I am trying to figure out how to do a homework problem for my math class. The homework for the night is, given a set of parametric equations, has three parts, the first of which is to find the speed of the ellipse at time t. The two parametric equations are $-6 \cos t = V_x$ and $4 \sin t = V_y$. From this, I have figured out that the ellipse will be 6 units wide and 4 units tall, and my "planet" will go around the origin starting at (-6, 0) and will traveling clockwise, but I get stuck here.
The second task is to determine the vertical and horizontal components of the velocity at angle $\theta$, which I have absolutely no idea how to do. I would greatly appreciate any help offered and am not looking for a solution; just a push in the right direction (it might have to be a pretty big push though; I have been lost in math for some time now and would greatly appreciate any good explanations of concepts involved.)