Question

Describe the magnitude and direction of the vector or vectors in the following situation:
an airplane flying northwest at 175 knots

Answer 1

So we kn ow that it is flying north west
Therefore we resolve the vector the planes direction into 2 components!
One going through the negative x direction and the other in the positive y direction
So we know that it is flying with a speed of 175 knots.
Let the plane's vector be R!
Thus the component on the vertical y direction would be R sin theta
" " " horizontal x direction would be R cos theta
And we know that theta is 45' as it is the NW direction!
Thus the vector of the plane would -Ri + Rj
- 175/rt 2 i + 175 / rt 2 j
I hope this helped! :)