The magnitude of the vector difference , is closest to

[Mdhiggenz]

Homework Statement

The components of vectors and are given as follows:

Ax = +5.7 Bx = -9.8
Ay = -3.6 By = -6.5

The magnitude of the vector difference ,B-A is closest to:

Homework Equations

A=square root (ax)^2+ay^2

B= square root (bx)^2 + by^2

The Attempt at a Solution

Pretty much what I did was get the magnitude for A by using the above formula, and for A I got 6.7 and for B I got 11.79, I then subtracted B-A to get 5.0. However the answer is 16 I don't understand how that can be the case.

Thank you

 

[Simon Bridge]

You forgot to account for the direction of the vectors.
To get the difference between two vectors, you subtract the vectors head-to-tail.

In terms of components:
D = B - A = (B_xi + B_yj) - (A_xi + A_yj)

what is |D|?