What is the Resultant Distance and Direction of a Person's Vector Walk?

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A person walked a series of distances in various directions, resulting in a net displacement calculated as 86.5 paces at an angle of 48.7 degrees North of East. The calculations involved breaking down the movements into their north-south and east-west components, summing them to find the resultant vector. The discussion highlighted the importance of clearly organizing vector information for better understanding and communication. Some participants noted the confusion caused by the original poster's format and encouraged clearer presentation of vector data. Overall, the calculations and final answer were confirmed as correct despite initial misunderstandings.
cowgiljl
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a person walks 80.0 paces E
50.0 paces 70.0 degrees N of E
18 paces N
40 paces W

I made a chart

NS EW these are directions
0 +80
+47 +17.1 got this by using 50*sin70 and 50* cos 70
+18 0
0 -40
sum is
65 57.1

I redrew my vector digram

to find D (distance)
d^2 = 65^2 +57.1^2
d = 86.5 paces
tan-1 (65/57.1)
48.7 degrees

So the answer i got was 86.5 paces @ 48.7 degrees N of E

is that right?
 
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Now if I sent you this message:
originally posted by cowgiljlNS EW these are directions
0 +80
+47 +17.1 got this by using 50*sin70 and 50* cos 70
+18 0
0 -40
sum is
65 57.1
would you have the slightest idea what in the world I'm talking about?

Why don't you post your question in some clear and orderly fashion, such as:
The x-coordinate is bla, bla, bla...

The y-coordinate is bla, bla, bla...

and so on, so people don't have to first figure out your secret code before they can even begin to think about the answer.

(Organizing your thoughts this way might even help you answer it yourself.)

Sorry if you think that's an unreasonably grumpy response.[b(]
 
I agree with gnome, but I was able to break your secret code. (For some reason, you list y first, then x.)

You did it perfectly. :smile:
 
sorry for the mass confusion but the prof like to us the north , south east and west for the directions and of course north and south and on the y-axis and E&W are on the X axis the reason i put the Y axis first is so when i am finding theata y/x seems simple in mind but i can see where i really messed up
 
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