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Chapter 1: Problem 18

Is mass a vector quantity? Why or why not?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Explain your reasoning. Answer: Mass is not a vector quantity because it only has magnitude (quantity of matter) and does not have a direction associated with it. Mass is a scalar quantity, as it only describes the amount of matter in an object, whereas vector quantities require both magnitude and direction for a complete description.

Step by step solution

01

Understand vector quantities

Vector quantities are quantities that have both magnitude and direction. Examples of vector quantities include displacement, velocity, acceleration, and force.
02

Understand scalar quantities

Scalar quantities are quantities that only have magnitude; they do not have direction. Examples of scalar quantities include mass, speed, distance, and temperature.
03

Determine if mass is a vector or scalar quantity

Now, let us consider mass. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, and has units like grams (g) or kilograms (kg). Since mass represents only the amount of matter (magnitude) and does not possess any information about the direction, mass is a scalar quantity.
04

Explain why mass is not a vector quantity

Mass is not a vector quantity because it only has a magnitude (quantity of matter) and does not have a direction associated with it. Vector quantities, as mentioned earlier, require both magnitude and direction in order to fully describe them. While mass can impact the behavior of other vector quantities (such as force or acceleration), the mass itself is not a vector quantity.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A friend walks away from you a distance of \(550 \mathrm{~m}\), and then turns (as if on a dime) an unknown angle, and walks an additional \(178 \mathrm{~m}\) in the new direction. You use a laser range-finder to find out that his final distance from you is \(432 \mathrm{~m} .\) What is the angle between his initial departure direction and the direction to his final location? Through what angle did he turn? (There are two possibilities.)

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