Solving Tension Force: Angle & Magnitude

[RedBurns]

A ball hangs from a string on the rear view mirror of a car. The car is accelerating, causing the string to be at an angle theta with the vertical. If the car is accelerating at 1.0m/s2 and the mass of the ball is 4kg, what is the magnitude of the tension on the string, and at what angle is it?

Fx) -T* Sin (theta) = MA
Fy) T*Cos(theta) -w=0

MA= 4 * 9.8 = 39.2
W= 39.2 + (4 * 1.0)= 43.2
--------------------------------
Fx) -T * Sin (theta)= 39.2

Fy) T * Cos (Theta) -43.2 = 0
Fy) T * Cos (Theta) = 43.2

Could somone point me in the right direction for the next step in finding T? I'm not very strong in math and I'm not sure were to go from here.

 

[Doc Al]

Fx) -T* Sin (theta) = MA
Fy) T*Cos(theta) -w=0

At this point, you're doing fine. I'm not sure what you were doing after that.

Rewrite your equations like this:
T \sin\theta = m a
T \cos\theta = w = mg

To solve these two equations, try dividing one by the other. See what happens.

 

[lightgrav]

acceleration a = 1.0 m/s/s ...
This "a" has ALMOST NOTHING to do with "g" = 9.8 N/kg !

the weight = Force by gravity = mg , = T cos(theta) .
T sin(theta) = m a .

Try drawing a triangle of these components, and see what tan(theta) is ...

 

[RedBurns]

Thanks! Thats what I needed.