Vector Addition in Physics

Leonid Minkin, Alexander S. Shapovalov

Portland Community College, Portland OR, USA; Saratov State University, Saratov, Russi

Introductory physics textbooks usually give some information about vectors and rules for their addition (triangle rule) and multiplication. In mathematics, addition of vectors is a matter of definition while in physics, in some cases, it must be done based on the meaning of addition and experimental confirmation. In physics, the triangle rule might be worthless if the meaning of addition is not strictly defined.