Question

Ralph is mowing the back yard with a push mower that he pushes downward with a force of 20.0 N at an angle of 30.0° to the horizontal. What are the horizontal and vertical components of the force exerted by Ralph?

Answer 1

Begin solving by drawing a diagram of the situation, labeling the horizontal and vertical components of the force.

Horizontal component: The hypotenuse in this exercise is the 20.0-N force. The horizontal component is the one going in the x direction. This is the side adjacent to the 30.0° angle so you use the equation for the cosine of an angle.

Vertical component: Again, the 20.0-N force is the hypotenuse of the triangle. The vertical component is the one going in the y direction. This is the side opposite the 30.0° angle so you use the equation for the sine of an angle.