BEARINGS

BEARINGS AND DISTANCES

 Learning Objectives
• recall cardinal points
• define Bearings
• identify Bearings’ notations
• solve practical problems on Bearings
© T Madas
A bearing is a way of defining direction as an angle
measured from due North in a clockwise direction

N Bearings are always

written in 3 digits

B
063°

What is the bearing of B from A ?

In other words if you are at A and facing North, by how many
degrees must you turn in a clockwise direction until you are facing B
?
© T Madas
A bearing is a way of defining direction as an angle
measured from due North in a clockwise direction
N
N

B
063°
243°
A

What is the bearing of A from B ?

In other words if you are at B and facing North, by how many
degrees must you turn in a clockwise direction until you are facing A
?
© T Madas
A bearing is a way of defining direction as an angle
measured from due North in a clockwise direction
N
N

B
063°
243°
A

The bearing of B from A is 063°

The bearing of A from B is 243°
A bearing is an angle between 0° and 360°
© T Madas
 Notations for Bearings
Bearings can be written using two notations namely:

• The three digits Bearings e.g 063° , 289°

• The Compass Bearings (or acute Bearings ) e.g N55°W ,

S74°E

© T Madas
How do these bearings relate to each other?

N
N

B
063°
243°
A

© T Madas
 How do these bearings relate to each other?

N
N

B
063°
63° 243°
180°
A

Alternate Angles

to get the bearing “backwards”:

we try to get an angle between 0° and 360° by adding
or subtracting 180°.
© T Madas
to get the bearing “backwards”:
we try to get an angle between 0° and 360° by adding
or subtracting 180°.

The bearing of Norwich from London is 042°

∴ The bearing of London from Norwich is 222°

The bearing of Birmingham from Dover is 300°

∴ The bearing of Dover from Birmingham is 120°

to get the bearing “backwards”:

we try to get an angle between 0° and 360° by adding
or subtracting 180°.
© T Madas
© T Madas
What is the bearing of X from Y ? What is the bearing of P from Q ?
060° 290°

110°
P
X
Y
120° Q
110°

What is the bearing of W from O ? What is the bearing of A from B ?

230° 130°

B
130° O
50°

W
A
© T Madas
What is the bearing of K from H ? What is the bearing of P from Q ?
047° 292°

K P
68°
H 68°
Q
133°

What is the bearing of Z from O ? What is the bearing of A from B ?

223° 132°

B
137° O
48°
48°
Z
A
© T Madas
Bearings are a method used to measure angles on
maps and
 compasses.

They are a way of showing a direction just like North,

East, South and West.

Bearings can also show any direction in between

We can use the angles on a bearing to make triang

les and
 then use Trigonometry to work out questions
  EXAMPLES

1. Joe walks on a bearing of 32 degrees for a distance of 4km. How

far north has Joe walked?

2. Samantha walks at a bearing of 124 degrees for 1100m. How far

east has Samantha walked?

© T Madas
 Bearing Example 3
Mary walks 3.4 km east, then 1.3 km south.
Find Mary’s bearing from her starting position.
90o 3.4 km
θo

Tan θo = 1.3 1.3 km

3.4
θo = Tan-1 ( 1.3 )
3.4
≈ 21o
Bearing = 90o + 21o
= 111o

16 16
 Bearing Example 4

Ship A is 17km west of a lighthouse L. N

Ship B is due south of the lighthouse L.
Ship B is SE of ship A.
Calculate distance d from Ship A to ship B.

A. 17 km .L
45o

Cos 45o = 17 d
d
d = 17 ÷ Cos 45o
.B
≈ 24 km
17 17
© T Madas
A ship left port A heading for port B.
It sailed due East for 40 miles.
It then sailed due North for 30 miles.
Find:
1. The distance between the two ports
2. The bearing of port B as measured from port A
3. The bearing of port A as measured from port B

d 30

A
40
© T Madas
By Pythagoras Theorem:
d 2 = 402 + 302

c
d 2 = 1600 + 900

c
d 2 = 2500

c
d = 2500

c
d = 50 miles

d 30

A
40
© T Madas
A ship left port A heading for port B.
It sailed due East for 40 miles.
It then sailed due North for 30 miles.
Find:
1. The distance between the two ports 50 miles
2. The bearing of port B as measured from port A
3. The bearing of port A as measured from port B

