A man wandering in the desert walks 2.6 miles in the direction S 34° W. He then turns 90° and walks 3.3 miles in the direction N 56° W. At that time, how far is he from his starting point, and what is his bearing from his starting point?

Question

mehek14 · Answer

The picture would be a right triangle - his two walking paths are the lags and the  the hypotenuse is his total distance from the starting point. Use the Pythagorean Theorem.

vegan555 · Answer

so that would be the miles from his starting point? I got 4.2

trojanpoem · Answer

N W is north west ? 
S W is south west ?

vegan555 · Answer

yes

trojanpoem · Answer

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trojanpoem · Answer

He went from C to A and from A to B so the starting point mentioned is A to B
so AB= rootof((2.6)^2 + (3.3)^2) = some number.

vegan555 · Answer

4.2

trojanpoem · Answer

Yeah.

vegan555 · Answer

so that's the miles

vegan555 · Answer

so how do I find the bearings?

trojanpoem · Answer

Bearing mean ?

vegan555 · Answer

his bearing from his starting point

trojanpoem · Answer

Direction ?

vegan555 · Answer

the number of degrees from his starting point I guess

vegan555 · Answer

this is really confusing to me sorry

trojanpoem · Answer

You can use the sin or cos or tan

vegan555 · Answer

would it be cos56 degrees?

trojanpoem · Answer

tan(a) = 3.3/2.6    so a =51  46

vegan555 · Answer

wouldn't it be tan 2.3/4.2?

vegan555 · Answer

oh wait nevermind sorry

trojanpoem · Answer

tan = BC/AC     Cos = AC/AB   Sin = BC/AB

vegan555 · Answer

ok so 2.3/3.3= .696969, so then do I do tan^-1(.696969)? I got 34.875

trojanpoem · Answer

2.6/3.3

vegan555 · Answer

oh shoot ok sorry thank you lol

vegan555 · Answer

ok so I got 38.2

trojanpoem · Answer

Sorry 3.3/2.6

trojanpoem · Answer

I didn't look at the triangle :ops

vegan555 · Answer

ooh ok

vegan555 · Answer

well tan is opp/adj so wouldn't it be 2.6/3.3?

trojanpoem · Answer

I think what confuses you is how to get tan sin and cos right ?

vegan555 · Answer

yes lol

trojanpoem · Answer

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trojanpoem · Answer

The sin is    the side in front of it (x) / the side which is in front of the 90 degree

trojanpoem · Answer

the cos is the side (V)/ the side in front of the 90

trojanpoem · Answer

tan is the side (x) (front) / the side (v)

vegan555 · Answer

ok I'm sorry, I thought tan was v/x not x/v. SOH CAH TOA lol. Tan is opp/adj.

trojanpoem · Answer

Saying opp/adj was confusing m in the past LAWL

trojanpoem · Answer

N.m , good luck.