Question

A train goes up a hill with a 15º incline. If the train has constant speed of 22 m/s, what are the vertical and horizontal components of the train's velocity? (Remember to use the law of sine and cosines for this problem)

Answer 1

Any two-dimensional vector in cartesian (x,y) coordinates can be broken down into individual horizontal and vertical components using trigonometry. If a train goes up a hill with 15 degree incline at a speed of 22 m/s, the horizontal component is 22cos(15)=21.3 m/s and the vertical component is 22sin(15)=5.5 m/s.