d 30
?
A θ
40
© T Madas
 Opp
tanθ =

c
adj
30
tanθ =

c
40

θ = tan-1 0.75

c
θ ≈ 37°

d 30
?53°
A θ37°
40
© T Madas
A ship left port A heading for port B.
It sailed due East for 40 miles.
It then sailed due North for 30 miles.
Find:
1. The distance between the two ports 50 miles
2. The bearing of port B as measured from port A 053°
3. The bearing of port A as measured from port B 233°

d °
53 30
°
53
A 37°
40
© T Madas
© T Madas
A soldier walked from his base for 3 km on a bearing of
050° to a point A.
He then walked a further 4 km due east to a point B.
Find:
1. How far east of the base is point B ?
2. The bearing of B as measured from the base.
3. The bearing of the base as measured from B.

A 4 B
D

050°
3
Base
C
© T Madas
 Opp
sinθ =

c
Hyp
DA
sin50° =

c
3

DA = 3 x sin50°

c
DA ≈ 2.30 km
N

2.3 A 4 B
D

050°
3
Base Point B is 6.3 km east of the base
C
© T Madas
A soldier walked from his base for 3 km on a bearing of
050° to a point A.
He then walked a further 4 km due east to a point B.
Find:
1. How far east of the base is point B ? 6.3 km
2. The bearing of B as measured from the base.
3. The bearing of the base as measured from B.

2.3 A 4 B
D

050°
3
Base θ
C
© T Madas
 DC
cos50° =

c
AC
DC
cos50° =

c
3

DC = 3 x cos50°

c
DC ≈ 1.93 km
N

2.3 A 4 B
D
1.93

3
Base θ
C
© T Madas
 Opp
tanθ =

c
adj
6.3
tanθ =

c
1.93

θ ≈ tan-1 3.264

c
N θ ≈ 73°

2.3 A 4 B
D
1.93

θ
Base 73°
C B is at a bearing of 073° from the base
© T Madas
A soldier walked from his base for 3 km on a bearing of
050° to a point A.
He then walked a further 4 km due east to a point B.
Find:
1. How far east of the base is point B ? 6.3 km
2. The bearing of B as measured from the base. 073°
3. The bearing of the base as measured from B. 253°
N
N

2.3 A 4 B
D
73°
1.93

Base 73°
C B is at a bearing of 073° from the base
© T Madas
Final question for all
you students!
How far is point B from
the base?

© T Madas
 By Pythagoras Theorem:
d 2 = 6.32 + 1.932

c
d 2 = 39.69 + 3.72

c
d 2 = 43.41

c
d = 43.41

c
d ≈ 6.6 km
N
N

2.3 A 4 B
D
1.93

d
Base 73°
C B is 6.6 km away from the base
© T Madas
© T Madas
A soldier walked from his base for 4 km on a bearing of
060° to a point A.
He then walked a further 5 km due east to a point B.
Find:
1. The distance of point B from the base?
2. The bearing of B as measured from the base.
3. The bearing of the base as measured from B.

A 5 B
30° 150°

060°
4
d
Base
C
© T Madas
 By the cosine rule on ABC
d 2 = 52 + 42 – 2 x 5 x 4 x cos150°

c
d 2 = 25 + 16 – 40 cos150°

c
d 2 ≈ 75.64

c
d ≈ 8.7 km
N

A 5 B
30° 150°

060°
4

Base 8d.7

C
© T Madas
A soldier walked from his base for 4 km on a bearing of
060° to a point A.
He then walked a further 5 km due east to a point B.
Find:
1. The distance of point B from the base? 8.7 km
2. The bearing of B as measured from the base.
3. The bearing of the base as measured from B.

A 5 B
30° 150°

060°
4

Base θ 8.7

C
© T Madas
 By the sine rule on ABC :

5 x sinθ = sin150°x 5

c
5 8.7

sinθ = 5sin150°

c
8.7
sinθ ≈ 0.287

c
θ ≈ sin-1 (0.287)

c
N θ ≈ 17°

A 5 B
30° 150°

060°
4

Base θ17° 8.7

C
© T Madas
A soldier walked from his base for 4 km on a bearing of
060° to a point A.
He then walked a further 5 km due east to a point B.
Find:
1. The distance of point B from the base? 8.7 km
2. The bearing of B as measured from the base. 077°
3. The bearing of the base as measured from B. 257°

A 5 B
30° 150° 77°

060°
4

Base 17
° 8.7

C B is at a bearing of 077° from the base

© T Madas
Bearings and Distances
PLENARY
 A set of problems on bearings, which need the sine rule and the cosine rule to solve them.

