Help getting started

[staceyrho]

I need help getting started on this problem.
An airplane flies at airspeed (speed relative to the air) 269 km/h. The pilot wished to fly due west but there is a 76.3 km/h wind blowing in from north to south. in what direction should the pilot head the plane? Answer in units of degrees (north of west)?

 

[tkhunny]

Draw the triangle and calculate the length of the third side.

 

[staceyrho]

I'm not sure if that's going to work. I need to find my direction in terms of degrees.

 

[soroban]

Hello, Stacey!

An airplane flies at airspeed (speed relative to the air) 269 km/hr.
The pilot wished to fly due west but there is a 76.3 km/hr wind blowing in from north to south.
In what direction should the pilot head the plane?
Answer in units of degrees (north of west)?

Did you make a sketch?

    C *
      |   *
      |       *     269
 76.3 |           *
      |               *
      ↓               θ   *
    B * ← - - - - - - - - - - * A

The pilot wants to fly from \(\displaystyle A\) to \(\displaystyle B.\)

Due to the wind \(\displaystyle (CB)\), he must head towards point \(\displaystyle C\).

Can we find angle \(\displaystyle \theta\) ?

Certainly!
. . \(\displaystyle \L\sin\theta\,=\,\frac{76.3}{269}\;\;\Rightarrow\;\;\theta\:=\:\sin^{-1}\left(\frac{76.3}{269}\right)\)

Got it?

 

[staceyrho]

Thank you for your help. I think my biggest problem with physics is all the different formulas. I appreciate the help so much. Do you know of any formula cheat sheet that is available online or at a retail store? I think if I had a list of formulas and when to use them that would be a big help to me.