Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A vector has the parts and . Find its size, and its direction as an angle measured anticlockwise from the axis.
A student types into a calculator and gets . Is that the direction?
The size is . For the direction, find the angle with the axis from , then place it in the right quarter using the signs of and .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Size. .
Step 2. The quarter. and , so the arrow points down and to the left. That is the third quarter, between and .
Step 3. The angle. The angle with the axis is . In the third quarter, the angle from is .
Answer: size , at from the axis. The student's points the opposite way.
Check. and .
Watch out. and give the same tangent, so a calculator cannot tell them apart. In Python, math.atan2(-4, -3) uses both signs and finds the right quarter.
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