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If cos theta =-2/3, which of the following are possible

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4 votes
Well, the cos(∅) is negative in the second and third quadrants. If you are solving for theta, you would use the inverse of the cos or arccos

cos(x) = ( (-2)/(3) ) take the inverse of both sides to get:
x = arccos(-2/3) now evaluate the right
x = 131.8103149 degrees
to find your second solution, subtract your reference angle from 360 degrees.
360 - 131.8103149 = 228.1896851 degrees

Now the period of cos is 2π or 360 degrees. So if you want to consider all possible solutions, you would need to add/subtract 360n to both solutions above..

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but thought I would leave it here for you just in case... As a side note, you could do this problem in radian measurement as well.
User Malcolm Jones
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