223k views
4 votes
Use sum of difference identity to find exact value
sin(-15 degrees)

1 Answer

7 votes

Answer: We can use the fact that the sine function is an odd function, which means that:

sin(-x) = -sin(x)

So, we have:

sin(-15 degrees) = -sin(15 degrees)

We can use the sum and difference identity for sine, which states that:

sin(a - b) = sin(a)cos(b) - cos(a)sin(b)

Letting a = 45 degrees and b = 30 degrees, we get:

sin(45 degrees - 30 degrees) = sin(45 degrees)cos(30 degrees) - cos(45 degrees)sin(30 degrees)

We can use the fact that cos(45 degrees) = sin(45 degrees) = √2 / 2 and cos(30 degrees) = √3 / 2 and sin(30 degrees) = 1 / 2 to simplify:

sin(15 degrees) = (√2 / 2)(√3 / 2) - (√2 / 2)(1 / 2)

sin(15 degrees) = (√6 - √2) / 4

Therefore, we have:

sin(-15 degrees) = -sin(15 degrees) = -[(√6 - √2) / 4] = (-√6 + √2) / 4

So the exact value of sin(-15 degrees) is (-√6 + √2) / 4.

Explanation:

User Tristan Hessell
by
8.5k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.

9.4m questions

12.2m answers

Categories