Question

After taking off from the landing pad, a helicopter flies 3 miles west, then 2 miles southeast. How far is the helicopter from the landing pad? If someone could explain to that would be very helpful

Answer 1

When the plane makes its turn to fly southeast, it makes a 45º angle at point a, making angle abc also equal to 45º.

Line ab is the 2 miles southeast the plane flies.

Line ac = line cb

sine (45º) = opposite / hypotenuse = cb / 2

.70711 = cb / 2

cb = 1.41422 miles = line ac

Line cs = 3 - 1.41422 = 1.58578

Line x^2 = cs^2 + cb^2

Line x^2 = 2.5146982084 + 2.0000182084

Line x^2 = 4.5147

Line x = 2.1248

Explanation: