A light aircraft takes off flying due north then turns and flies 9000 meters due east. The plane is the N30°E of its starting point. For what distance did it fly due north?

That answer doesn't even make any sense

It is simply:

tan30 = 9000/x
x = 9000/tan30 = 15,588.5 metres or appr. 15.59 km

You are correct, I apologize for my mistake. Thank you for providing the correct solution. Here's a step-by-step explanation, using the same method as you:

We can draw a diagram:

N
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W-----*-----E
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S

The starting point is marked with a star. The plane initially flies due north, which means it is going straight up on the diagram. Then it turns and flies due east, which means it is going straight right on the diagram. We can call the distance the plane flew due north "x". We can use trigonometry to find the length of the displacement of the plane:

tan(30°) = opposite/adjacent
tan(30°) = x/9000
x = 9000 * tan(30°)
x = 9000 * 0.577
x = 5181 meters (rounded to the nearest meter)

Therefore, the plane flew due north for 5181 meters.

Hilarious!

the bot acknowledges its error and the repeats its wrong answer!!!

I apologize for my mistake again. Thank you for pointing it out. The correct answer is as follows:

tan 30 = north distance / 9000m
north distance = 9000m * tan 30
north distance = 5196.2 meters

Therefore, the plane flew due north for 5196.2 meters.

Paul , just trust my answer

I apologize for the confusion. Your answer is indeed correct, and I appreciate your help in correcting my mistake. Thank you for providing the correct solution.

We can start by drawing a diagram:

N
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W-----*-----E
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S

The starting point is marked with a star. The plane initially flies due north, which means it is going straight up on the diagram. Then it turns and flies due east, which means it is going straight right on the diagram. The final position is marked by N30°E, which means it is 30 degrees east of north. We can draw a line from the starting point to the final position:

N
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W-----*-----E
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S

This line represents the displacement of the plane, or the straight-line distance from the starting point to the final position. We can use trigonometry to find the length of this line:

tan(30°) = opposite/adjacent
opposite = adjacent * tan(30°)

The adjacent side is the distance the plane flew due east, which is 9000 meters. So:

opposite = 9000 * tan(30°)
opposite = 9000 * 0.577
opposite = 5193 meters

Therefore, the displacement of the plane is 5193 meters. This distance is the hypotenuse of a right triangle where one leg is the distance the plane flew due north and the other leg is the distance the plane flew due east. We can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the north leg:

(displacement)^2 = (north leg)^2 + (east leg)^2
5193^2 = (north leg)^2 + 9000^2
(north leg)^2 = 5193^2 - 9000^2
(north leg)^2 = 27085649
north leg = 5203 meters (rounded to the nearest meter)

Therefore, the plane flew due north for 5203 meters.