Previous 20 Two groups leave on different flights from the same airport. Group A flies 200 miles due south, then turns 68° toward west and flies 75 miles. Group B flies 75 miles due north, then turns 51° toward east and flies 200 miles. Which group is farther from the airport?

To find the distance of each group to the airport we can use the law of cosines in the triangle created with the two movements done and the resulting total distance.

Law of cosines:

[tex]c^2 = a^2 + b^2 - 2ab*cos(angle)[/tex]

For group A, we have the sides of 200 miles and 75 miles, and the angle between the sides is (180-68) = 112°, so the third side of the triangle is:

[tex]c^2 = 200^2 + 75^2 -2*200*75*cos(112)[/tex]

[tex]c^2 = 56863.198[/tex]

[tex]c = 238.46\ miles[/tex]

For group B, we also have the sides of 200 miles and 75 miles, and the angle between the sides is (180-51) = 129°, so the third side of the triangle is:

[tex]c^2 = 200^2 + 75^2 -2*200*75*cos(129)[/tex]

[tex]c^2 = 64504.612[/tex]

[tex]c = 253.98\ miles[/tex]

The distance from group B to the airport is bigger, so group B is farther from the airport.