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Definition of Vector Component
A vector component is a projection of a vector onto the horizontal or vertical axis.
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The components of a vector are often represented on a diagram by constructing a right triangle about the vector such that the vector is the hypotenuse of the right triangle. The components are then the legs of the right triangle. (You have likely seen such diagrams and you might make an effort to sketch one now.) If the vector is a northwest vector, then it has components stretching west and north. When these two components are added together as vectors using the head-to-tail method, then the resultant would be the hypotenuse of the right triangle - the same hypotenuse from which the components were found. Thus, the resolution of a vector onto perpendicular axes creates the components. And the addition of the two components produces a resultant, which is the original vector A.
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