An explorer is caught in a whiteout (in which the snowfall is so thick that the ground cannot be distinguished from the sky) while returning to base camp. He was supposed to travel due north for 5.7 km, but when the snow clears, he discovers that he actually traveled 7.2 km at 55o north of due east.How far (in km) must he now travel to reach base camp?

Answer 1

Considering as (0,0) the place where he started back to camp, he ended up at

(7.2 cos55, 7.2 sin55)(4.129,5.898),

but he wanted to end up at camp: (0,5.7)

So, the distance from camp is

d^2 = 4.129^2 + (5.898-5.7)^2
= 17.087

d = 4.133 km