Let A be the position of the ship at which the rock is found at B, after travelling 15.7 miles the ship reaches point C, thus ABC forms a triangle that has the dimensions of
AC=15.7
and
â x=BAC=90-44°20'=45°40'
â y=â BCA=360-270=90
â ABC=180-â x-â y=44°20'
therefore using sine lawÂ
BC/sin (44°40')=15.7/sin (45°20')
âBC=15.5184 miles