SOLUTION: A ship is 3.6km from a lighthouse on a bearing of 215 degrees. How far west (to the nearest tenth of a kilometre) is the ship from the lighthouse? I am so bad at these bearing q

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Question 1038475: A ship is 3.6km from a lighthouse on a bearing of 215 degrees. How far west (to the nearest tenth of a kilometre) is the ship from the lighthouse?
I am so bad at these bearing questions! I really don't get what to do. Is it possible if you could link some websites about bearings? I tried to find some but I don't know which one is relevant to my question. Thank you in advance for any help!!
Answer by rothauserc(4718) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
bearings are measured clockwise from the north line
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a bearing of 215 degrees is 215 - 180 = 35 degrees with a hypotenuse of length 3.6km
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we want the horizontal distance which is one side of the right triangle formed by the bearing, south line and the horizontal line to the bearing
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let h be the horizontal distance
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sine(35) = h / 3.6
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h = sine(35) * 3.6 = 2.064875171 approx 2.1
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the ship is 2.1 km west
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google ship on a bearing
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