Application Problems Involving Bearing

1. At midnight, two Coast Guard helicopters set out from San Francisco to find a sailboat in distress. Helicopter A flies due west over the Pacific Ocean at 250 km/hr, and helicopter B flies northwest at 210 km/hr. At 1 a.m., helicopter A spots a flare from the boat and radios helicopter B to come and assist in the rescue. How far is helicopter B from helicopter A at this time?

2. A family is traveling due west on a road that passes a famous landmark. At a given time the bearing to the landmark is N 62 W and after the family travels 5 miles farther the bearing is N 38 W. What is the closest the family will come to the landmark while on the road?

3. Two fire towers, A and B, are 30 kilometers apart. The bearing from A to B is N 65 E. A fire is spotted by a ranger in each tower, and its bearings from A and B are N 28 E and N 16.5 W, respectively. Find the distance of the fire from each tower.

4. A plane flies 500 kilometers with a bearing of N 44 W from B to C. The plane then flies southwest 840 kilometers from C to A. Find the bearing of a flight from A to B.

5. On a map, Orlando is 178 millimeters due south of Niagara Falls, Denver is 273 millimeters from Orlando, and Denver is 235 millimeters from Niagara Falls. Find the bearing of Denver from Orlando.

6. Two ships leave a port at 9 a.m. One travels at a bearing of N 53 W at 12 miles per hour and the other travels at a bearing of S 67W at 16 miles per hour. Approximately how far apart are the ships at noon that day?