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A bird flies 15 km [S 30° E] and then 20 km [S 25° W] to reach its

destination. Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant of the bird.

1 Answer

7 votes

Answer:

magnitude: 31.13 km (nearest hundredth)

direction: [S 1.75° W] (nearest hundredth)

Explanation:

[S 30° E] means 30° East of South

[S 25° W] means 25° West of South

The angle between the two directions (shown in orange as y on the attached diagram) = 180 - 30 - 25 = 125°

Now we can use the cosine rule to determine the magnitude (shown in blue on the attached diagram):

c² = a² + b² - 2ab cos C

⇒ c² = 15² + 20² - 2(15)(20) cos 125°

⇒ c² = 969.1458618...

⇒ c = 31.13110762...

⇒ c = 31.13 km (nearest hundredth)

Use the sine rule to determine the angle labelled pink on the attached diagram, then subtract 30° from this to find the direction of [S (x-30)° W]

sin(x) / 20 = sin(125) / 31.13110762...

⇒ sin(x) = 20 sin(125) / 31.13110762...

⇒ sin(x) =0.5262594921...

⇒ x = 31.7530704...°

Therefore, the angle of direction west of south = x - 30°

= 31.7530704...° - 30°

= 1.75° (nearest hundredth)

⇒ direction = [S 1.75° W]

A bird flies 15 km [S 30° E] and then 20 km [S 25° W] to reach its destination. Determine-example-1
User Matt Ruwe
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