Lab 1: Traveling in Vectors September 13, 2017

Gina Tangelo Donnie Harris

Ben Davis

Introduction
In this experiment, the basis was to use the idea vectors to see how accurate we could get to the end
position. We will be doing this experiment physically to help us get a better understanding of what
vectors are and how to do them on paper and with calculations. The calculations used for this
experiment were: 𝑉𝑦 = 𝑉 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃and 𝑉𝑥 = 𝑉 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 where V was the distance in meters, 𝑉 = √𝑉𝑦 2 + 𝑉𝑥 2and
𝑉𝑦
𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃 = 𝑉𝑥
to get the resulting vector and the angle in terms of the vectors that were given on the sheet.
The reason why this lab is regarding vectors and not scalars is because scalars are quantities that have
magnitude and no direction associated with them whereas vectors are quantities that have magnitude
and direction associated with them. This lab meets the domain of using mathematics and computational
thinking because we need to use mathematics to be able to find the resulting vectors, also meaning
that this meets the using the problem solving process domain because we had to use mathematics and
do it physically. This also meets the communicating within a scientific framework because we were
doing the lab outside in a good environment. This meets the analyzing and interpreting data because
we had to look at the data we collected and see how to compares to what we should have gotten for
the final destination.

Research Question:
In this experiment we used the provided vectors on a sheet of paper to accurately travel to the final
position on the grass field outside of the Athletic Center.

Materials
● Heavy string
● 2 meter sticks
● Compass app on iPhone
● iPhone as position marker
● Human being

Procedure and Setup

1. Find direction and angle based on the vector on the sheet with the compass app on the iPhone
2. Place iPhone on the ground based on the end position of the previous vector so that it faces the
direction of the needed vector
3. Extend string in direction found
4. Use meter sticks starting from the position of the phone and place them in an alternating pattern
from where the last one ended, counting until the distance is reached
5. Repeat this process until the final vector is completed (should be near the final destination)
6. Measure the distance of the end position of the last vector to the center of the X (final
destination) using a meter stick then find the angle (direction) of the endpoint to the center of the
X using the compass app
 7. Find the angle (direction) from the endpoint to the starting position at the tree using the
compass app and placing the iPhone in the direction on the ground then extend string to the
starting position
a. Use a rock to hold the string in place then use the alternating pattern with the meter
sticks to measure the distance between the end position and the starting position

Data/Observations
- Ended 50 cm farther than the center of X at 310° or 40° North of West
- 30 m from the start position at the tree and the end position at 210° or 60 South of West

Map of Route:

Analysis/Calculations/Graphs/Questions
Calculations using components:
 The result was very close to the final position when we did the vectors physically. The result when we
drew it was somewhat similar to the results from actually doing out the vectors. When we did out the
vectors using components and the equations, our resulting distance was similar but the angle was very
different for all the three ways we did it. I have similar results to both groups for the resulting vector
from the start and final position but the resulting angle was only similar for one group. These may have
been different because we started from different locations around the tree as well as the fact that not all
the groups had the same sheet for the vectors. These results were very interesting and varied which
means they were not as accurate as they could have been.

Error Analysis
A big source of error for this lab is when measuring the distances of the vectors, the meter sticks
weren’t always laid down end to end, which would make the measurement of the vector longer than it
needed to be and causing for the end position to be extended a little further. Another factor is that by
using the compass app on the phone, anything could have happened to change the angle while we
were doing the experiment, causing for the direction to be off and displace us from the final position.
This would also throw off the angle the string was being extended too because it was also hard to align
with the angle on the phone, which would lead to the same result. I would estimate my percent error to
for my distance measurements to be less than 10% and the angle measurements to be more than 10%
because after doing the lab and the drawn-out map and the calculations, the distance measurements
were more accurate than the angle measurements.

Percentage error calculations:

|30−28.5|
Distance measurements = 28.5
x 100 = 5.263157895 ≈ 5.3% error for distance measurements
|210−29|
Angle measurements = 29
x 100 = 624.137931 ≈ 624% error for angle measurements (wow)
 The reason why our angles are so different is because when we measured with the compass app, we
measured with North being 0 and East being 90 while when we did the map and the calculations, North
was 90 and East was 0, meaning that the angles were measured differently and so they will appear
differently.

Conclusion
We found that doing the vectors out physically helped with understanding how vectors work and that
the data was able to verify the equations used because the results for the distances were very similar.
Something that could be done to minimize error the next time is to use a tape measure of the meter
roller to be able to accurate count and not have any gaps in between meters to add extra
measurements. We were able to travel to the final destination physically by walking out the vectors and
measuring the angles though it wasn’t exactly accurate comparing the results to the calculations and
the percentage errors. This data proves that in terms of measuring distances, the result was pretty
accurate but something went wrong when calculating the angle.