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polarized
Oct30-04, 02:20 PM
Sorry to have posted this twice, but I didn't realize there is a special homework help section until after I'd posted in another part of the board.

Anyway, any guidance in how to draw the diagram for the following problem would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure about the position of the Z axis, etc.

The summit of a mountain, 2086 m above base camp, is measured on a map to be 4568 m horizontally from the camp in a direction 32.4° west of north. Choose the x axis east, y axis north, and z axis up.
What are the x, y, and z components of the displacement vector from camp to summit?
What is its length?

Doc Al
Oct30-04, 03:57 PM
The problem tells you how to define the coordinate system. Take the coordinates of the camp as 0,0,0; now you just have to find the coordinates of the summit. Hints: The z-coordinate of the summit is given; to get the x & y coordinates you need to find the components of the horizontal displacement.

polarized
Oct30-04, 09:16 PM
ok thank you, it's just that my teacher never showed us what the third plane looks like, so I was confused as to how it relates to the x and y planes on a grid. thanks again.