High school physics basic question about two dimensional motion (WITH PICTURE)

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on a high school physics problem related to two-dimensional motion, specifically calculating acceleration and direction. The initial poster estimates acceleration at about 0.4 m/s² but struggles with determining the direction. Respondents suggest resolving velocity into x and y components to find the resulting velocity vector. This vector can then be divided by time to calculate both the magnitude and direction of acceleration. The conversation emphasizes the importance of vector resolution in solving two-dimensional motion problems.
lanvin
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Stuck on this problem.

I think acceleration is about 0.4m/s^2, but having the worst time trying to find direction. I think the sine or cosine law is supposed to be used?? Here's the question:

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/lanvin12/physics.jpg
 
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lanvin said:
Stuck on this problem.

I think acceleration is about 0.4m/s^2, but having the worst time trying to find direction. I think the sine or cosine law is supposed to be used?? Here's the question:

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/lanvin12/physics.jpg

Welcome to PF.

I think you will need to treat your acceleration here as the difference of the vectors of velocity divided by time. This would mean that you need to resolve each of your velocities into its x,y components and then take the difference. This will give you a resulting velocity vector that when divided by the scalar of time should yield both the average acceleration (the magnitude) and of course the direction.
 
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Double thanks for the welcome and physics help! :D
 
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