if there are multiple hangers that are spaced exactly even apart from each other each other and which held no additional masses. They would cancel each other out. So whether you included them or not it wouldn't make a difference.
Any other time they will affect the ratios of the masses added.

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