The vector -5.2A⃗ has a magnitude of 40m and points in the positive x direction.
Find the x component of the vector A⃗ ?
I do not understand how I am supposed to figure this out with just having the magnitude of the vector. Shouldn't there be an angle or another component provided? What effect does the -5.2 have?
To find the x component of the vector A⃗, we need to use the information given about the magnitude and direction. In this case, the vector -5.2A⃗ has a magnitude of 40m and points in the positive x direction.
The -5.2 in front of A⃗ indicates a scaling factor. It means that the vector A⃗ is scaled by a factor of -5.2. In other words, -5.2A⃗ is a vector with the same direction as A⃗, but with a magnitude that is 5.2 times smaller than that of A⃗.
Given that -5.2A⃗ has a magnitude of 40m and points in the positive x direction, it implies that the magnitude of A⃗, which we'll call |A⃗|, is 40m divided by the scaling factor of -5.2:
|A⃗| = 40m / -5.2 = -7.69m
Now, since the direction of A⃗ is the same as -5.2A⃗, which is the positive x direction, the x component of A⃗ is simply equal to the magnitude of A⃗:
Ax = |A⃗| = -7.69m
So, the x component of the vector A⃗ is -7.69m.