Question

Urgent!!!

A radar station at point A is tracking two ships. Ship B is 4.5 km away in a direction
42° east of north [N42°E]. Ship C is 3.3 km away in a direction 58° west of north
[N58°W].
Determine the distance between the two ships to the nearest tenth of a kilometre.

Answer 1

Explanation:

There may be an easier way, but here is what I would do:

Convert positions to cartesian coordinate points, then

Use distance formula to find how far apart the points are

Boat B

x = 4.5 cos 48 = 3.011 y = 4.5 sin 48 = 3.344

Boat C

x = 3.3 cos 148 = -2.799 y = 3.3 sin 148 = 1.749

Now use distance formula

d^2 = ( 3.011 - - 2.799)^2 + ( 3.344 - 1.749)^2

d = 6.0 km apart