A scalar quantity is a one dimensional measurement of a quantity, like temperature, or mass. A vector has more than one number associated with it. A simple example is velocity. It has a magnitude, called speed, as well as a direction, like North or Southwest or 10 degrees west of North. You can have more that two numbers associated with a vector. For example you can add a height dimension to velocity and say, for example, ' I am going uphill at a 5 degree slope in the Northeast direction'.