Sign In
To find the component form of a vector, count how many steps you need to take to get from the first point to the second point in the horizontal and vertical directions.
Vector: ST
Component Form: ⟨- 2,- 4⟩
In the given diagram, we can see that the vector is an arrow that travels from point S to point T. A vector is named by writing the starting point followed by the ending point with an arrow above. Therefore, this vector will be ST.
The component form tells us how many steps we need to take to get from the first point to the second point in the horizontal and vertical directions. First, we will have to move to the left to get to the same x-coordinate as T.
We had to move 2 steps to the left. Since the move is to the left, this will be represented as a negative in the component form, - 2. Now, let's see how many steps up we have to take to get to the same y-coordinate as T.
We had to move 4 steps down. Since it is down, this will be represented as negative in the component form, - 4. Moving 2 to the left and 4 units down, can be written in component form as ⟨-2,- 4⟩.