Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
scalar
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Quick Facts
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

scalar

mathematics and physics
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

scalar, a physical quantity that is completely described by its magnitude. Examples of scalars are volume, density, speed, energy, mass, temperature, and time. Other quantities, such as force and velocity, have both magnitude and direction and are called vectors.

Scalars are written using real numbers, which can be positive, negative, or zero. For example, the work done on an object can be a negative number if the object moves in the opposite direction of the applied force. This happens when frictional force slows down a moving body. Scalars can be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided using the usual rules of algebra.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Anoushka Pant.