- #1
Medgirl314
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Homework Statement
An aircraft is traveling at 200 mi/h on a heading of 38 degrees. Find the northerly and easterly components of its velocity.
Homework Equations
Sine=opposite/hypotenuse
Cosine=adjacent/hypotenuse
The Attempt at a Solution
The problem states that the angle given is a heading. In order to use our equations, it is best to convert to our non-heading angle. I don't know what that's called, but it's 52 degrees. So to find the northerly component, I did 200cos(52) and got 123.1 mi/h. To get the easterly component, I did 200sin(52) and got 157.6 mi/h. Are these the right answers so far? Do I need to convert back to a "heading" answer? How would I do that?
Thanks so much for a helpful and descriptive answer!