Question

During takeoff, an airplane climbs with a speed of 195 m/s at an angle of 15° above the horizontal. The speed and angle constitute a vector called the velocity. What are the horizontal and vertical components of this velocity?

Answer 1

The horizontal component of the velocity is 188 m/s

The vertical component of the velocity is 50 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hi there!

Please, see the figure for a graphic description of the problem. Notice that the x-component of the vector velocity (vx), the y-component (vy) and the vector velocity form a right triangle. Then, we can use trigonometry to obtain the magnitude of vx and vy:

We can find vx using the following trigonometric rule of a right triangle:

cos α = adjacent / hypotenuse

cos 15° = vx / 195 m/s

195 m/s · cos 15° = vx

vx = 188 m/s

The horizontal component of the velocity is 188 m/s

To calculate the y-component we will use the following trigonometric rule:

sin α = opposite / hypotenuse

sin 15° = vy / 195 m/s

195 m/s · sin 15° = vy

vy = 50 m/s

The vertical component of the velocity is 50 m/s.