SOLUTION: Two ships leave a port at 9 A.M. One travels at a bearing of N 53* W at 12 miles per hour and the other travels at a bearing of S 67* W at 16 miles per hour. Approximate how far ap

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Question 191229: Two ships leave a port at 9 A.M. One travels at a bearing of N 53* W at 12 miles per hour and the other travels at a bearing of S 67* W at 16 miles per hour. Approximate how far apart they are at noon that day.
Answer by Alan3354(69443) About Me  (Show Source):
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Two ships leave a port at 9 A.M. One travels at a bearing of N 53* W at 12 miles per hour and the other travels at a bearing of S 67* W at 16 miles per hour. Approximate how far apart they are at noon that day.
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If I interpret the headings correctly, they're
N53W = 307
S67W = 247
Using North as 360 deg, West as 270, etc.
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The angle between them is 60 degrees.
The 1st one will be 36 miles out, the 2nd one 48 miles.
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Use the Law of Cosines:
c%5E2+=+36%5E2+%2B+48%5E2+-+2%2A36%2A48%2Acos%2860%29
c%5E2+=+1296+%2B+2304+-+1728
c%5E2+=+1872
c =~ 43.2666 miles