Question

After taking off from the landing pad, a helicopter flies 4 miles north, then 9 miles southwest. How far is the helicopter from the landing pad (), and in what direction () must it fly to head directly back to the landing pad?

Answer 1

Answer: The helicopter is 8 miles from the landing pad.

The helicopter must fly to east to reach the landing pad.

Step-by-step explanation:The helicopter flies north which is upward for 4 miles, the southwest is at an angle downwards to the left for 9 miles. Overall the right hand triangle is formed, therefore we can use Pythagoras to solve for X.

r^2=x^2+y^2

r = 9

y = 4

Then x= 8.06

We moved y to the other side and solve for x and we placed square roots on both sides to solve for x.

The helicopter must move straight to the right to reach landing pad.