Closed Vector Diagrams
A closed vector diagram is a set of vectors drawn on the Cartesian using the tail-to-head method and that has a resultant with a magnitude of zero. This means that if the first vector starts at the origin the last vector drawn must end at the origin. The vectors ...
Closed Vector Diagrams
A closed vector diagram is a set of vectors drawn on the Cartesian using the tail-to-head method and that has a resultant with a magnitude of zero. This means that if the first vector starts at the origin the last vector drawn must end at the origin. The vectors form a closed polygon, no matter how many of them are drawn. Here are a few examples of closed vector diagrams:
In this case there were 3 force vectors. When drawn tail-to-head with the first force starting at the origin the last force drawn ends at the origin. The resultant would have a magnitude of zero. The resultant is drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the final vector. In the diagram below there are 4 vectors that also form a closed vector diagram.
In this case with 4 vectors, the shape is a 4-sided polygon. Any polygon made up of vectors drawn tail-to-head will be a closed vector diagram because a polygon has no gaps.
This lesson is part of:
Vectors and Scalars