Question

You are underway at 10 knots. At 1800 you note a radar contact dead ahead at a range of 10 miles. At 1812 the contact is dead ahead at a range of 8 miles. The estimated speed of the contact is __________?

Answer 1

To find the estimated speed of the contact, the distance the contact covered (2 miles) is divided by the time taken (0.2 hours), resulting in an estimated speed of 10 mph.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the estimated speed of the contact, we need to analyze the change in distance over the time interval. At 1800, the contact was 10 miles away and at 1812 it was 8 miles away. This indicates that the distance between you and the contact decreased by 2 miles in 12 minutes.

To find the speed of the contact, we first convert the time into hours since speed is often expressed in miles per hour (mph). There are 60 minutes in an hour, so 12 minutes is 12/60 hours or 0.2 hours.

Now, we use the formula speed equals distance divided by time to find the estimated speed of the contact:

Speed = Distance / Time

Speed = 2 miles / 0.2 hours

Speed = 10 mph

This means the estimated speed of the contact is 10 mph.