I will assume that 110 deg angle between boats is measured with a bearing compass in the horizontal plane and not by a tilted sextant.
How far is the first one from the bridge in water horizontal plane?
tan 38 = 50/a so a = 64 m
second one
tan 35 = 50/b so b = 71.4 m
law of cosines
cos 110 = - 0.342
c^2 = a^2 + b^2 - 2 a b cos 110
solve for c
From the top of a 50-m high bridge, two boats are seen at anchor. One boat can be seen at
an angle of depression of 38°. The other boat has a 35° angle of depression. The two
boats are separated by an angle of 110⁰. How far apart are the boats?
1 answer
1 answer