Chapter 2 – Trigonometry and Vectors

2.1 – Trigonometry review

Recall that the three most useful trigonometric ratios are relationships between the lengths of the sides
in a right triangle as defined by the following table:

Standard
Full ratio name Ratio
abbreviation

side opposite A O
sine(A) sin(A) commonly referred to as
hypotenuse H

side adjacent to A A
cosine(A) cos(A) commonly referred to as
hypotenuse H

side opposite A O
tangent(A) tan(A) commonly referred to as
side adjacent to A A

These ratios are used to find unknown values in a right triangle as in the following example:

Example 1

Find sinA, cosA, and tanA in the following triangle.

Since the hypotenuse is needed to find sin and cos, that is calculated first using the Pythagorean
Theorem:

h  13.32  21.52  25.3m

The three trigonometric ratios can now be calculated:

O 13.3
sin A    0.5257
H 25.3

A 21.5
cos A    0.8498
H 25.3

O 13.3
tan A    0.6186
A 21.5

A scientific calculator (such as the one provided with the Windows operating system) can be used to
calculate values associated with trigonometric values as well. For example, the cos of a 60° angle is 0.5
as indicated by the following expression:

cos 60  0.5
Different applications will require that the value of 0.5 is found given that the angle is 60°. Other
applications will demand that the angle measurement of 60° is found given that the cos value is 0.5. In
either case, a scientific calculator will be able to calculate the solution if used correctly.

Example 2a

Find sin 33.2

Solution:

33.2 is entered into the calculator, the ‘sin’ button is pressed, and the value is displayed giving:

sin33.2  0.5476

Example 2b

Find A given that tanA = 2.713

Solution:

2.713 is entered into the calculator, the ‘Inv’ button is pressed followed by the ‘tan-1’ button and the
value is displayed giving:

If tan A  2.713, then A  69.77

Typical measurements that provide only one piece of data are referred to as scalar measurements. For
example, if a doctor must weigh a patient and the scale reads 187 lbs., the single scalar number 187
provides all of the necessary information.

Vectors are measurements that incorporate two distinct pieces information typically referred to as the
magnitude and direction. Vectors are particularly important in technological applications as they are
fundamental to electronic circuitry, physical force applications, manufacturing processes, and much
more.

The following provides a specific example as to when a vector is needed. If it is necessary to know the
affect a wind will have on the flight of a plane, it is clear that the wind speed is an essential piece of
data. However, if the pilot is told that the wind speed is 20 kph, this will not help to determine the
overall affect. It is also necessary to know from which direction the wind is blowing in order to
determine its overall affect. Hence, it would be far more useful to tell the pilot that the wind is blowing
20 kph @ 6° West of North. In this case, the magnitude is 20 kph and the direction is 6° West of North.
This will provide the pilot with all of the necessary information (note that today there is technology that
can sense and automatically correct for wind speed, but this technology must be programmed by people
who understand the mathematics).

Vectors are represented mathematically as arrows. The length of the arrow is indicative of the vector’s
magnitude, while its orientation is indicative of direction. However, in a vector system all of these
measurements are relative (and hence meaningless until there is more than one vector in the system).

Consider the following vector v:

This vector clearly has a length and a direction, but since there are no other vectors in the system these
measurements have no real value.

Now consider the following two vectors v and w:

w
v
While there are still no hard and fast values, it can now be determined that relative to each other, w has
a larger magnitude (since the arrow is longer) and we can compare the two directions as needed.

Vector arithmetic – addition and subtraction

Many systems contain multiple vector entities and it is often necessary to add or subtract them to
determine the overall effect. The most straightforward method to add vectors is the triangle method.
The following two step algorithm provides the means to do this:

1. Redraw the vectors so that the tail of the second vector (i.e. the end without the arrow) is
adjacent to the head of the first (i.e. the end with the arrow).

2. Draw a third vector that starts at the tail of the first and ends at the head of the second. This
third vector represents the sum and is called the resultant (and often notated with the letter R).

Example 1

Add the vectors v and w above to find v + w.

