Question

Plane 1 is 176.27 miles away, and plane 2 is 222.34 miles away. The angle formed with the tracking station is 38.59*. What is the distance between the planes? Please help! :)

Answer 1

we know that
Applying the law of cosines
c²=a²+b²-2*a*b*cos C
in this problem
a=176.27 miles
b=222.34 miles
C=38.59°
c=the distance between the planes
so
c²=176.27²+222.34²-2*176.27*222.34*cos 38.59°----> c²=19239.15
c=138.71 miles

the answer is
138.71 miles