If she maintains a constant speed of 655 miles per hour, how far is she from her starting position?

Question

A pilot flies in a straight path for 1 h 30 min. She then makes a course correction, heading 10 degrees to the right of her original course, and flies 2 h in the new direction. If she maintains a constant speed of 655 mi/h, how far is she from her starting position? answer in miles

Answer 1

2,269.029789 miles from starting position

= about 2,269 miles

Use the Law of Cosines

c^2 = a^2 +b^2 -2abCosC

where a = 655(1.5) =967.5 miles

b = 655(2) = 1310 miles

C= 170 degrees

c= sqr(967.5^2 + 1310^2 -2(967.5)(1310)Cos170)

c = about 2,269 miles