Question

What is magnitude in physics?

Answer 1

In physics, magnitude relates to the size or length of a vector, describing various physical quantities such as mass or force. It also relates to the order of magnitude, which assesses the size of a quantity based on its power of 10 in scientific notation.

Step-by-step explanation:

In physics, magnitude generally refers to the size or length of a vector, which is a scalar quantity that can describe different physical quantities such as mass or force. For instance, when we talk about the magnitude of a force vector, we are referring to the strength of the force irrespective of its direction. More broadly, the term magnitude can also relate to the concept of order of magnitude, which is an expression of the size of a quantity in its power of 10 when expressed in scientific notation. This helps to track phenomena on various scales and assess the range and reach of physical laws and quantities.

Answer 2

n physics, speed is a pure scalar, or something with a magnitude but no direction --such as 5 m/s. 5 meters per second does not tell us which way the object is moving. It gives us no clue about the direction.