Solution:

1. The two vectors are drawn with the head of v adjacent to the tail of w:

2. The resultant vector is drawn to find the sum of v and w:

This process can be applied to systems with more than 2 vectors. Each subsequent vector is placed in
the same way until all vectors have been placed tail-to-head. Finally, the resultant is drawn starting with
the tail of the first vector and ending at the head of the last. This process is demonstrated in the
following example.

Example 2

Add the following four vectors.

Solution:

1. The vectors are placed tail-to-head. The order they are placed is inconsequential as the
resultant will be the same regardless.
 2. The resultant vector is drawn to find the sum of these 4 vectors:

So in this system, adding V1, V2, V3, and V4 results in the vector R. In other words, V1 + V2 + V3 + V4 = R.

Subtracting vectors is based on vector addition. To subtract one vector from another, the opposite of
the vector being subtracted is added to the first vector. The opposite of a vector is defined to be the
vector with the same magnitude but opposite direction as in the following image:
-V
V

Combining the concepts of vector addition and opposite vectors, one vector can be subtracted from
another as in the following example:

Example 3

Find V1 – V2.
 Solution:

1. V1 – V2 can be rewritten as V1 + (–V2). Hence the tail of –V2 is placed adjacent to the head of
V1:

2. The resultant vector is drawn to find the difference of these vectors:

So in this system, R is the difference. In other words, V1 – V2 = R.

2.3 – Vector applications

There are many technology problems that can be resolved by combining the trigonometric concepts and
the vector concepts in the previous two sections. These include (but are not limited to) simple force
systems, simply aviation problems, police investigations, and electronics applications. The following
examples address some of these ideas.

Example 1
Two forces at right angles to each other are acting on an object. One is pushing to the right with a
force of 50 lbs., and the other is pushing up with a force of 72 lbs. What is the net force on the object?

Solution:

1. Let f1 be the force pushing to the right, and f2 be the forcing pushing up. Now the following
two forces are both pushing on the object:

2. Since both of these forces are acting on the object, they must be added together in order to
find the net effect on the object:

3. The resulting image can now be used to find the magnitude of the vector (i.e. its length) and
its direction (i.e. the angle B).

a. The magnitude is found using the Pythagorean Theorem:

| R | 502  722  87.7lb

(Note that the magnitude is represented using two vertical bars around the vector
name)
 b. Angle B can be found if angle A is known. Angle A can be found using trigonometry:

tan A  50 / 72  0.6944
A  34.8

B  90  A  90  34.8

Putting together the information found above, it is deduced that the net force on the object is
represented by the vector 87.7 lbs. @ 55.2°.
Example 2

A plane is flying due east at 317 mph. The wind is blowing due south at 26 mph. Accounting for the
effect of the wind, what is the true speed and direction of the plane relative to the ground?

Solution:

1. The system below demonstrates the vectors involved, with R being the true direction and
speed of the plane.

2. The resulting image can now be used to find the magnitude of the vector (i.e. its length) and
its direction (i.e. the marked angle between P and R).

a. The magnitude of R represents the speed and is found using the Pythagorean
Theorem:

| R | 3172  262  318 mph

b. The angle between P and R (referred to as A below) can be found using trigonometry:

tan A  26 / 317  0.0820

Putting together the information found above, it is deduced that the true direction and speed of the
plane is: 318 mph @ 4.7° south of east.

However, it is more typical to see these types of measurements written this way:

318 mph @ 85.3° east of south (it is standard to state either north or south as the last direction).
2.4 – Vector components

A pair of vectors form the components of a third vector if the third vector represents their sum. For
example, the red vectors V1 and V2 are components of the black vector V in the following system:

V2

V1

While all vectors have an infinite number of component pairs, the most useful component pair is that
which contains one horizontal and one vertical vector. These are commonly referred to as VX for the
horizontal component and VY for the vertical. For the same vector W, the horizontal and vertical
components would be those in the figure below:
VY

VX

Since VX and VY always form a right angle, trigonometry can be used to derive formulas as follows if the
vector V is known.
Finding the components of a vector when the vector is known.

