Calculate the components of \( \mathbf{v} \) and \( \mathbf{w} \) using the cosine and sine values for the given angles.
Use the dot product formula: \( \mathbf{v} \cdot \mathbf{w} = v_x w_x + v_y w_y \) to find the dot product of the vectors.
Calculate the magnitudes of \( \mathbf{v} \) and \( \mathbf{w} \) using \( |\mathbf{v}| = \sqrt{v_x^2 + v_y^2} \) and \( |\mathbf{w}| = \sqrt{w_x^2 + w_y^2} \).
Use the formula for the angle between two vectors: \( \cos \theta = \frac{\mathbf{v} \cdot \mathbf{w}}{|\mathbf{v}| |\mathbf{w}|} \) and solve for \( \theta \) in degrees.
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Vector Representation
In trigonometry, vectors can be represented in terms of their components along the x and y axes. The given vectors v and w are expressed using cosine and sine functions, which correspond to the x and y components, respectively. Understanding how to break down vectors into their components is essential for calculating angles between them.
The dot product of two vectors is a crucial operation that helps determine the angle between them. It is calculated as the sum of the products of their corresponding components. The formula for the angle θ between two vectors v and w is given by cos(θ) = (v · w) / (|v| |w|), where |v| and |w| are the magnitudes of the vectors.
The magnitude of a vector is a measure of its length and is calculated using the Pythagorean theorem. For a vector represented as v = ai + bj, the magnitude is given by |v| = √(a² + b²). Knowing how to compute the magnitudes of the vectors v and w is necessary for applying the dot product formula to find the angle between them.