In: Physics
Starting in Albany, you travel a distance 319 miles in a direction 22.3 degrees north of west. Then, from this new position, you travel another distance 360 miles in a direction 11.0 degrees north of east. In your final position, what is your displacement from Albany?
679 miles 33.3 degrees North of West |
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844 miles 23.5 degrees North of West |
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679 miles 33.3 degrees North of East |
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198 miles 72.9 degrees North of West |
Let us assign coordinate axes to the directions, with Albany at the origin.
North | Positive Y-axis |
South | Negative Y-axis |
East | Positive X-axis |
West | Negative X-axis |
For the first part, the travel is 319 miles at 22.3 degrees north-of-west.
Using the coordinate axes, we can see that
The X-component of displacement is
The Y-component of displacement is
For the second part, the travel is 360 miles at 11 degrees north-of-east.
The X-component of displacement is
The Y-component of displacement is
Therefore, the total distance traveled along the X-axis is
The total distance traveled along the Y-axis is
The displacement magnitude is then
The angle at which this displacement is
However, this angle is measured from the positive X-axis, i.e the East direction.
Therefore, the correct answer is
at North of East