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Vectors are usually decomposed into their orthogonal components so to derive equations along those orthogonal axes.

For example, consider a ball thrown at an angle to the horizon and assume, for the sake of simplicity, that the only force acting on it is gravity. Then, if you decompose the vector representing the initial velocity into a horizontal and vertical component, the former will not be affected by another force while the latter will be affected by gravitational acceleration. That will give you an equation which will enable you to work out the flight time and therefore the distance that the ball will travel.

The important thing is that vectors at right angles to one another do not interact. So if you can decompose a vector along orthogonal lines, any other vector at right angles to the original, can be ignored.

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13y ago

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