An airplane is traveling 894 km/hr in a direction 85 degrees West of North. Find the Westward component vectors of the airplane's velocity.

Answer 1

Let your x axis point east and your y axis point north, that let's you work in normal coordinates. 85 degrees west of north would be 85 + 90 = 175 CCW from the x axis. Sketch this on a xy graph, it will help. And add NSEW to the graph too.

894·cos(175) = -890.6 gives you the x value of the vector. Or -890.6 km/hr EASTWARD

Flip the sign when you flip it to being relative to the westward direction. You get 890.6 km/hr WESTWARD

And just for fun, there's a NORTHWARD vector as well, that being 894·sin(175) = 77.9 km/hr