How to Rotate Vectors

A vector is a quantity having both direction and magnitude. A vector can be represented as a pair of numbers, with the first number representing the horizontal distance and the second the vertical distance from the origin, or start. Thus a vector (3,3) has length (3^2 + 3^2)^.5 (by the Pythagorean theorem) and direction of 45 degrees.

Things You'll Need

  • Calculator with trigonometric functions
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Instructions

    • 1

      Decide how much you want to rotate the vector. Call this angle theta. This should be measured counterclockwise. Suppose you want to rotate the vector (3,4) 60 degrees counter clockwise, then theta = 60, x= 3 and y = 4.

    • 2

      Find sine of theta. Sin(60) = 0.87.

    • 3

      Find cosine of theta. Cos(60) = 0.5

    • 4

      Multiply x by cosine theta. 3*0.5 = 1.5

    • 5

      Multiply y by sine of theta. 4*0.87=3.38.

    • 6

      Add the results from Steps 4 and 5. This is the x component of the rotated vector: 3.38+1.5 = 4.68

    • 7

      Multiply x by sine theta and y by cosine theta and add them. This is the y component of the new vector. In the example x*sin(theta) = 3*0.87 = 2.61; y*cos(theta) = 4*0.5 = 2. 2.61 + 2 = 4.61. The rotated vector is (3.38, 4.61).

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