Answer :
The magnitude of the horizontal component of the basketball player's shot can be calculated using the cosine function, involving the initial velocity and the angle given.
The student is asking about the horizontal component of velocity for a basketball player's shot with an initial velocity at an angle. This type of problem involves using trigonometric functions to decompose the velocity into horizontal and vertical components. To calculate the horizontal component (Vx) of the initial velocity, we use the cosine function of the given angle.
The formula to find the horizontal component is Vx = V * cos(θ), where V is the initial velocity and θ is the angle with the horizontal. Plugging in the values, we get Vx = 22.6 * cos(39.1°). By calculating this, we can find the magnitude of the horizontal component of the initial velocity.