Question

if two vectors are perpendicular to each other, how should you add them?

Answer 1

If two vectors are perpendicular then we can simply use the Pythagoras' Theorem to find the magnitude of the resultant vector.

Let the two perpendicular vectors be A and B.

Then the resultant vector will be as: A+B

And the magnitude of the resultant vector will be:

$\sqrt{\textbf{A}^2+\textbf{B}^2}$

Thus the unit vector in the direction of the resultant vector will be:

$\frac{\textbf{A+B}}{\sqrt{A^2+B^2}}$