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Alkatran
Sep29-04, 07:06 PM
5. [1pt] A sailboat tacking against the wind moves as follows: 2.8 km at 27° east of north, 4.7 km at 28° west of north, and 3.9 km at 28° east of north. The entire trip takes 4 h 25 min. What is the magnitude of the displacement of the sailboat at the end of the trip ?

Translated: Add the vectors in the question.

Current answer:
/\x = 2.8*sin(27) + 4.7*sin(-28) + 3.9*sin(28) = .805 km
/\y = 2.8*cos(27) + 4.7*cos(-28) + 3.9*cos(28) = 9.910 km
/\d = sqr(/\x2 + /\y2) = 9.943 km = 9943m

What's wrong?

faust9
Sep29-04, 07:29 PM
Looks like you've got a math error. try emtering it into your calculator again. I get a little over 10 when I do it BTW.

Doc Al
Sep29-04, 07:29 PM
Check your arithmetic. I get (slightly) different answers for \Delta x and \Delta y.

Alkatran
Sep29-04, 07:36 PM
Thanks, got it. At least it wasn't a logic error.