Vector addition – tip-to-tail and parallelogram rules
MathematicsVectors & Coordinate GeometryAges 15–16
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Sign in to playDrag vectors from the tray onto a coordinate grid and build the resultant using the tip-to-tail (triangle) rule or the parallelogram rule; read off components, magnitude and direction in Cartesian or polar form. Four screens: 1D (adding two signed numbers), 2D (drag and drop, build the sum), Lab (compare two independent sums) and Equations (linear combinations w = a·u ± b·v with coefficients set by −/+ buttons). Adapted from the "Vector Addition" and "Vector Addition: Equations" simulations by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (CC BY 4.0); rewritten.
Lesson: Adding and subtracting vectors; scalar multiplication of a vector
How to use
Parameters you can change
- Screen 1D (on a line), 2D (in the plane), Lab, Equations
- Sum rule (2D, Lab) Tip-to-tail, Parallelogram
- Coordinates shown (2D, Lab) Cartesian (x, y), Polar (r, θ)
- Show components (2D, Lab)
- Equation type (Equations screen) w = a·u + b·v, w = a·u − b·v
