Introducing vectors for engineering applications

Introduction

[Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] Applied mathematics is a key skill for practicing engineers and mathematical modelling is an ever-increasing field within engineering. .

In Section 1 you will explore how vectors are used to model force and motion, and consider how problems involving vectors can be solved using geometry and trigonometry. In Section 2 you explore how to work with vectors represented in component form. Section 3 is concerned with vector algebra, and considers how equations involving vectors can be solved. Finally, Section 4 introduces the scalar product of vectors, a multiplication operation that takes into account direction as well as magnitude.

Solutions to the activities which appear in this course can be found on this page.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course T194 Engineering: mathematics, modelling, applications