Question

A ship sets out to sail to a point 120 km due north. an unexpected storm blows the ship to a point 100 km due east of its starting point. (a) how far and (b) in what direction must it now sail to reach its original destination

Answer 1

If you draw the problem, it would look like that shown in the attached picture. The total length the ship will now travel can be solved using the Pythagorean theorem. The solution is as follows:

d = √(120)²+(100)²
d = 156.2 km

So, the ship will have to travel 156.2 km to the northwest direction.