A quadcopter drone lifts off from a landing pad and flies due east
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Motion in a Plane · Motion in a Plane
Problem
A quadcopter drone lifts off from a landing pad and flies 120m due east, then 90m due north, reaching its photography waypoint. In a coordinate system where +x points east and +y points north, the overall displacement from the origin to the waypoint is described by the components Δx=+120m and Δy=+90m.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the drone’s net displacement.
(b) Determine the direction of the displacement as an angle measured counter-clockwise from the east (+x) axis.
(c) Express the direction as a compass bearing (for example, "θ∘N of E").
(d) Describe qualitatively how the sign and relative sizes of the components would alter the interpretation of the direction angle if, instead, the drone had flown 120m west and 90m south.