I want to make sure I am doing this right (trigonometry question) ... While crossing the Atlantic, sailors spot two mermaids 120° apart on each end of an island that is 6 miles away. How far apart are the mermaids around the outer edge of the island to the nearest tenth of a mile?

Question

Geography

Reece Mcneil

16 July, 22:39

I want to make sure I am doing this right (trigonometry question) ... While crossing the Atlantic, sailors spot two mermaids 120° apart on each end of an island that is 6 miles away. How far apart are the mermaids around the outer edge of the island to the nearest tenth of a mile?

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Celia Pennington · Answer 1

The first step to solve this problem is to sketch the figure. Next step is to find the side that is opposite of one 60° angles,

tan (60) = base/6

base = 6[tan (60) ]

The mermaids are 12 (√3) miles apart around the outer edge of the island.