Question

Write the following in order of size, largest first.

cos 158°, cos 38°, sin 158°, sin 38°

igcse math 0580 ]
specimen paper 2015 Question 31 ​

Answer 1

To order the trigonometric functions in terms of size, we can evaluate each function and compare their values.

Let's evaluate the trigonometric functions:

cos 158° ≈ -0.9397
cos 38° ≈ 0.7880
sin 158° ≈ -0.3420
sin 38° ≈ 0.6157

Now, let's arrange them in descending order, from largest to smallest:

Largest: cos 38° ≈ 0.7880
Next: sin 38° ≈ 0.6157
Next: sin 158° ≈ -0.3420
Smallest: cos 158° ≈ -0.9397

Therefore, the correct order from largest to smallest is:

cos 38°, sin 38°, sin 158°, cos 158°.