A meteoroid is traveling east through the atmosphere at 18.3 km/s while descending at a rate of 11.5 km/s. what is its speed, in km/s?

Respuesta :

Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of the resultant, southeast vector. A squared plus B squared equals C squared, right? 

so, (south)^2 + (east)^2 = (southeast)^2 

(11.5)^2 + (18.3)^2 = (resultant)^2 

Resultant = 21.6 km/s