School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney
 2. Representations of vectors
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Position vectors

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The line segment ---> AB, where A and B are points in space, is called the position vector of B relative to A. It is also known as the vector from A to B as well as the displacement of B from A.

A         --->           AB                     B

The vector ---> BA from B to A has the same magnitude as the vector from A to B but opposite direction. That is, ---> BA is the negative of ---> AB.

A         --->           BA                     B

The zero vector is the position vector of a point A with respect to itself; that is, 0 = ---> AA. The length of the zero vector is 0 but it has no direction.

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