What is the direction and magnitude of the third leg of the sailor's journey?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a sailor's journey with multiple legs, where the final position is known, but the direction and magnitude of the third leg of the journey are to be determined. The subject area includes vector analysis and trigonometry.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the need to express the direction of the third leg in degrees east of north and question how to correctly calculate this angle. There are mentions of using the arctan function and the relationship between the components of the triangle formed by the journey.

Discussion Status

Some participants have offered guidance on using diagrams and reconsidering the angle calculations. There is an exploration of different methods to find the angle, including the possibility of subtracting from 90 degrees or using the inverse ratio for arctan.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating the challenge of expressing angles in a specific format and are considering the implications of the right triangle formed by the journey's legs. There is an emphasis on understanding the relationships between the components rather than providing direct solutions.

Soaring Crane
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A sailor in a small sailboat encounters shifting winds. She sails 2.00 km east, then 3.50 km southeast, and then an additional distance in an unknown direction. Her final position is 5.80 km directly east of the starting point.

Find the magnitude of the third leg of the journey.
Find the direction of the third leg of the journey.

I found the magnitude of the third leg. My question is the third leg's direction. The direction in degrees must be expressed in degrees east of north. I do not exactly understand how I am to express it like that. All I know is that if one takes the arctan of the ratio of the third leg's y_component/x_component the answer is wrong.

Thanks.
 
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Your almost there. Have you drawn a diagram? Take a closer look at the ratio y_component/x_component . Which angle with this give you? Which angle do you need?
 
The third leg is a right triangle's hypotenuse. The angle that was found with the mentioned ratio is horizontal from the rt. angle. Does that mean I subtract the angle found with that ratio from 90 degrees to find the third angle of the triangle?
 
Soaring Crane said:
The third leg is a right triangle's hypotenuse. The angle that was found with the mentioned ratio is horizontal from the rt. angle. Does that mean I subtract the angle found with that ratio from 90 degrees to find the third angle of the triangle?
Yes, you can do that or you can simply find the arctan of the inverse ratio (x/y).
 

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