In the mnemonic, what term stands for Variation?

Master the Navigation, Seamanship, and Shiphandling (NSS) – Officer of the Deck (OOD) Phase 2 Exam with engaging flashcards and multiple choice questions, complete with hints and explanations. Prepare comprehensively for your test!

Multiple Choice

In the mnemonic, what term stands for Variation?

Variation is the angular difference between true north and magnetic north at a location. In the mnemonic, it stands for that difference, a property of the Earth's magnetic field at where you are. This difference, expressed in degrees East or West, lets you convert a true course to a magnetic heading (and then you’d account for deviation to get the compass heading). The other terms refer to different things: deviation is the ship’s own magnetic error, gyro is the gyroscopic reference instrument, and magnetic heading is the heading shown by the magnetic compass after applying variation and deviation. So the term in the mnemonic for that concept is Variation.

Variation is the angular difference between true north and magnetic north at a location. In the mnemonic, it stands for that difference, a property of the Earth's magnetic field at where you are. This difference, expressed in degrees East or West, lets you convert a true course to a magnetic heading (and then you’d account for deviation to get the compass heading). The other terms refer to different things: deviation is the ship’s own magnetic error, gyro is the gyroscopic reference instrument, and magnetic heading is the heading shown by the magnetic compass after applying variation and deviation. So the term in the mnemonic for that concept is Variation.

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