1. The free body diagram is shown below:
2.
Given:
F1 = 20N
F2 = 15N
Unknowns:
θ: direction of the net force = ?
3.
In order to find the unknown angle θ, use the tangent function, as follow:
[tex]\tan \theta=\frac{opposite}{adjacent}[/tex]
where opposite is F1 and adjacent is F2. To obtain θ it is necessary to apply inverse tangent.
5. Then, you have:
[tex]\theta=\tan ^{-1}(\frac{20N}{15N})=53.13[/tex]
Hence, the direction is 53.13 degrees to the north of the west
