What is the direction of this vector as a bearing and in polar form. (-2,3)

Question

What is the direction of this vector as a bearing and in polar form.

(-2,3)

i did tan theta =3/-2

theta=56 degree one quadratic two

180-56=124

is that correct answer. did I miss anything?

Answer 1

Hello Zuhra,

Your angle is correct for theta if you round to the nearest whole number. Good work. You also need to find r, which is the distance from the origin to the point (use the Pythagorean Theorem). You could plot the point and see if you can draw the appropriate right triangle. The final answer in polar form is coordinates (r, theta) so you already know it is (r, 124^o).

As for the bearing, you could give that in relation to going West or North. Look at your graph to do this. West would be the negative x-axis, and North would be the positive y-axis. Your answer could be ___ degrees North of West or ____ degrees West of North. Just pick one of those to try. You have rotate the amount in the blank to get to your 124^o angle from the coordinate axis that you are using.

You can send in more work and questions if you need to (or the answers for checking).