# Where do you put the angle in force diagrams?

1. Aug 5, 2010

### ewolf335

1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data

Ok, so I'm in college now. However, i'm having the same problem i did when I was in high school. When your doing a problem that has lets say a truck on a 30 degree incline, how do you decide whether that angle will be touching the y component of the angle or the x? The reason I ask is because I was told the component touching the angle is always the x component, but in some problems that doesn't appear to be true, so I don't know how to draw my own force diagrams without mixing up the two.

2. Relevant equations
equation for force of kinetic friction

3. The attempt at a solution

2. Aug 5, 2010

### mizzy

if the question says that the incline makes an angle with the horizontal, then that horizontal is the x component.

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