A ship leaves port at 6 am travelling due east at 12mph. Another ship leaves port at 11 am travelling due north at 15 mph. How far apart, to the nearest tenth of a mile are the 2 ships at 11 pm?

Answer 1

by 11 pm, ship1 has gone 17*12 = 204 miles east
Also, ship2 has gone 180 miles north

the final separation is thus

d^2 = 204^2 + 180^2
d = 272.1 miles