k so question is one you have all answered previously, 3 different forces acting on a single mass, in north south and east directions.
my particular forces are 11.3 N north, 20.4 N east, and 14.7 N south
so to figure out the direction of acceleration in degrees, you have to take the arctan of resultant S, over E.
so that would be arctan 3.4/20.4
though for some reason is not correct, am i doing everything right?
Yes, you are correct that to find the direction of acceleration, you need to calculate the arctan of the ratio of the southward component to the eastward component. However, I believe there may be an error in your calculation.
Let's go through the steps to determine the direction of acceleration:
1. Start by breaking down each force into its northward and eastward components.
- The 11.3 N north force has no eastward component (since it acts solely in the north direction).
- The 20.4 N east force has no northward component (since it acts solely in the east direction).
- The 14.7 N south force has no eastward component (since it acts solely in the south direction).
2. Next, determine the net northward and eastward components by adding up the individual components.
- Net northward component: 11.3 N - 14.7 N = -3.4 N
(Note: Since the southward force is greater than the northward force, the resulting northward component is negative to indicate the direction.)
- Net eastward component: 20.4 N
3. To find the direction of acceleration, take the arctan of the ratio of the net northward component to the net eastward component.
- Direction of acceleration (in degrees) = arctan (-3.4 N / 20.4 N)
Now, it appears you made an error while performing the calculation. Let's correct it:
- Direction of acceleration (in degrees) = arctan (-3.4 / 20.4) ≈ -9.54°
So the direction of acceleration, in this case, is approximately -9.54° (south of east).
I hope that clarifies things for you!