06. Who Cares About 53.13 Degrees?
Who Cares about 53.13 Degrees?
You just calculated the following values for a vehicle with a heading of 53.13 degrees
| d" style="text-align:center;">D | \delta_y" style="text-align:center;">\Delta y | \delta_x" style="text-align:center;">\Delta x |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 10 | 8 | 6 |
| 1 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
But really, for this particular angle we can say something much more general. We can say:
\Delta y = \frac{4}{5}\times D
\Delta x = \frac{3}{5}\times D
And these are very useful equations! They tell us that the vertical displacement is equal to total displacement times some multiplier (in this case ⅘). Likewise, horizontal displacement is total displacement times some other multiplier (in this case ⅗).
And this is useful…. for all those times when you're driving at 53.13 degrees?
What about every other possible angle? Wouldn't it be nice to calculate these multipliers for any angle?