If a force of 60 pounds acts at an angle of 40° to the horizontal, what is its vertical component? 20 lb 35 lb 39 lb 46 lb

The answer to your question is 39 lb

Step-by-step explanation:

Data

Force = 60 lb

angle = 40°

vertical component = ?

Process

To answer this question, we must imagine a right triangle where the force gave is the hypotenuse, and the vertical component will be the opposite side to the 40° angle.

1. - Look for a trigonometric function that relates the opposite side and the hypotenuse

sin Ф = Opposite side / hypotenuse

- Solve for Opposite side

Opposite side = hypotenuse x sin Ф

- Substitution

Opposite side = 60 x sin 40

- Simplification

Opposite side = 60 x 0.64

- Result

Opposite side = 38.56 ≈ 39 lb