Answer:
The answer to your question is 7 lb
Step-by-step explanation:
Data
angle = 70°
force = 20 lb
horizontal component
Process
To solve this problem just imagine a right triangle, where the force is the hypotenuse and the horizontal component is the adjacent side.
1.- Look for a trigonometric function that relates the adjacent side and the hypotenuse.
cos Ф = adjacent side / hypotenuse
- Solve for the adjacent side
adjacent side = hypotenuse x cosФ
- Substitution
adjacent side = 20 x cos 70
- Simplification
adjacent side = 20 x 0.342
- Result
adjacent side = 6.84 ≈ 7 lb
