Distance between ships: One ship leaves port at 1pm traveling at 12 mph at a heading

[npanda]

One ship leaves port at 1pm traveling at 12 mph at a heading of 75 degrees. At 2pm another ship leaves port at 17mph at a heading of 145 degrees. Find the Distance, to the nearest mile, between the ships at 3pm. The angle separating the two ships can be solved by subtracting 145 degrees -75 degrees = 70 I also know I need to find the rate vs velocity but I'm not sure what my next steps are

 

[mmm4444bot]

One ship leaves port at 1pm traveling at 12 mph at a heading of 75 degrees. At 2pm another ship leaves port at 17mph at a heading of 145 degrees. Find the Distance, to the nearest mile, between the ships at 3pm.

The angle separating the two ships can be solved by subtracting 145 degrees -75 degrees = 70

Since they're not asking for the rate at which the distance between the ships is increasing at 3pm, you only need to calculate three sides of a triangle.

Did you draw a picture?

The answer to the question is the length of the side opposite the 70-degree angle.

You can determine the lengths of the other two sides, using this relationship:

Distance = Rate * Time

Once you have two sides and the angle between them, think:

Law of Cosines

If you need more help, please show your work or explain where you're stuck. :cool: