An aircraft is 17 km south and 15 km west of an airport's control tower. The altimeter reads 8000 m. How far is the aircraft from the control tower?

Question

 The Hypotenuse ( distance from the tower to the point on the ground just below the aircraft is:   sqr(15^{2  _{+  17^2  )  = 22.7}}

 

              Now we find hypotenuse ( line between the Tower and the aircraft:  

 

                     22.7 ^2 + 8000 ^2 =  8000 m      it's probably wrong but I don't know why?   Which step?  

 

Answer 1

If you consider the length of the longest needle that could fit perfectly inside a cubic box of a*b*c dimensions then you can solve this. These directions S, W and H are mutually perpendicular (at right angles to each other). Using Pythagoras theorem in 3D space; d² = a² + b² + c²

 

hence d = (17² + 15² + 8²)^1/2  =  24.04 km