Motion into direction ship problem

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a navigation problem involving two transmitters, A and B, which are 100 km apart, with A positioned due south of B. The ship receives signals indicating that A is at a 30-degree angle south of east, while B is directly east. Participants suggest visualizing the scenario as a triangle to better understand the relationships between the ship and the transmitters. Using the tangent function, the distance from the ship to transmitter B is calculated to be 173 km. The conversation highlights the importance of diagramming and applying trigonometric functions in solving navigation problems.
sweet_girl123
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Homework Statement


You are the navigator of a ship at sea. You receive radio signal from 2 transmitters A & B which are 100 Km apart, one due south of other. The direction finder shows you that transmitter A is at a heading of 30 degree south of east from the ship. while transmitter B is due east. Calculate the distance between you ship and transmitter B.

Homework Equations


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The Attempt at a Solution


Doesnot get the question . nt able to set up a diagram
 
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Welcome to PF, sweet_girl123! :smile:

Can you draw a triangle with A, B and the ship on the corners?

You have a number of clues what the triangle looks like.
I'll order them a bit for you:
1. B is due east of the ship, so B is to the right of the ship.
2. either A or B is due south of the other, so they are both on a vertical line.
3. A is 30 degrees down. This also means that A is below B.
4. A and B are 100 km apart.

Can you make a triangle of that?

After that we'll try to see what the requested distance is.
 
jjqq8m.png


This is what i think the triangle should be like...B to the east (Right) of ship and A to the south 30 degrees down.
 
Good! :smile:
And I like your picture!

Now the problem asks for "the distance between the ship and transmitter B."

For this you'd need the definition of the tangent function and apply it to what you know.
Do you know the definition of the tangent function?
 
I got the answer
tan(30)=100/x
solving the equation for 'x' we get
X= 173 km
 
Yep! :smile:

It seems you hardly needed help at all! :wink:
 
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