Question

Consider a particle with initial velocity v that has magnitude 12.0 m/s and is directed 60.0 degrees above the negative x axis.

Part A
What is the x component vx of v ?
Express your answer in meters per second.
Part B
What is the y component vy of v ?
Express your answer in meters per second.

Answer 1

v_x = -6.00 m/s

v_y = 10.4 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the velocity of the x-component we must use the cosine function:

`v_(x) =-v_(0)cos(\alpha )`, where ∝ is the angle 60°, and
`v_(0)` is the velocity 12.0 m/s (note: the negative sign due to the question stating it is "above the negative x-axis).

This gives us a value
`v_(x) =-6` m/s

Similarly for the y-component, we must use the sine function:

`v_(y)=v_(0)sin(\alpha)`

which gives us a value
`v_(y) = 10.392...` ≈ 10.4 m/s (since there are 3 significant figures in the information given in the question, this is rounded to 10.4 m/s).