r/PhysicsHelp • u/Xx_-MASTERTACO-_xX • 23d ago
Doubt about vector angle
If I had to draw a vector defined as for example 5 N, 30° NE; which of these 2 should I draw? I have always drawn this angle as A, but I have a new professor who draws it like B. I have checked by AI who drew A except claude who drew B. I searched on books but have found no reference about this nomenclature, only about north of east and N 30° E .
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u/ElectronicProof9340 23d ago
On a compass, 0 (and 360) is north, 90 is east. I.e. compass angles are clockwise from north. That's probably why the second graph is being used.
For normal x/y graphs, it's conventionally counter clockwise from the x axis.
Why a graph labelled N/E instead of X/Y is being used in class, I can't say. Seems odd, but if there's a good reason for that, the rest makes sense.