# Math Help - i am lost on this word problem

1. ## i am lost on this word problem

I don't even know what to do. It was in the section with law of cosines/sines. does this problem apply some how & I just don't know?

A ship is sailing due north. At a certain point the bearing of a lighthouse is N36.6degrees E and the distance is 11.5. After a while, the captain notices that the bearing of the lighthouse is now S46.5degrees E. How far did the ship travel between the two observations of the lighthouse.

2. Originally Posted by lsnyder
I don't even know what to do. It was in the section with law of cosines/sines. does this problem apply some how & I just don't know?

A ship is sailing due north. At a certain point the bearing of a lighthouse is N36.6degrees E and the distance is 11.5. After a while, the captain notices that the bearing of the lighthouse is now S46.5degrees E. How far did the ship travel between the two observations of the lighthouse.
did you make a sketch?

law of sines ...

$\frac{x}{\sin(96.9)} = \frac{11.5}{\sin(46.5)}$

3. o wow. i mixed up the sines. thank you for helping me realize what i did wrong.