- #1
sunflowerzz
- 25
- 0
Hi,
Can someone please explain to me why Wx (in the attached diagram) will be W sin theta instead of normally as W cos theta?
I don't really understand the explanation that was given - "it is more useful to express the components of W in terms of the angle theta which the inclined surface makes with the horizontal"
The inclined surface meaning the hypotenuse of the triangle? And the horizontal meaning what exactly?
By the way, the question says "starting from rest, a 5 kg block takes 4s to slide down a frictionless incline. Find the normal force, the acceleration of the block, and the vertical height h the block starts from, if the plane is at an angle of 30 degrees"
I just don't understand why Wx is sin theta?
Thanks
Can someone please explain to me why Wx (in the attached diagram) will be W sin theta instead of normally as W cos theta?
I don't really understand the explanation that was given - "it is more useful to express the components of W in terms of the angle theta which the inclined surface makes with the horizontal"
The inclined surface meaning the hypotenuse of the triangle? And the horizontal meaning what exactly?
By the way, the question says "starting from rest, a 5 kg block takes 4s to slide down a frictionless incline. Find the normal force, the acceleration of the block, and the vertical height h the block starts from, if the plane is at an angle of 30 degrees"
I just don't understand why Wx is sin theta?
Thanks