YourName-HW01

your name
the date you completed the first version;  date of most recent revision

Introduction and Statement of Problem

The purpose of this notebook is to compute the unit location vector to a point on Earth’s surface that is of interest to you.

Identify the point you have chosen (e.g., the Hollywood Bowl, the summit of the Grand Teton, your home, etc.) and provide a brief description.  Why did you choose this point?

Input Data

The variable lat is the decimal latitude of a reference point.  North latitudes are positive and south latitudes are negative.

The variable long is the decimal longitude of a reference point.  East longitudes are positive and west longitudes are negative.

User-defined Function

The user-defined function makeLocationVector acts on input geographic coordinates (decimal latitude and decimal longitude, both expressed in degrees) and returns the cartesian-geographic coordinates of the unit location vector to that point.  This user-defined function is copied from the document “KinematicsCh2-section-questions.nb” by Vince Cronin.

makeLocationVector[lat_, long_]:={Cos[lat Degree] Cos[long Degree], Cos[lat Degree] Sin[long Degree], Sin[lat Degree]};

Computation

Longhand Computational Process

The variables x, y, and z are the Cartesian coordinates associated with the reference point.

The variable result1 is the answer we are seeking.

An equivalent user-defined function called “makeLocationVector”

The variable result2 is the answer produced by the user-defined function makeLocationVector.

Output Data

The variable result1 is the answer computed the longhand way.

The variable result2 is the answer computed using the user-defined function makeLocationVector.

References

Cronin, V.S., 2021, KinematicsCh2-section-questions.nb:  unpublished draft, http://croninprojects.org/Vince/PlateKinematics/KinematicsCourse/KinematicsCh2-section-questions.nb

Cronin, V.S., 2017, A brief primer on plate kinematics, with Mathematica:  unpublished draft, http://croninprojects.org/Vince/PlateKinematics/KinematicsPrimer/KinematicsCh2.nb