Coast Guard Exams
Question 1825Navigation General70% to pass

You take a bearing of 043° and 169° of two objects. What bearing of a third object will give the best fix?

AI Explanation
The correct answer is B) 102°. The best fix is obtained when the intersecting lines of bearing are as close to 90 degrees apart as possible. In this case, the bearing of 043° and 169° are approximately 126 degrees apart. To get as close to 90 degrees as possible, the third bearing should be at 102°, which is 90 degrees from the average of the first two bearings (043° and 169°). The other options are not correct because A) 144° is too far from the optimal 90-degree separation, C) 356° is the opposite of the first bearing (043°), and D) 201° is not the optimal angle for the third bearing.

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