Formulas to find the components of a vector if the vector is known

|V | = the magnitude of V , and  is the direction of V

Vx | V | cos 
Vy | V | sin 

Example 1

If V = 101 ft/s @ 72, find VX and VY

Solution:

Vx | V | cos   101cos(72)  31.2 ft/s

So Vx  31.2 ft/s and Vy  96.1 ft/s

Notice that even though the components are vectors, the direction is left off because VX is always at 0
 and VY is always at 90  .
Example 2

In a series circuit, the impedance (Z), phase angle (Φ), inductive reactance (XL), and the resistance (R)
are all key pieces of information (Z, XL, and R are all measured in Ohms notated by the symbol Ω).

The following image demonstrates these relationships visually:

In a series circuit, if Z = 23 and  measures 35 find X L and R.

Solution:
R and X L and R represent the horizontal and vertical components,
and so can be found using the corresponding formulas.

R | Z | cos   23cos(35)  18.8

In the above examples, the components of a vector were found when the vector was known. Sometimes
the reverse process is necessary. The formulas below provide a way to determine the original vector if
only the components are known.

Formulas to find a vector when its components are known

|V | = the magnitude of V , and  is the direction of V

| V | Vx 2  VY 2
 VY 
  tan  
 VX 

Example 3

If VX = 68.1 kph and VY = 89.3 kph, find V

Solution:

| V | VX 2  VY 2  68.12  89.32  112.3 kph

VY 89.3
tan    and so   52.7
VX 68.1

So V  112.3 kph @ 52.7

In a series circuit, if X L = 15 and R = 18, find Z and  .

Solution:
The same image as in the above example illustrates the relationships:

Since R and X L represent the horizontal and vertical components,

Z  152  182  23.4

15
tan   and so   39.8
18

So Z (the impedance) = 23.4 and  (the phase angle)  39.8

Section 2.1 Homework

Calculate the following.

1. Find sinA, cosA, tanA, sinB, cosB, and tanB in the following triangle:

2. Find sinA, cosA, tanA, sinB, cosB, and tanB in the following triangle:

3. If A = 62.7  , find:

a. sinA
b. cosA
c. tanA

4. If B = 119  , find:

a. sinB
b. cosB
c. tanB
 5. Find A if:
a. sinA = 0.6212
b. sinA = 3.215
c. cosA = 0.1144
d. tanA = 2.511

6. If cosA = 0.3519, find tanA

Section 2.2 Homework

Use the following vectors to answer the questions below.

B C D
A

1. Construct A + B

2. Construct B + C

3. Construct B + C + D

4. Construct A + B + A

5. Construct A – B

6. Construct A + C - D

Section 2.3 Homework

1. Two forces at right angles to each other are acting on an object. One is pushing to the right with
a force of 38.7 lbs., and one is pushing up with a force of 18.4 lbs. What is the net force on the
object?

2. Answer question number one assuming the first force is pushing to the left instead of the right.
 3. A plane is flying due was at 422 mph. The wind is blowing due south at 31mph. Accounting for
the effect of the wind, what is the true speed and direction of the plane relative to the ground?

4. A plane is flying due north 412 mph. The wind is blowing due east at 20 mph. Accounting for the
effect of the wind, what is the true speed and direction of the plane relative to the ground?

5. Answer question number 4 assuming the wind is blowing due south.

Section 2.4 Homework

For each of the following vectors in questions 1 thru 4, find the components VX and VY.

1. V: 30 mph @ 72 

2. V: 41.3 m/s @ 110 

3. V: 800 lb. @ 204 

4. V: 102 ft. @ 314 

5. Explain the positive or negative signs on the components in the problems above.

For each of the following component pairs in question 6 thru 9, find the corresponding vector.

VX  20mph
6.
VY  12mph

VX  160m / s
7.
VY  88m / s

VX  0.3lb
8.
VY  .215lb

VX  17.2 ft
9.
VY  76.1 ft

10. Are the positive or negative signs on the components in the problems above consistent with
your findings in questions 1 – 5?
11. In a series circuit, if Z = 15Ω and φ= 17  , find XL and R.

12. In a series circuit, if XL = 20Ω and R = 22 Ω, find Z and φ.

13. Challenge question: This scenario does not have right angles, but vector components can be
applied strategically so that right angles can be formed and trigonometry can be applied.

Two forces are acting on an object. On is pushing the object with a force of 17 lbs. at 34  . The
other is pushing with a force of 28 lbs. at 82  . What is the net force on the object?