Question

What is the length of the y-component of the vector shown below?

A. 2.7
B. 16.8
C. 9.2
D. 106.8

Answer 1

The correct answer is B

Explanation

The y-component of the vector is opposite to the given angle which is
`81\degree`. See diagram.

The hypotenuse, which is the magnitude of the vector is
`17` units.

The y-component of the vector can be found using the sine ratio.

Recall that the mnemonics for the sine ratio is SOH which means

`\sin\theta=(Opposite)/(Hypotenuse)`

This implies that,

`\sin81\degree=(y)/(17)`

We multiply both sides by 17 to get,

`y=17\sin81\degree`

This gives us

`y=17(0.9877)`

We evaluate to get,

`y=16.79`

The y-component of the vector is
`16.8` to the nearest tenth.