There’s a different type of notation for x and y axes called “i-hat” and “j-hat”. This next video will show you exactly what you need to know to understand how to use them together so you don’t get confused! If you haven’t learned about “sines” or “cosines” yet, or it’s been awhile since you’ve studied triangles, this video will show you exactly what you need to know in order to solve physics problems. We’re not going to spend time deriving where these came from (if you’re interested in that, just open up a trigonometry textbook), but rather we’re going to learn how to use them in a way that real scientists and engineers do.
Take out your notebook and take notes on the law of sines, law of cosines, and write down definitions for sine, cosine, and tangent based on what you learn in the video, especially if you’re new to all this. Take it slow and you’ll catch on soon enough, because math isn’t just a shiny box of tools you just learn about, but you need to take the tools out of the box and learn how to crank with them. And sometimes, you learn how to use a impact driver when you need it, not ahead of time for someday when you might need it. Don’t get stuck if you haven’t seen some of these math principles yet or if they don’t make sense where they came from – just start using them and your brain will pick it up on the way as you learn how to apply them. Again, don’t feel like you have to complete a comprehensive course in trig to be able to figure out how to add vectors together! Just follow these simple steps…
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Thanks, that was helpful!
It depends on what you’re doing – with physics, a = acceleration, while alpha (greek letter) = angular acceleration. Some greek letters always mean the same thing (like “pi” = 3.14159…) while others can be mixed around.
Are there any guidelines on what Greek letters to use in general? Or are they interchangeable?