Two ships set sail straight away from point BB. Ship AA traveled 130km130km with a bearing of 33°T33°T and ship CC traveled 180km180km with a bearing of 123°T123°T. How far away are the two ships (AC)(AC)?
aa is the hypotenuse, and bb and cc are the two legs
First, find the value of the interior angle KLMKLM by subtracting the sum of the two given bearings from the angle of a straight line, which is 180°180°.
∠KLM∠KLM
==
180°-(35°+55°)180°−(35°+55°)
==
180°-90°180°−90°
==
90°90°
Since the triangle has an angle with a value of 90°90°, that means it is a right triangle.
Use the Pythagoras’ Theorem to solve for the distance KMKM.
aa
==
KMKM
bb
==
KLKL
==
6km6km
c
=
LM
=
8km
a2
=
b2+c2
KM2
=
62+82
Substitute known values
√KM2
=
√36+64
Get the square root of both sides
KM
=
√100
KM
=
10km
10km
Question 3 of 3
3. Question
A yacht is located 43°T from port X and 302°T from port Z. Port Z is 180km directly east of port X. Find the distance of the yacht from port X.