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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Varun, a student: An aircraft is vertically above a point which is 10 kms west and 5 kms north of a control tower. if the aircraft is 4000 mts above the ground,how far is it from the control tower? |
Hi,
Here is my diagram of the situation you describe.
7
The control tower is at C, the aircraft is at A, P is on the ground directly below the aircraft and Q is 10 km west of C and 5 km south of P.
The angle QC is a right angle and hence you can use Pythagoras' theorem to find the distance from P to C. The angle APC is a right angle also so you can use Pythagoras' theorem again, this tim on triangle APC.
I hope this helps,
Penny
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