SOLUTION: A pilot, attempting to fly from Middletown to Westburg, a distance of 200 miles, notices after flying 180 miles that Westburg us still 35 miles away because the heading was off by

Question 56305This question is from textbook
: A pilot, attempting to fly from Middletown to Westburg, a distance of 200 miles, notices after flying 180 miles that Westburg us still 35 miles away because the heading was off by a few degrees. How many degrees was the heading off the desired course (to one decimal place)? This question is from textbook

Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A pilot, attempting to fly from Middletown to Westburg, a distance of 200 miles, notices after flying 180 miles that Westburg us still 35 miles away because the heading was off by a few degrees. How many degrees was the heading off the desired course (to one decimal place)?
:
This would form a triangle with sides a = 180, b = 35, c = 200
Angle B would be the heading error in degrees.
:
Use the law of cosines to find angle B:
Cos(B) = (c^2 + a^2 - b^2)/(2c*a)
:
Cos(B) = (200^2 + 180^2 - 35^2)/(2*200*180)
:
Cos(B) = (40000 + 32400 - 1225)/72000
:
Cos(B) = 71175/72000
:
Cos(B) = .98854
:
B = 8.7 degrees

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