SEARCH HOME
Math CentralQuandaries & Queries

search

Question from Tom:

A boy walks 5km due North and then 4km due East
I. Find the bearing of his current position from his starting point
II. How far is the boy now from the starting point

Hi Tom,

First draw a diagram With $P$ as the starting point, $T$ 5 miles due north of $P,$ and Q as the point 4 miles due east of $T.$ The bearing of $P$ to $Q$ is the measure of the angle from north to the line segment Joing $P$ to $Q$ measured clockwise from north. Trigonometry will help you find the measure of this angle.

For part II, Pythagoras can help.

Penny

About Math Central
 

 


Math Central is supported by the University of Regina and The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.
Quandaries & Queries page Home page University of Regina PIMS