Final answer:
The concept discussed is the parallelogram rule for vector addition and subtraction, involving parallel and orthogonal vectors in a physics context.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to the concept of vector addition and subtraction in physics, particularly employing the parallelogram rule. When two vectors are positioned tail-to-tail, the parallel vectors can construct a parallelogram with the resultant vector, R, represented along the diagonal from the shared point to the opposite corner.
The sum of two vectors, according to the parallelogram rule, is the vector obtained by completing a parallelogram with the two vectors as adjacent sides and drawing the diagonal from the common point to the opposite corner. This method directly correlates with how the resultant vector R is depicted in Figure 2.14.
The difference between two vectors, namely vector A minus vector B, is obtained by placing the origin of vector B at the tip of vector A, constructing a parallelogram, and then drawing the diagonal in the reverse direction from the tip of B to the tip of A.
The magnitude and direction of the difference vector are not simply the literal differences between the magnitudes and directions of the two vectors forming it. This can be observed in Figure 2.14 where such an operation is performed.
In the context of the polar coordinate system, vectors can be analogized using the coordinate axes, with the x-axis representing one vector and the y-axis representing an orthogonal vector–meaning the two are perpendicular to each other (at a 90-degree angle).
Vector components along the axes are mutually perpendicular, or orthogonal, to each other, as illustrated by vector components Ax and Ay in Figure 2.16.