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(Photo attached) Trig question. Please explain and thanks in advance! :)

(Photo attached) Trig question. Please explain and thanks in advance! :)-example-1

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

0.2036

Explanation:

u = arcsin(0.391) ≈ 23.016737°

tan(u/2) = tan(11.508368°)

tan(u/2) ≈ 0.2036

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You can also use the trig identity ...

tan(α/2) = sin(α)/(1+cos(α))

and you can find cos(u) as cos(arcsin(0.391)) ≈ 0.920391

or using the trig identity ...

cos(α) = √(1 -sin²(α)) = √(1 -.152881) = √.847119

Then ...

tan(u/2) = 0.391/(1 +√0.847119)

tan(u/2) ≈ 0.2036

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Comment on the solution

These problems are probably intended to have you think about and use the trig half-angle and double-angle formulas. Since you need a calculator anyway for the roots and the division, it makes a certain amount of sense to use it for inverse trig functions. Finding the angle and the appropriate function of it is a lot easier than messing with trig identities, IMO.

User AkkeyLab
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