Question

State whether force is a scalar or vector.

Answer 1

Hint- Scalar quantities have magnitude but no direction whereas vector quantities possess both magnitude and direction.

Complete step by step solution:
Force is a vector quantity.
Now let us understand what a vector quantity is and what do we understand by the term force.
We all know what force is but most of us do not know all the details in its definition.
Force is an assessable description of an interaction that causes a change in an object path of motion.
An object may increase in speed, decrease in speed or change the direction of its speed to a different direction of motion. In other words, force is any action that tends to maintain or alter the motion of a body or to change it to another direction. Objects are pushed or pulled by forces acting on it. A type of force is contact force which is exerted when two objects come in physical contact.
Force is a vector and therefore, it has both direction and magnitude. The SI unit of force is Newton (N).
One newton is equal to $1\,kg\, \times \,m/{s^2}$.
Another definition of force;
Force is proportional to acceleration which is defined as the rate of change of velocity. In terms of calculus, force is the derivative of momentum of a body with respect to time.
Now let us discuss the meaning of a vector quantity.
A vector is a quantity or phenomenon that has two independent properties i.e. magnitude and direction.
Such a quantity also denotes the mathematical or geometrical representation of the said quantity. Some common examples of vectors are velocity, momentum, force etc.

Note: Before solving the question students need to understand the meaning of a vector quantity and also what properties characterize a quantity to be called a vector. Students also need to understand the meaning of the term vector.