222k views
0 votes
A boat sails on a bearing of 78° for 127 miles and then turns and sails 209 miles on a bearing of 191°. Find the distance of the boat from its starting point.

The distance is miles.
(Round to the nearest integer as needed.)

1 Answer

2 votes

Answer:

198 miles

Explanation:

The distance from the starting point can be found by adding the two distance vectors. It can also be found by solving the triangle described by the points on the route.

Law of Cosines

The law of cosines can be used to solve a triangle when two sides and the included angle are known. It tells you ...

c² = a² +b² -2ab·cos(C) . . . . where C is the angle between sides 'a' and 'b'

In the geometry modeling the sailing route, the interior angle at the turn is ...

180° -(191° -78°) = 67°

Then the equation for the distance from start is ...

c² = 127² +209² -2·127·209·cos(67°) ≈ 39,067.65

c ≈ √39067.65 ≈ 197.66

The distance of the boat from its starting point is about 198 miles.

Vector sum

The sum of the two vectors can be found using a suitable calculator. (See the second attachment.) Or it can be calculated "by hand" by resolving the vectors to their components.

OA = 127(sin(78°), cos(78°)) = (124.22, 26.40)

AB = 209(sin(191°), cos(191°)) = (-39.88, -205.16)

OB = OA + AB = (124.22 -39.88, 26.40 -205.16) = (84.34, -178.76)

The magnitude of vector OB is ...

|OB| = √(84.34² +(-178.76)²) = √39067.65 ≈ 197.66

__

Additional comment

Rounded values are shown above. Calculations were done with enough significant digits to ensure the results shown are accurate.

A boat sails on a bearing of 78° for 127 miles and then turns and sails 209 miles-example-1
A boat sails on a bearing of 78° for 127 miles and then turns and sails 209 miles-example-2
User Sloloem
by
4.5k points