What Is a Vector?
To understand vectors, imagine a weather map showing wind direction and speed at various locations. On such maps, arrows are often drawn. These arrows indicate the direction of the wind and how strong it blows (usually shown by the length or thickness of the arrow).
In mathematics, quantities that have both magnitude (size) and direction like this are called vectors. Thus, the speed and direction of wind on a weather map is a good example of a vector. The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the wind speed (for example, ), and the direction of the arrow shows the direction in which it blows.