Which of the following statements related to vectors is not correct?
a) A "one way" road sign is an example of a vector.
b)A vector is a physical description that includes both a number and a direction.
c)If someone states, "Joe is traveling at 30 miles per hour, due east, on Dansbury Road." you can describe Joe's velocity as a vector.
d)The following information is insufficient to to describe a ship's velocity as a vector: "A ship is traveling north by northeast at a rapid speed."
I'm stuck between a and d.
To determine which statement related to vectors is not correct, let's assess each statement individually:
a) A "one way" road sign is an example of a vector.
To determine if this statement is correct, we need to understand what a vector is. In physics, a vector is a physical quantity that has both magnitude (size or value) and direction. Examples of vectors include velocity, force, and displacement. If a "one way" road sign represents the direction of traffic flow, it indeed has both magnitude (the fact that traffic flows in one specific direction) and direction (the indicated flow). Therefore, statement (a) is correct.
b) A vector is a physical description that includes both a number and a direction.
This statement is true. Vectors consist of both magnitude (numerical value) and direction. For example, if we say a car is moving at 60 miles per hour (mph) to the north, we have specified both a number (60 mph) and a direction (north), making it a vector.
c) If someone states, "Joe is traveling at 30 miles per hour, due east, on Dansbury Road," you can describe Joe's velocity as a vector.
Similar to statement (b), this statement is correct. Joe's velocity is described with both numerical value (30 miles per hour) and direction (east), meeting the criteria for a vector.
d) The following information is insufficient to describe a ship's velocity as a vector: "A ship is traveling north by northeast at a rapid speed."
To determine if this statement is correct or not, let's break it down. When someone states "north by northeast," it means the ship is moving in a direction between north and northeast (northeast being angled 45 degrees clockwise from north). Although the statement does provide a direction, it does not specify a precise magnitude or numerical value for the ship's speed. As velocity is a vector quantity that requires a numerical value and direction, the given information is indeed insufficient, which means statement (d) is correct.
Based on the explanations above, the statement that is not correct is (a) "A 'one way' road sign is an example of a vector."