Question

Im getting confused with all the different formulas and what to use when. Is there a simple way to think of how to solve a certain problem or key things i should be looking for? We are doing circular motion, vectors, sin, cos, etc What is the tan looking for and how do i know when to use it? I’m not getting the same answer when I use the reciprocal tangent as what’s in the book....What is the most important thing to focus on when trying to understand Physics?

Answer 1

It all depend on the question we're solving. Suppose if we take the case of tan, it basically shows the slope of the line. When you are considering a circular motion then a tangent to a particular point shows the direction in which the body is in at a particular instant. So all the trigonometric functions in physics basically shows the relation between some directions at a particular angle.