Optimization: Merchant Ship

[grapz]

a merchant ship traveling due north at 12 km/h crosses the track of a second ship traveling due east at 9 km/h at a time 100 min after the second ship passed that point. find the distance of closest approach of the two ships.

I am really lost as to where to start off, but i know that i need to use pythagoras , but i just can't grasp how to use it and how to apply it with the derviatives.

Can someone outline what i should do for these problems. thx

 

[stapel]

To figure out the triangle, draw the picture for the ships, starting at the point where their paths crossed. Since they're travelling at right angles to each other, and since you're looking for the distance in between, the triangle will be fairly obvious.

Eliz.