What wud the defenition of magnitude be in the physics/motion. ?
magnitude is a scalar quantity that is described by a single number with units, for example mass in kilograms or distance in meters or speed in meters per second. Watch out though, if you give both speed and direction you have velocity which is a vector, not a scalar and has both magnitude, the speed, and direction.
Thanks
In physics and motion, the term "magnitude" refers to the size or extent of a physical quantity, typically represented by a numerical value. It does not have a fixed definition but can be understood in different contexts. For example, the magnitude of a vector quantity, such as velocity or force, represents the scalar value of its magnitude, which gives the information about its length or magnitude without considering its direction.
To determine the magnitude of a vector quantity, you can use mathematical techniques such as the Pythagorean theorem or vector algebra. Specifically, if you have the vector components in a coordinate system, you can calculate the magnitude using the formula:
Magnitude = √(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)
Where x, y, and z are the components of the vector in three dimensions. This formula essentially calculates the square root of the sum of the squares of the vector components.
Alternatively, if you have the magnitude and direction of a vector, you can represent it using its polar form, where the magnitude is the length of the vector, and the direction is specified by an angle with respect to a reference axis or plane.
It's important to remember that magnitude only describes the size of a quantity and does not consider any directional information.