Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Bearing and Angles
Bearing is a way of describing direction using angles measured clockwise from north. In this problem, the bearings S 61°50' and N 28°10'E indicate the angles at which the ships are sailing relative to the north-south line. Understanding how to convert these bearings into standard angle measures is crucial for visualizing the ships' paths and calculating their positions.
Recommended video:
Vector Representation
In trigonometry, vectors are used to represent quantities that have both magnitude and direction. The ships' speeds and bearings can be expressed as vectors, allowing us to calculate their positions after a certain time. By breaking down the vectors into their horizontal and vertical components, we can apply the Pythagorean theorem to find the distance between the two ships.
Recommended video:
Law of Cosines
The Law of Cosines is a formula used to find the lengths of sides in a triangle when two sides and the included angle are known. In this scenario, after determining the positions of the ships, we can use this law to calculate the distance between them by treating their paths as the sides of a triangle. This concept is essential for solving problems involving non-right triangles in trigonometry.
Recommended video: