Which target location method uses range and bearing from a reference point?

Which target location method uses range and bearing from a reference point?

• A. Grid uses map coordinates.
• B. Polar uses map coordinates.
• C. Grid uses range and bearing from a reference point.
• D. Polar uses range and bearing from a reference point.

Answer: (D)

Polar coordinates describe a target’s position as a distance (range) and an angle (bearing) from a known reference point. That’s exactly what it means to use range and bearing from a reference point, so this method is the polar one. Grid coordinates, by contrast, describe location with x and y values on a map grid, not distance and direction from a reference point. So the polar method using range and bearing from a reference point best fits the description. For example, a target could be 2,000 meters away at a bearing of 045 degrees from the reference point—that’s polar, not grid.

Polar coordinates describe a target’s position as a distance (range) and an angle (bearing) from a known reference point. That’s exactly what it means to use range and bearing from a reference point, so this method is the polar one. Grid coordinates, by contrast, describe location with x and y values on a map grid, not distance and direction from a reference point. So the polar method using range and bearing from a reference point best fits the description. For example, a target could be 2,000 meters away at a bearing of 045 degrees from the reference point—that’s polar, not grid.