Q1. The bearings and distances of two ships A and

Q5. The bearings and distances of two oilrigs
B from a port P are A [036º,144km] and B
from Aberdeen are Oilrig1 [028º, 116km] and
[114º,97km]. How far apart are the ships?
Oilrig2 [081º, 104km].How far apart are the
oilrigs?
Q2. A ship leaves port and sails 93km on a bearing Q6. An aircraft leaves Heathrow and flies
054º. It then turns and sails 108km on a bearing 400km on a bearing 160º.It then turns and
110º. How far is the ship from the port? flies 280km on a bearing of 100º.How far is it
Q3. Two radar stations Alpha and Beta pick up from the airport?
signals from an incoming aircraft. Alpha is 40km
Q7. The bearings and distances of three oil
east of Beta and picks up the signals on a bearing
rigs from a port are Oilrig1 [047º,210km],
of 300º from Alpha. Beta picks up the signals on a
Oilrig2 [110º,170km] and Oilrig3 [180º,100km].
bearing 070º.How far is the aero plane from Alpha?
A supply ship leaves port and visits the three
Q4. An aeroplane BA1445 is 200km from an oil rigs one after the other and then returns to
airport on a bearing 208º, while a second port. Find the total distance traveled by the
aeroplane Vir6334 is 170km from the same supply ship.
airport on a bearing 094º. How far apart are
the aero planes?
Solutions to Plenary

1 156.0km
2 Angle in triangle = 124°; Distance = 177.6km.
3 Use the sine rule; angles in triangle are20°, 30° and 130°.
Distance = 17.9km.
4 Angle in triangle = 114°; Distance = 310.7km.
5 Angle in triangle = 53°; Distance = 98.7km.
6 Angle in triangle = 120°; Distance = 591.9km.
7 Use the cosine rule twice to get 201.5km and165.1km.
Total = 676.6km
 In the examples which follow use the sine rule
to find the required side or angle.

a b c
 
sin A sin B sin C

1. Consider two radar stations Alpha and Beta.

Alpha is 140 miles west of Beta.
The bearing of an aero plane from Alpha is 032°
and from Beta it is 316°.
How far is the aero plane from each of the radar stations?

2. Two ports Dundee and Stonehaven are 54 miles apart

with Dundee approximately due south of Stonehaven.
The bearing of a ship at sea from Stonehaven is 098°
and from Dundee it is 048°.
How far is the ship from Dundee?
3. A ship is sailing north.
At noon its bearing from a lighthouse is 240°.
Five hours later the ship is 84km further north
and its new bearing from the lighthouse is 290°.
How far is the ship from the lighthouse now?

4. Two ports P and Q are 35 miles apart with P due east of Q.

The bearings of a ship from P and Q are 190° and 126°
respectively.
a) What is the bearing of port Q from the ship?
b) How far is the ship from port P

5. The bearing of an aero plane from Aberdeen

is 068° and from Dundee it is 030°. Dundee is
69 miles south of Aberdeen.
How far is the aero plane from Aberdeen?
6. Two oil rigs are 80 miles apart with rig
B being 80 miles east of rig A.
The bearing of a ship from rig B is 194° and
from A the bearing is 140°.
Find the distance of the ship from rig A.

7. At noon a ship lies on a bearing 070° from Dundee.

The ship sails a distance of 45 miles south and
at 3pm its new bearing from Dundee is 130°.
How far is the ship from Dundee now?
If the ship maintains the same speed,
how long will it take to return to Dundee?

8. An aero plane leaves Leuchers airport and flies 80 miles north.

It then changes direction and flies 120 miles east.
The plane now turns onto a bearing
of 126° and flies a further 164 miles.
Calculate the bearing and distance of the plane from Leuchers.
Question Solution
1 122.4 miles ; 103.8 miles
2 69.8 miles
3 95.0 kilometers
4 Bearing 306° ; 22.9 miles
5 56.0 miles
6 114.9 miles
7 48.8 miles ; 3 hours 15
minutes
8 236.2 miles ; bearing 269°

Note: the last question requires

the cosine rule as well as the sine rule.