Question:
Which of the following is TRUE considering scalar quantities?
?
2018-11-29 11:28:02 UTC
A.) Scalar quantities must be converted first to have the same units before adding or subtracting.


B.) Scalar quantities possess both magnitude and direction.


C.) Scalar quantities can be positive or negative.


D.) Scalar quantities with different units may be multiplied or divided with each other.


E.) The cargo ship’s pull on a boat is an example of scalar quantity.


F.) The speedometer of a car measures a scalar quantity.
Three answers:
Elwood Blues
2018-12-01 14:24:58 UTC
B is false

E is ambiguous (does "pull" have a direction? who knows)



The rest are true.
GTB
2018-11-29 12:06:16 UTC
a and f
Steve4Physics
2018-11-29 11:43:14 UTC
A.) Scalar quantities must be converted first to have the same units before adding or subtracting.

True. E.g. You don't add 3 minutes to 2 hours and get 5 somethings.



B.) Scalar quantities possess both magnitude and direction.

False. The definition is scalar quantities possess only magnitude.



C.) Scalar quantities can be positive or negative.

True in general - but it depends on the type of scalar.

E.g.

A temperature can be positive or negative, e.g.+15ºC or -35ºC.

But distance between points is always positive.



D.) Scalar quantities with different units may be multiplied or divided with each other.

True.

E.g. move a distance 20m in 5s and you can find the speed = 20/5 = 4m/s.

E.g. move for 2s at 3m/s, and you can find distance = 2x3=6m.

Distance, speed and time are all scalars.



E.) The cargo ship’s pull on a boat is an example of scalar quantity.

False. The 'pull' is a force, so it is a vector - it has a direction (e.g. to the east) as well as a magnitude; this makes it a vector.



F.) The speedometer of a car measures a scalar quantity.

True. The reading gives speed (a scalar), not velocity (speed and direction).


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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