Force and acceleration given position equations. Find magnitude and angles

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the net force and direction of a particle moving in an xy plane, given its position equations. The user successfully determined the magnitude of the net force as 6.61 N but encountered issues with finding the correct angle for both the force and the particle's direction of travel. For the force angle, the user initially calculated an angle of 62.78 degrees, which was incorrect, prompting a query about quadrant considerations. The velocity components were also calculated, but the user struggled to find the correct angle with respect to the positive x-axis. The conversation emphasizes the importance of quadrant analysis when determining angles from negative components.
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Homework Statement


A 0.42 kg particle moves in an xy plane according to x(t) = - 19 + 2 t - 2 t3 and y(t) = 25 + 8 t - 7 t2, with x and y in meters and t in seconds. At t = 0.6 s, what are (a) the magnitude and (b) the angle (within (-180°, 180°] interval relative to the positive direction of the x axis) of the net force on the particle, and (c) what is the angle of the particle's direction of travel


Homework Equations


Fx = ma(x)
Fy = ma(y)

The Attempt at a Solution


I got the correct answer for part A. I found the second derivative for the x(t) and y(t)
x"(t) = -12t
y"(t) = -14

to find Fx i used the equation Fx = ma(x) = (0.42)(-12)(0.6) = -3.024
to find Fy i used Fy = ma(y) = (0.42)(-14) = -5.88

i then squared both of those values, added them together, and took the square root to get the magnitude, which is 6.61. this is the right answer.

For part B i took the inverse tangent of Fy/Fx = arctan(-5.88/-3.024) and i got 62.78 deg, but this is the wrong answer.

For C i took the inverse tangent of the first derivative equations for velocity.
Vx = 2 - 6(0.6)^2 = -0.16
Vy = 8 - 14(0.6) = -0.4
then i did arctan(-0.4/-0.16), but this is also wrong.

i'm not sure what I'm doing wrong for B and C. any help would be appreciated. thank you
 
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Both the cosine and the sine of the angle of the force are negative. In which quadrant is that angle? The same is with the velocity. Both components are negative, what is its angle with respect to the positive x axis?

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