11 COORDINATE SYSTEMS AND VECTORS
To this point in the book, we have relied on Cartesian coordinates — the familiar (x, y, z) defining three-dimensional space. In this chapter, we will first look at two other systems that might be more convenient if you are trying to solve a problem that is more naturally expressed in circles rather than right-angle grids.
The second part of the chapter talks about vectors, which are quantities in two or more dimensions that have a direction as well as a numerical magnitude. For example, wind blowing out of the west at 2 miles an hour is a vector. We (very) briefly define some of the ways of manipulating vectors and thinking about how they change.
These final three chapters are more algebra-heavy than the rest ...
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