Question

A novice golfer on the green takes three strokes to sink the ball. The successive displacements of the ball are d1 = 3.96 m to the north, d2 = 2.06 m northeast, and d3 = 1.13 m at 30.0° west of south (see the figure). Starting at the same initial point, an expert golfer could make the hole in what single displacement?

I got 4.88 m and 65.5 N of E.

Answer 1

D=3.96m[90o] + 2.06m[45o] + 1.13m[240o]

X=3.96*cos90+2.06*cos45+1.13*cos240 =0.892 m.
Y = 3.96*sin90+2.06*sin45+1.13*sin240 =
4.44 m.

tan A = Y/X = 4.44/0.892 = 4.98
A = 78.6o

D = X/cos A = 0.892/cos78.6 = 4.51 m @ 78.6o N of E.

Answer 2

Henry how did you know that the angles were 90, 45 and 240?

Answer 3

You know the angles by the "north," "northeast," and "30 degrees west of south" (180+30)