Question

Resolve the vector given in the indicated figure into its x-component and y-component

Answer 1

The x and y components of a vector are given by:

$\begin{gathered} A_x=A\cos\theta \\ A_y=A\sin\theta \end{gathered}$

Where A is the magnitude and theta is the angle measure from the x positive axis counterclockwise. In this case the magnitude is 6694 and the angle is 240°; plugging these values in the expressions above we have:

$\begin{gathered} A_x=6694\cos240=-3347 \\ A_y=6694\sin240=-5797 \end{gathered}$

Therefore, the x and y components of the vector are:

$\begin{gathered} A_x=-3347 \\ A_y=-5797 \end{gathered}$