Question

What is the magnitude of the Cartesian vector having the x, y and z axis components to be A, B and C?

(a) Square root of the squares each A, B and C

(b) Square of the squares each A, B and C

(c) Cube root of the squares each A, B and C

(d) Cube of the squares each A, B and C

This question was addressed to me by my college professor while I was bunking the class.

This is a very interesting question from Cartesian Vectors in portion Force Vectors of Engineering Mechanics

Answer 1

The correct option is (a) Square root of the squares each A, B and C

The best I can explain: The magnitude of a Cartesian vector having the x, y and z axis components to be A, B and C is always the square root of the squares each A, B and C. This comes from the distance formula between two points in the Cartesian plane. That is the square root of the subtraction of the final and initial point of a line.