Question

What is the magnitude of the vector `<4,-2>`?

Answer 1

`2\sqrt{5}`

Explanation:

The magnitude of a vector can be calculated by taking the square root of the sum of the squares of the vector components.

Think about it, if you go 4 units to the right and 2 units down and you are trying to find the magnitude then you are basically faced with a right triangle. The magnitude would be the hypotenuse of the right triangle that has legs of lengths 4 and 2.

`\sqrt{4^2 + 2^2} = 2\sqrt{5}`

Therefore, the magnitude of the vector `[4, -2]` is `2\sqrt{5}`.