Non-perpendicular Resultant Vector

Calculations

Introduction

The general method to solve this type of problem consists of three steps:
1) Use trigonometric values to calculate X i and Y i (scroll to the “1a – Trig” section to see
what vectors I am referring to)
2) Use vector addition to sum all X i and Y i
3) Solve the problem as if it was a “right angle vector” problem.

A few conventions we will employ in the document are as follows:

- The magnitude of the vector ⃗ will be denoted (without the arrow). The same
Xi Xi

convention will apply for vectors ⃗ and ⃗ or any other vectors.

Yi d i

- The symbol ∠ will be used to indicate the measure (amount of degrees) of each
angle. For example, if the angle DAC in the above diagram is a 40-degree angle,
we can write ∠ DAC=40 °.
Part 1 – Trig

This step is by far the most difficult and tedious step in the solution of the problem.
In the problem, vector ⃗ is given as a
di
displacement “d i [units] θ [E] of [N]”; e.g.
for a vector “50 km 30° [E] of [N]”, we
substitute d i = 50 km and θ = 30° . The
formula outlined below will hold true for all
angles of θ , whether it be acute, obtuse or
reflex.

1a) – Angle Chasing

The objective of this step is to determine all angles in the above figure. Since the x- and y-
axis are perpendicular to each other, we know that ∠ DAB=90 ° .
As ∠ DAB=∠ DAC +∠ CAB , we can substitute ∠ DAC=θ to obtain 90 °=θ+ ∠CAB or
90 °−θ=∠CAB .
As the angles of a triangle sum to 180 ° , we know that ∠ ABC +∠ BCA + ∠ CAB=180° .
Noting that ∠ ABC=90° and ∠ CAB=90 °−θ , we obtain 90 ° +90 °−θ+ ∠ CAB=180° , or
∠ CAB=θ . Now, we obtain the following diagram:
1b) – Real Trig

adj
Let us apply the definition of the cosine function on angle ∠ CAB . As cos ∠CAB= , we
hyp

have X i . Rearranging the formula gives ; note that the

cos (90 °−θ)= (d i )cos (90 ° −θ)=X i
di
left-hand side of the equation consists exclusively of constant terms (i.e. without any
variable). The same strategy can be used to find using the sine of
Y i=( d i ) sin(90 °−θ)

or
∠ CAB Y i=( d i ) cos(θ) using the cosine of ∠ ACB.

Worked example for sections 1a) and 1b):

Problem. An object travels 10m 70° [E] of [N]. How much did the object travel in the

east-west and north-south directions?

Solution. (Angle chasing) As ∠ DAC=70 ° , we get ∠ CAB=20 ° from ∠ DAB=90 ° .

Recall that the sum of the three angles of triangle Δ ABC add up to 180 ° , from which we
obtain ∠ CAB+ ∠ ABC +∠ BAC =180° . As we already know ∠ CAB=20 ° and
∠ ABC=9 0 ° , we find that ∠ BAC=7 0 ° . This leads to the diagram below.

(Trig) Now we use the cosine function on angles ∠ ACB and ∠ CAB to solve for X i and

CB
Y i. By definition, cos ∠ ACB= . We substitute the relevant values to obtain
AC
Yi
cos 70 °= , or 10 ¿. As 10 only has two significant digits in this multiplication equation,
10
the magnitude of this vector is 3.4. Note in the diagram that the vector ⃗ is in the [E]
Xi

direction.
Using a similar strategy, we find that 10 ¿, and using significant digit rules we obtain the
final magnitude of 9.4. Note in the diagram that the vector ⃗ is in the [N] direction.
Yi

Answer. The object traveled 3.4m [N] in the north-south direction and 9.4m [E] in the

east-west direction.

Verification. We can verify that the distances calculated above are correct by utilizing

the Pythagorean Theorem. Note that the legs of the right triangle are supposedly 3.4 and
9.3, whereas the hypotenuse is 10. We can verify this is indeed a right triangle as
(without significant digit rules), which is very close to 102=100 .

1c) – Repetition

Recall the original diagram given on page 1. We can apply steps 1a) and 1b) to vectors ⃗
X1

and ⃗ , and use the same steps on vectors ⃗ and ⃗ to find the directions and
Y1 X2 Y2

magnitudes of all four vectors.

