What is the helipad's location in relation to the airport?

Question

A helicopter departs from an airport flying at a speed of 90 miles per hour at a bearing of 250° for 20 minutes before landing on a helipad.

Determine the helipad’s location in relation to the airport. Round to the nearest tenth of a mile. Show all your work and explain your reasoning.

Hello! I tried doing this for myself. However, it was very confusing for me, because I tend to overthink things. I tried drawing it out and I still didn't understand. I will put my work below. If someone could help me, I'd appreciate that a lot! Thank you !!

Know that 20 mins = 1/3 hour so,

90 m/hr * 1/3 hr = 30 miles from airport

x component: 30 miles * cos 250 = 26 (Rounded to the nearest tenth)

y component: 30 miles * sin 250 = 15

(The part that confused me was that I didn't really know what the answer was. I wasn't sure if you had to add 15 to 30, since that was the initial distance that the airplane flew, if it's just 30 miles from the airport, or if it's 15. I tried getting help from other people, but it confused me even more. I'd love help from someone who can explain it well.)

Answer 1

Ariana, you are one the right track - especially in drawing a diagram. Yet some of your calculations are off.

sin 250º = -0.940

30 sin 250º = -28.19

cos 250º = -0.34

30 cos 250º = -10.26

The helipad is 28.19 miles West and 10.25 miles South of the airport.