Question

A submarine was traveling along the surface of the ocean and decides to dive. If the dive angle is 28° with the horizontal surface and the distance traveled under water is 1.7 nautical miles, what would have been the surface distance, in nautical miles, the submarine would have traveled to the point directly above its current position on the surface? Round to the nearest tenth.

Group of answer choices

A) 0.8 nautical miles

B) 1.9 nautical miles

C) 1.5 nautical miles

D) 0.3 nautical miles

Answer 1

1.5 nautical miles

Explanation:

See the attached diagram.

The submarine starts to dive at point A and diving along AB.

If the distance traveled underwater i.e. AB = 1.7 Nautical miles and C is the point directly above its current position at B.

Then Δ ABC is a right triangle having ∠ BAC = 28° {Given}

So, using trigonometry we can write

`\cos 28 = (AC)/(AB) = (AC)/(1.7)`

⇒
`AC = 1.7 * \cos 28 = 1.5` nautical miles.

Therefore, the surface distance that the submarine travels is 1.5 nautical miles. (Answer)