What is the Resultant Distance and Direction of a Person's Vector Walk?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving vector addition and the resultant distance and direction of a person's walk, incorporating movements in various cardinal directions. The subject area includes vector analysis and trigonometry.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the resultant vector by breaking down movements into components and summing them. Some participants question the clarity of the original post's presentation, suggesting a more organized format for the information. Others confirm the calculations but note the unconventional order of the coordinate presentation.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the original poster's calculations and presentation style. While some confusion exists regarding the format, there is acknowledgment of the correctness of the calculations. Suggestions for clearer communication have been made, indicating a productive direction in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of a preference for using cardinal directions in the problem setup, which may have contributed to the confusion in presenting the vector components. The original poster expresses awareness of the potential for misunderstanding due to their chosen format.

cowgiljl
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a person walks 80.0 paces E
50.0 paces 70.0 degrees N of E
18 paces N
40 paces W

I made a chart

NS EW these are directions
0 +80
+47 +17.1 got this by using 50*sin70 and 50* cos 70
+18 0
0 -40
sum is
65 57.1

I redrew my vector digram

to find D (distance)
d^2 = 65^2 +57.1^2
d = 86.5 paces
tan-1 (65/57.1)
48.7 degrees

So the answer i got was 86.5 paces @ 48.7 degrees N of E

is that right?
 
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Now if I sent you this message:
originally posted by cowgiljlNS EW these are directions
0 +80
+47 +17.1 got this by using 50*sin70 and 50* cos 70
+18 0
0 -40
sum is
65 57.1
would you have the slightest idea what in the world I'm talking about?

Why don't you post your question in some clear and orderly fashion, such as:
The x-coordinate is bla, bla, bla...

The y-coordinate is bla, bla, bla...

and so on, so people don't have to first figure out your secret code before they can even begin to think about the answer.

(Organizing your thoughts this way might even help you answer it yourself.)

Sorry if you think that's an unreasonably grumpy response.[b(]
 
I agree with gnome, but I was able to break your secret code. (For some reason, you list y first, then x.)

You did it perfectly. :smile:
 
sorry for the mass confusion but the prof like to us the north , south east and west for the directions and of course north and south and on the y-axis and E&W are on the X axis the reason i put the Y axis first is so when i am finding theata y/x seems simple in mind but i can see where i really messed up
 

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