A plane is flying horizontally at an altitude of 1.4 kilometers with a velocity of 460 kilometers per hour when it flies over a radar station. Find the rate at which the distance is changing when the plane is 5.0 kilometers from the station. Round to the nearest tenth.

Drawing a diagram gives:
Identifing LaTeX:  \displaystyle \frac{db}{dt}=460 , LaTeX:  \displaystyle a=1.4 , and LaTeX:  \displaystyle c=5.0 . Since the diagram is a right trinagle we can use the Pythagoren Theorem to get LaTeX:  \displaystyle (1.4)^2 + b^2 = c^2 . Take the derivative with respect to time gives LaTeX:  \displaystyle 0 + 2b\frac{db}{dt} = 2c\frac{dc}{dt} . Solving for LaTeX:  \displaystyle \frac{dc}{dt} gives LaTeX:  \displaystyle \frac{dc}{dt} = \frac{b}{c}\frac{db}{dt} To find LaTeX:  \displaystyle \frac{dc}{dt} we need to calculate LaTeX:  \displaystyle b when LaTeX:  \displaystyle c = 5.0 . Using the Pythagoren Theorem gives LaTeX:  \displaystyle b = \sqrt{5.0^2 - 1.4^2} . Finally calculating the value of the derivative LaTeX:  \displaystyle \frac{dc}{dt}=\frac{ \sqrt{5.0^2 - 1.4^2} }{ 5.0 }\cdot 460 \approx 441.6 kilometers per hour.