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This lesson will focus on analyzing and solving different trigonometric equations. For that purpose, inverse trigonometric functions and trigonometric identities will be used.

Catch-Up and Review

Challenge

Riding a Ferris Wheel

On Sunday, Magdalena and her younger sister Paulina went to the amusement park Adventurally with their father. They all had a lot of fun going on numerous rides, including a Ferris Wheel. When they first saw it close up, the girls were so amazed by its size that they asked one of the workers for more details about it.

A Ferris wheel
The worker replied that it has a diameter of meters and it turns at a rate of revolutions per minute. When Magdalena's and Paulina's father heard this, he said that the height of their seat above the ground in meters after minutes can be modeled by the following function.
Then he asked his daughters two questions.
a How long will they have to wait until their seat is meters above the ground for the first time? Round the answer to the first decimal if needed.
b What height will the girls be at after minutes of riding the Ferris wheel? Round the answer to one decimal if needed.
Discussion

Presenting Inverse Trigonometric Functions

There are functions that undo the trigonometric functions, so to speak. These functions are called inverse trigonometric functions.

Concept

Inverse Trigonometric Functions

The inverse trigonometric functions are the inverse functions of the trigonometric functions. For example, the inverse sine is the inverse function of the sine function. The main inverse trigonometric functions are shown in the table below.

Trigonometric Function Inverse Trigonometric Function
The inverse trigonometric functions relate an input, which represents the ratio of two sides of a right triangle, to the measure of one of its two acute angles. The output angles are measured in radians.
Unit Circle Inverse Trigonometric Ratios
The domain of the corresponding trigonometric function must be restricted in order for its inverse to be defined as a function.
The domain of the basic trigonometric functions being restricted and then the inverse is graphed
The properties of the main inverse trigonometric functions are summarized in the following table.
Inverse Trigonometric Function Domain Range
All real numbers
Note that the inverse trigonometric functions are also called and respectively. These can also be written as and respectively.
The inverse trigonometric functions are especially useful when solving equations involving trigonometric functions.
Discussion

Trigonometric Equations and Their Solutions

Contrary to trigonometric identities — which are true for all values of the variable for which both sides are defined — some equations involving trigonometric functions are true only for certain values of the variable. Now such equations will be presented.

Concept

Trigonometric Equation

A trigonometric equation is an equation that includes one or more trigonometric functions. Consider the following example trigonometric equations.
If a trigonometric equation consists only trigonometric functions and constants, the solution is found by looking for the values of the argument that make the equation true. Solving trigonometric equations is similar to solving algebraic equations.
If possible, it is useful to rewrite a trigonometric equation such that they have the same trigonometric function on its both sides.
However, in cases where it is not possible, the inverse function to the trigonometric function that appears in the equation can be used.
Since the functions on the left-hand side are inverses, they cancel each other out and can be simplified to The value of the right-hand side, on the other hand, can be found by using a calculator.
Note that because trigonometric functions are periodic, they can have numerous angles corresponding to the same trigonometric value. This point can be illustrated by the following graph that shows at least four different solutions of the given equation.
Solutions of the equation sin(theta)=3/4 are graphed

To sum up, the following facts can be used to solve trigonometric equations. Note that and written below are integers.

Equation Solutions
It can be concluded that trigonometric identities are a special case of trigonometric equation. Next, it will be shown how to solve different trigonometric equations.
Example

Decoding the Message with the Solutions to Trigonometric Equations

Today Magdalena’s math class started learning how to solve trigonometric equations. To encourage students to practice solving some more equations at home, Magdalena's teacher gave the students a fun task. A secret message has been encoded. The only way to read the message is to solve two equations to decode it.
The decoder where someone inputs a code and it gives the corresponding message
Input the answers to the first equation first. The smaller number in each pair should be written first. Write the numbers one after the other without any commas or spaces. Students who decode the message will get a bonus point on the upcoming test. The teacher said that
a
b

Hint

a Gather all the trigonometric functions and constants on different sides of the equation and simplify.
b Use the Double-Angle Identity for cosine to write in terms of Then gather all the terms on one side of the equation and rewrite them as a product of two expressions.

