Hi, I need help with this question and it's really confusing me. I have no idea how to approach it. Could someone help me? Thanks in advance!
Question: Ship A receives a distress signal from the east, and ship B receives a distress signal from the same vessel from the northwest. At what location is the vessel in distress located?
no way to tell. If you draw a diagram (with D as the distressed ship), then draw a line west from D, and a line southeast from D.
Ships A and B can be anywhere on these two lines.
More information is needed.
Hi Steve, thanks for answering. Here's more information: I do have a picture provided and Ship A on the graph is located at (2, 1) and Ship B is located on the graph at (1, 4).
I think I got the answer: (2,3).
If your wording is .... "ship B receives a distress signal from the same vessel from the SOUTHEAST "(meaning: in the direction of Northwest)
Otherwise the diagram cannot be drawn.
so we have AB = √((2-1)^2 + (1-4)^2) = √10
slope AB = 3/-1 = -3
So tan^-1(-3) = 108.435° , (tan^-1 (3) = 71.565°) , 71.565-45 = 26.565
Using some basic geometry, angle ABD = 26.565°
By the sine law,
AD/sin26.565 = √10/sin45
AD = .6325
so D is located at (2.6325 , 1)
check my arithmetic
You would have to realize that the distressed ship could not have been at (2,3).
ship A, which was at (2,1) received the signal from the east, so the y value of the distressed ship would have to be 1, with AD a horizontal line.
Of course, I'd be happy to help you with that question!
To determine the location of the vessel in distress, we can visualize the situation using a map or coordinate system. Let's assume the location of ship A is the origin (0,0) on a coordinate plane.
Ship A receives a distress signal from the east, meaning the vessel is somewhere to the east of ship A. Ship B receives a distress signal from the northwest, indicating that the vessel is northwest of ship B.
To find the location where the two distress signals intersect, we need to find the point that is both due east of ship A and northwest of ship B. This point will be the location of the vessel in distress.
One way to approach this is to draw perpendicular lines from each ship's position, forming a right-angled triangle. The point of intersection of these two lines will be the answer.
1. Plot ship A's position at the origin (0,0).
2. From ship A, draw a line directly to the east.
3. Plot ship B's position somewhere northwest of ship A. (Note: the exact position of ship B is not specified, so we can choose any point northwest of ship A.)
4. From ship B, draw a line directly to the east.
The point where these two lines intersect is the location of the vessel in distress.
If you have access to a map or a coordinate plane, you can use a ruler or a straight edge to draw the lines accurately. Alternatively, if you have access to graphing software, you can plot the points and draw the lines digitally.
Please let me know if you have any other questions or if there's anything else I can assist you with!