a basic mass spectrometer can be constructed by shooting a charged particle through a pair of charged plates and measuring the deflection angle at the end of the plates. this device can measure the ratio of the charge to the mass of the particle. such a device is shown in the figure, which has a length l, a plate separation h, and a constant electric field e between the plates as shown. in this problem, you may assume the particle deflection is small relative to the separation h of the plates.

half of a circle

explanation:

the arrow and the top of the circle is matching together. it is not a polygon because a polygon would always be the same shape. therefore, an half of a circle is called semicircle so you would find the radius of it.

see the picture for the vector

the magnitude of the vector by pythagorean theorem

r = √( (-10)^2 + (3)^2 ) = √109

magnitude = √109 units

the direction angle between vector and x-axis is

tan^(-1)(3/10) = 16.699

so the direction is approximately 16.7 degrees north of west

initial speed when it is dropped is 150 ft/s

now at the same moment the acceleration due to gravity is perpendicular to its velocity

so as we know that

now we have centripetal acceleration a = 32 ft/s^2 as its perpendicular to velocity

while tangential acceleration at the same moment will be zero

so

now radius of curvature is given as

so the radius of curvature just after it is dropped is 703.125 ft