A plane flies 650 km with a bearing of N 34̊ E from A to B. The plane then flies 1070 km to C from B toward the southeast (Not 45̊). Find the bearing of the flight from B to C, as shown

Question

HELP ASAP PLSSS

Answer 1

So Zen B.,

What ever happened to the art of working out the pieces of a problem sequentially?

Let us call the original point (0,0). Then we have beautiful mathematical (trig) tools for finding exactly where B is, don't we? We have a distance (that's the hypotenuse of a right triangle), and an angle. What are your functions for the lengths of the horizontal and vertical legs of that triangle, in terms of the hypotenuse? If you thought something along the lines of "cos" and "sin", congratulations. Write the equations for the coordinates of B in terms of the length AB and those functions (of the included angle -- it's NOT the 34^o !!). Now you know where B is (just b/c you have the results with functions, doesn't mean you don't know them!)

Also, you know that C is directly E of A (the angles of 34+56=90).

Now, what do you know at this point? A, and B, and part of C, right?

More importantly, did you forget to include the length BC?

You have another right triangle there: BC is the hypotenuse, the vertical from B is a leg, and the other leg lies on the AC axis, you figure out where (it's fairly obvious where you should be looking?). So you have a right triangle, and you know a leg, and the hypotenuse. Find the other (horizontal) leg. Think: Pythag***** Theorem). Now add the two horizontal segments together: voila, you know the x-value of C!. You now have all the information you need to make a formula for the bearing of BC (hint: use arctan trig function ....)

-- Cheers, --Mr. d.