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Vector Addition - Head to Tail Method:
The head-to-tail method of vector addition is one of several methods used to determine the resulting sum of two or more vectors. In this method, the first vector is drawn to scale in its indicated direction. The second vector is then drawn starting at the head (arrowhead) of the first vector; the second vector is drawn to scale in its indicated direction. The process is repeated, with each vector starting at the head (arrowhead) of the previous vector, until all vectors have been drawn. The resultant vector is then drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector.
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Two or more vectors can be added using the head-to-tail vector addition method (see Know the Law section). The vectors are added such that the tail of one vector starts at the head of the previously drawn vector. Thus, a head leads into a tail (or a tail follows a head). However the resultant is the one vector in the diagram that is drawn from the tail of the first to the head of the last vector. In other words, the resultant vector has a tail that starts at the tail of the first vector and a head that ends at the head of the last vector. Once you have found the resultant, you can identify the starting vector and trace the order in which the three vectors were added.
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