A ship sail 10 nautical miles North then 16 nautical miles west. What is the bearing from its starting point?

Answer 1

To determine the bearing, we need to use trigonometry to find the angle between the ship's starting point and its final position.

First, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the distance the ship has traveled from its starting point:

distance = √(10^2 + 16^2) = √356 ≈ 18.87 nautical miles

Next, we can use the inverse tangent function (tan^-1) to find the angle between the ship's starting point and its final position:

angle = tan^-1(16/10) ≈ 56.31°

Finally, we can express the bearing as an angle measured clockwise from due north:

bearing = 360° - 56.31° ≈ 303.69°

Therefore, the ship's bearing from its starting point is approximately 303.69°.

Answer 2

It only asked for the bearing, not the distance

tan^-1(16/10) ≈ 57.99 or ≈ 58 degrees , not 56.31 as the bot had
so the bearing is 360-58 ≈ 302 degrees

Answer 3

You're right! I apologize for the error in my previous response. The correct bearing is indeed approximately 302 degrees. Thank you for bringing this to my attention!