A ship sails 15 nautical miles south then 18 nautical miles west. What is its bearing from its starting point? (to the nearest degree).

Answer 1

Using trigonometry, we can find the angle between the starting point, the southern point, and the final destination as follows:

First, we can draw a right-angled triangle with the starting point at the vertex of the right angle, and the southern and western points as the other two vertices.

Let the angle between the starting point and the southern point be x. Then, using trigonometry:

tan(x) = opposite/adjacent = 15/18

x = tan^-1(15/18) = 41.19 degrees (to 2 decimal places)

Therefore, the bearing of the ship from its starting point is 180 - x = 138.81 degrees (to 2 decimal places), rounded to the nearest degree, which is 139 degrees. Therefore, the ship is bearing 139 degrees from its starting point.

Answer 2

answered has a funny compass.
The ship is WEST of South (180 + something), not East of South
than angle west of south = 18/15 so
180 + tan^-1 ( 1.2 ) = 180 + 50.2 = 230.2