Determine the great circle distance and...

Question 1 / 2707066636eea28f7522a1c51b0d1

Question 1 of 2707066636eea28f7522a1c51b0d1

Determine the great circle distance and initial course from LAT 37° 47.5' N, LONG 122° 27.8' W to LAT 33° 51.7' S, LONG 151° 12.7' E.

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Question 1 of 27070

Determine the great circle distance and initial course from LAT 37° 47.5' N, LONG 122° 27.8' W to LAT 33° 51.7' S, LONG 151° 12.7' E.

🔍 Key Concepts

• Great-circle sailing formulas using latitudes and the difference of longitude • Converting degrees and minutes to decimal degrees before using trigonometric functions • Interpreting the signs of latitude and longitude (N/S, E/W) to get the correct initial course quadrant

💭 Think About

• How does changing from Northern to Southern Hemisphere affect the great-circle track and the approximate direction (NW, SW, etc.) from the starting point? • Before doing any detailed math, if you sketch the two positions on a world map, in which general direction from San Francisco (near 37° N, 122° W) is Sydney (near 34° S, 151° E)? • Once you compute the central angle between the two points (in degrees of arc), how do you convert that angle into nautical miles of great-circle distance?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify both positions are correctly converted to decimal degrees and that West longitudes are treated as negative and East as positive (or vice versa consistently). • Check that the difference of longitude (Δλ) is measured the shorter way around the globe (use 360° − Δλ if needed). • After you find the initial great-circle course angle, confirm whether its quadrant (e.g., southwest, northwest) matches the rough sketch between the two locations.

Question 1 of 27070

Determine the great circle distance and initial course from LAT 37° 47.5' N, LONG 122° 27.8' W to LAT 33° 51.7' S, LONG 151° 12.7' E.

6324.2 miles, 310.3° T

6445.2 miles, 240.3° T

6345.3 miles, 301.7° T

6398.0 miles, 298.3° T

Question 1 / 2707066636eea28f7522a1c51b0d1

Question 1 of 2707066636eea28f7522a1c51b0d1

Determine the great circle distance and initial course from LAT 37° 47.5' N, LONG 122° 27.8' W to LAT 33° 51.7' S, LONG 151° 12.7' E.

Back

Question 1 of 27070

Determine the great circle distance and initial course from LAT 37° 47.5' N, LONG 122° 27.8' W to LAT 33° 51.7' S, LONG 151° 12.7' E.