Two lighthouses are located 40 miles from each other. a boat is spotted at an angle of 37 degrees northeast of the western lighthouse. at this point, the boat is 28 miles from the eastern lighthouse. how far is the boat from the western lighthouse? a. 46.27 miles b. 17.43 miles c. either 46.27 miles or 17.43 miles d. there is no possible solution.

c. y = 1/4 x + 5

step-by-step explanation:

first, put the equation of the line on the graph into slope-intercept form

(y = mx + b):   y = -4x + 8

second, a perpendicular line has to have "an opposite/reciprocal slope" to the original slope. so, find the "m" value in your original equation (it's -4, right? )

original slope: m = -4   perpendicular slope: change the sign to its opposite and find the reciprocal ("flip" the number)

new slope is now positive (b/c the original slope was negative 4), and it's 1/4 (not the original slope of 4 or 4/1)