Vectors are basically forces with a direction. However it is important to know exactly what happens when several of these forces interact. To add two vectors, one will align the end of one with the start of the other then draw a line connecting them to form a triangle.
Then it is a simple matter of trigonometry to find the length of the missing side. One may use the Pythagorean theorem in the case of a right angled triangle or sin, cos, and tan in case it is not. Supposing A=10, B=15, and the angle between A and R is 30 degrees, then Sin 30 = 15 / R, R = 15 / 0.5, R = 30.
However, using this method while there are several vectors is long and unwieldy, especially when there is a limited amount of time like during a test or an exam. Thus the best way is to separate the vectors that don't point directly towards North, South, East, or West into two parts that do. Then we simply add the x components together and y components together to get the x and y forces for the final force. After that we find their sum and use tan to get the degrees of the force from the origin.
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