Question

Suppose that you needed to tell some friends how to get from point A to point B in a city. The net displacement vector from point A to point B is shown in the figure. You could tell them that to get from A to B they should go 3.606 blocks in a direction 33.69 ∘ north of east. However, these instructions would be difficult to follow, considering the buildings in the way. You would more likely give your friends a number of blocks to go east and then a number of blocks to go north. What would these two numbers be?

Answer 1

To get from point A to point B in a city, you should go a certain number of blocks east and then a certain number of blocks north. In this case, the instructions would be to go 2.968 blocks east and 1.907 blocks north.

Step-by-step explanation:

To give your friends instructions to get from point A to point B in a city, you can break down the displacement vector into its east and north components. In this case, the net displacement vector is 3.606 blocks at a direction of 33.69° north of east. To find the east and north components, you can use trigonometry:

East component = (Total displacement) * cos(angle) = 3.606 * cos(33.69°) = 2.968 blocks

North component = (Total displacement) * sin(angle) = 3.606 * sin(33.69°) = 1.907 blocks

So, you would tell your friends to go 2.968 blocks east and 1.907 blocks north to get from point A to point B.