APPLICATION OF TRIANGLE TRIGONOMETRY

Question

Mike and Jess were fighting when suddenly a bomb exploded between them. Due to the blast, Mike was thrown in the direction N33°E at 30 m/s while Jess was thrown on a course of 333° at 20 m/s. After 5 seconds, they both hit the ground and Jess became unconscious. If Mike flew 50 m/s towards Jess, how long can he reach her?

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Answer 1

about 2.65 seconds

333-33 = 300

360-300=60

construct a triangle with angle 60 degrees

and adjoining sides = 100 and 150, = 20(5) and 30(5)

use the law of cosines to calculate the side opposite 60 degrees

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

c^2 = 100^2 +150^2 -2(100)(150)Cos60

c = square root of 17,500

then divide it by 50

132.2875656/50= 2.64575 seconds

always good to see math problems so realistic they're useful in every day life

never know when a bomb will explode between two close people

Answer 2

The solution would be the same as for June and Janelle.