Direction of the resultant displacement Math help
Problem: A disoriented physics professor drives a distance 3.15km north, then a distance 2.50 km west, and then a distance 1.30km south. Find the direction of the resultant displacement, using the method of components.
So I have done this problem over and over and I keep getting -36.5 degrees west of north. But on Mastering Physics it keeps stating my answer is wrong.
What I did was calculate $\arctan((3.15−1.3)/(−2.5))$ to get the direction of the resultant am I wrong to compute what I wrote before?
$\endgroup$1 Answer
$\begingroup$Be careful with your angle directions and negative signs. After taking the absolute value, you should get an angle of: $$ \arctan\left( \dfrac{3.15 - 1.30}{2.50} \right) \approx 36.5^\circ \text{ North of West} = 53.5^\circ \text{ West of North} $$
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