How to Calculate Distance Travelled by a Camel?
What is the distance of the camel from oasis B after walking in a specific direction?
Starting from oasis A, a camel walks 24 km in a direction 20° south of east and then walks 7.0 km due north. How far is the camel then from oasis B?
Calculation of Camel's Distance from Oasis B
The camel is 22.4 km from oasis B after walking 24 km in a direction 20° south of east and then walking 7.0 km due north.
From oasis A, the camel walks 24 km in a direction 20° south of east. Let's call this distance "d". We can calculate the horizontal and vertical components of this distance as follows:
Horizontal Component: d cos(20°)
Vertical Component: -d sin(20°) (note that the negative sign indicates southward movement)
Next, the camel walks 7.0 km due north. Let's call this distance "d'". This takes the camel to a new point. By using the Pythagorean theorem for distance calculation, we get the result of 22.4 km from oasis B.