Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Trig Word Problem

  1. Nov 18th 2008, 06:26 PM #1
    ferken
    ferken is offline
    Newbie
    Joined
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    21

    Trig Word Problem

    Two airplanes leave the same airport in opposite directions. At 2 pm the angle of elevation from the airport to the first plane is 28 degrees and to the second plane is 19 degrees. The elevation of the first plane is 9km and the second plance is 7.2km. Find the air distance between the two airplanes.

    Much help is appreciated. Thanks =]
    Follow Math Help Forum on Facebook and Google+
  2. Nov 18th 2008, 06:35 PM #2
    TheEmptySet
    TheEmptySet is offline
    Behold, the power of SARDINES!
    TheEmptySet's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2008
    From
    Yuma, AZ, USA
    Posts
    3,764
    Thanks
    78

    Draw a diagram

    Quote Originally Posted by ferken View Post
    Two airplanes leave the same airport in opposite directions. At 2 pm the angle of elevation from the airport to the first plane is 28 degrees and to the second plane is 19 degrees. The elevation of the first plane is 9km and the second plance is 7.2km. Find the air distance between the two airplanes.

    Much help is appreciated. Thanks =]
    Trig Word Problem-capture.jpg

    Solve for a and b using the diagram and then use the Law of Cosines to find the distance between the two planes

    c^2=a^2+b^2-2ab\cos(\theta)

    I hope this helps
    Follow Math Help Forum on Facebook and Google+
« A problem solving question I just don't get.. | trig sine angle »

Similar Math Help Forum Discussions

  1. Trig Word Problem
    Posted in the Trigonometry Forum
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: Nov 20th 2011, 11:57 AM
  2. Trig word problem - solving a trig equation.
    Posted in the Trigonometry Forum
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: Mar 14th 2011, 07:07 AM
  3. Weird Trig Angle of Elevation problem + Azimuth Word Problem
    Posted in the Trigonometry Forum
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: Jan 2nd 2011, 08:20 PM
  4. Word Problem - Trig
    Posted in the Trigonometry Forum
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: Jun 19th 2009, 12:33 PM
  5. Trig word problem
    Posted in the Trigonometry Forum
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: Dec 14th 2008, 01:00 AM

Search Tags


/mathhelpforum @mathhelpforum