In a process called '_____________', a GPS receiver on the boat uses the signal to determine the distance between it and the satellite.

In a process called '_____________', a GPS receiver on the boat uses the signal to determine the distance between it and the satellite.

• A. RANGING
• B. TRILATERATION
• C. TRIANGULATION
• D. PROCESSING

Answer: (A)

Ranging is the distance-measurement step. A GPS receiver determines how far away a satellite is by measuring how long the satellite signal took to travel from the satellite to the receiver. It uses the precise transmission time from the satellite and the received time at the boat, then converts that time difference into distance by multiplying with the speed of light. That distance estimate is called a pseudorange measurement. With similar distance measurements to several satellites, the receiver can solve for its own position through trilateration. The other terms don’t describe this single-distance measurement: triangulation relies on angles, trilateration uses distances to multiple satellites to fix a position, and processing is too general.

Ranging is the distance-measurement step. A GPS receiver determines how far away a satellite is by measuring how long the satellite signal took to travel from the satellite to the receiver. It uses the precise transmission time from the satellite and the received time at the boat, then converts that time difference into distance by multiplying with the speed of light. That distance estimate is called a pseudorange measurement. With similar distance measurements to several satellites, the receiver can solve for its own position through trilateration. The other terms don’t describe this single-distance measurement: triangulation relies on angles, trilateration uses distances to multiple satellites to fix a position, and processing is too general.