2) – Vector Addition

The goal of this section is to find ⃗

X and ⃗
Y . Notice that X and Y are exactly the x- and y-
components of the resultant vector, transforming this problem into a problem we already
know how to solve!
We simply perform vector addition; ⃗ ⃗ ⃗ , and ⃗ ⃗ ⃗ .
X 1+ X 2= X Y 1 + Y 2=Y

Recall that when adding two vectors in the same direction (east-west or north-south), we
must assign a sign to each direction (i.e. sign convention). We can then add the signed
magnitudes together to obtain a final signed magnitude which we convert back to vector
form.
3) Solving the final step

Take the ⃗X and ⃗

Y we calculated in the previous question. Notice if we translate the vector
⃗
Y from FE to KC (see image in section 2), the vectors ⃗ X and ⃗Y form the legs of the right
⃗
triangle with hypotenuse R . We can split this calculation into two parts:

Part 1: Magnitude. This part is trivial as we can simply apply the Pythagorean

theorem using the magnitudes of ⃗

X and ⃗
Y.
Part 2: Direction. If we find the angle θ , we can easily figure out the angle 90 °−θ

which gives us the direction [E] of [N]. In order to achieve this, we can use the inverse
tangent function ( tan−1 x ¿ ¿ which returns the initial angle θ if the tangent of said angle is
x (i.e. it cancels the tangent function: tan−1 tan θ=θ .) In this case, we know that the
opp Y
tangent of the angle θ is equal to = (the directions of vectors ⃗ Y and ⃗X . Taking
adj X
−1 Y −1 Y
tan on your calculator yields the angle θ , and 90 °−tan gives the desired angle.
X X
Make sure your calculator is set to “degree” mode for this step!

“Advanced Technique”. Notice that the angle ∠ ACB is equal to 90 °−θ by triangle

sum in the above diagram. Thus, we apply the inverse tangent function on ∠ ACB to give
−1 −1 X
90 °−θ=tan tan ( ∠ ACB )=tan which gives the desired angle directly! Note this is a
Y
small time save which may result in mistakes, so only utilize this if you understand the
“classic” technique.
Worked example for section 2) and 3):

Problem. Find the magnitude and direction of ⃗

R in the given diagram.

Solution.

Part 2): We use the sign convention that east and north are positive, and west and south
are negative.
The displacement in the east-west direction is +5.61+ ( +7.33 )=+12.94=12.94 [E]. Note
that since no units are given in the problem, no units are required in the solution.
The displacement in the north-south direction is + 4 . 06+ (−1.44 )=+2.62=2.62 [N]. Note
that since no units are given in the problem, no units are required in the solution.

Part 3): We will use the “classic” technique to solve this part.
Magnitude: we use the Pythagorean Theorem. R2= X 2+ Y 2, so
. (Note the use of significant
R=√ X + Y =√ 12.94 +2.62 = √ 167.4+ 6.86= √ 174.2=13.20
2 2 2 2

digit rules in this section.)

Direction: Let the angle ∠ CAK in the above diagram be equal to θ . Thus, the direction of
Y 2.62
the vector is 90 °−θ [E] of [N]. Note that the tangent of θ= = =0.202. Taking the
X 12.94
inverse tangent gives 11.4 °, thus the target angle is 90 °−11.4 °=79 ° (significant digit
rules).
3.5): A caveat

Angles that are clockwise are measured negatively! In the diagram below, the value of θ is
a negative integer, meaning the angle 90 °−θ is larger than 90 ° .

Exercise. Take θ=−35 °, X =12 fm [E],

fm [S]. Find the resultant vector in

Y =5 ⃗
R
micrometers using scientific notation.

4)The advanced strategy

Caution: do not use this strategy unless you are absolutely confident that you

will use it correctly!

We find the magnitude of the resultant vector first. This strategy requires knowledge of a
common rule in trigonometry: the law of cosines.

First, we perform some angle chasing in order to find that ∠ ABC=90 ° +θ1−θ 2. Call this
value γ for simplicity; the magnitude of the resultant vector is given by the formula
 R=√ d 21+ d 22−2 d 1 d 2 cos γ

Now that we know the magnitude, we know all three sides of triangle Δ ABC . Now, using
a rearranged version of the law of cosines, we can find ∠ BAC using the formula
2 2 2
−1 d 1 + R −d 2
∠ BAC=cos
2 d1 R
And adding the angles ∠ BAC +θ1 gives the direction of the vector [E] of [N].