It's also possible to first find the x- and y-components vfx and vfy of the resultant velocity. the magnitude and direction of the resultant velocity can then be found with the pythagorean theorem, vf = √vfx2 + vfy2, and the inverse tangent function θ = tan-1 (vfy/vfx). setting up this alternate approach is a simple matter of substituting vfx = vf cos θ and vfy = vf sin θ in equations (1) and (2). question if the car and van had identical mass and speed, what would the resultant angle have been?