Precalculus : Pre-Calculus

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Precalculus

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Use The Laws Of Cosines And Sines

Find the length of the missing side, 

11

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First, use the Law of Sines to find the measurement of angle 

Recall that all the angles in a triangle need to add up to  degrees.

Now, use the Law of Sines again to find the length of .

 

Example Question #32 : Use The Laws Of Cosines And Sines

What is the largest possible angle, measured in degrees, in triangle  if , , and ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In the ambiguous SSA case, use Law of Sines to solve for the angle opposite the given side.

If , then

However! Another possible value of C is

In this case the angles will be .

This is bigger than  and is consequently the answer.

Example Question #1 : Sum And Difference Identities

Evaluate the exact value of:  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to solve , two special angles will need to be used to solve for the exact values.

The angles chosen are  and  degrees, since:

Write the formula for the cosine additive identity.

Substitute the known variables.

Example Question #21 : Trigonometric Identities

In the problem below,  and .

Find

.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since and is in quadrant I, we can say that and and therefore:

So .

Since  and  is in quadrant I, we can say that  and  and therefore: 

.  So .

Using the cosine sum formula, we then see:

.

 

 

Example Question #22 : Trigonometric Identities

In the problem below, and .

Find

.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since and is in quadrant I, we can say that and and therefore: 

So .

Since and is in quadrant I, we can say that and and therefore: 

So .

Using the cosine difference formula, we see:

Example Question #1461 : Pre Calculus

Find  using the sum identity.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Using the sum formula for sine,

where, 

yeilds:

.

Example Question #1462 : Pre Calculus

Calculate .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Notice that  is equivalent to . With this conversion, the sum formula can be applied using,

where

.

Therefore the result is as follows:

 

Example Question #25 : Trigonometric Identities

Find the exact value for:  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to solve this question, it is necessary to know the sine difference identity.

The values of  and must be a special angle, and their difference must be 15 degrees.

A possibility of their values that match the criteria are:

Substitute the values into the formula and solve.

Evaluate .

Example Question #26 : Trigonometric Identities

Find the exact value of:   

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find the exact value of , the sum identity of sine must be used.  Write the formula.

The only possibilites of  and  are 45 and 60 degrees interchangably. Substitute these values into the equation and evaluate.

 

Example Question #27 : Trigonometric Identities

In the problem below, and .

Find

.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since and is in quadrant I, we can say that and and therefore: 

So .

Since and is in quadrant I, we can say that and and therefore: 

So .

Using the sine sum formula, we see:

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