Solution

a To solve the given equation, start by rewriting it so that all the trigonometric function appear on one side of the equation and the constants on the other side.
Now, try to find the angle for which the value of equals The table of the trigonometric values of notable angles can be useful here.
It can be concluded that this equation has two possible solutions.
b Start by analyzing the given equation.
There are two different trigonometric functions involved in the equation, sine and cosine. Therefore, the first step is to rewrite one side of the equation in terms of the other. To do this, the Double-Angle Identity for cosine can be used.

Next, to solve this equation, rewrite the left-hand side as a product of two expressions.
Factor
By the Zero Product Property, in order for the equation to be true, at least one of the parentheses should be equal to
Note that adding to both sides of the Equation results in However, this is not possible, as the values of sine are always between and Therefore, this equation has no solution. Now consider Equation

To find the value of or arcsine of think about the angles for which the value of sine is According to the table of the trigonometric ratios of common angles, there are two such angles in the interval between and Therefore, the given equation has two possible solutions.
Now that all the solutions have been found, the code mentioned at the beginning can be determined. In Part A, the solutions and were found, while the solutions from Part B were and The code can be found by combining these numbers in the order directed at the start.
Try it out to see the hidden message!
Example

Math Challenge With a Gift

Magdalena really liked the math joke that her teacher encoded with the solutions to the exercise. She and her friend Davontay decided to give each other two more equations to solve. If they solve them correctly, they will gift each other an envelope with another math joke they came up with or heard somewhere.
The envelope opens and a card is taken from it and increased with the text:'First solve the task' on it
Magdalena received the following two trigonometric equations from Davontay. He told her to write all the possible solutions in the form of an equation where is an integer number.
a
b

Hint

a Use the Double-Angle Identity for cosine to rewrite in terms of
b Apply one of the Pythagorean Identities and simplify the equation.

Solution

a In the first equation, the same trigonometric function appears two times but it has different arguments. Therefore, use the Double-Angle Identity for cosine to rewrite the equation.
Apply this identity and then simplify the equation.

In order to find the values of that satisfy this equation, think about the angles for which the cosine equals According to the table of the trigonometric ratios of common angles, there is at least one such angle.
Since cosine is a periodic function with a period of , for every integer the following angles are the solutions to the equation.
b Start by analyzing the given equation.
There are two trigonometric functions in the equation, tangent and secant. Recall that one of the Pythagorean Identities relates these two functions.
Substitute for into the equation and simplify it.
Next, look for the angles for which tangent is equal to or
To find the general equation for the solutions, note that all these angles can be expressed in the following way.
Therefore, all the solutions to the equation can be given by the following equation where is an integer number.
After correctly solving both equations, Magdalena can finally read the joke that Davontay found for her.
The envelope opens and a card is taken from it and increased with the text:'Why cannot a nose be 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot' on it
Example

Making a Bet on Equations

The teacher gave the class a couple of exercises to solve for homework. She also warned that one of the equations has extraneous solutions and that the students should identify them. To make things interesting, Magdalena and Davontay decided to make a bet about which equation has extraneous solutions.

Magdalena picked the equation 2cos^2(theta)+3sin(theta)=3 and Davontay picked sin(theta)-cos(theta)=0

After each chose an equation, they started solving them to see who guessed correctly. The winner will get the last piece of cake left in the fridge. To solve the equations, they must write all the solutions in radians such that

a
b
Who guessed correctly?

Hint

a Use the Pythagorean Identity to rewrite in terms of Then factor the equation and apply the Zero Product Property.
b Move to the right side of the equation and then square both sides. Check the solutions by substituting them into the original equation and seeing if it remains true.

Solution

a Start by examining the first equation.
Since there are two different trigonometric functions, one should be rewritten in terms of the other. To do so, use the Pythagorean Identity, but first rewrite the equation so that is isolated on one side of the equation.
Substitute for and simplify the equation.
Next, factor the expression on the left-hand side into two parentheses.
By the Zero Product Property, at least one of the parentheses must be equal to Two equations can be formed by applying this property.

To solve these two equations, try to find the angles for which the values of sine are and For the first equation, there are two such angles — and — while for the second there is only one —
Finally, the solutions should be checked whether there are any extraneous solutions. To do that, substitute each of them into the original equation and see if it is true.
Simplify left-hand side

The other two solutions can be checked in a similar fashion.
Solution Substitute Evaluate True or False

Therefore, there are three solutions to the equation and none of them are extraneous.

b Again, begin by analyzing the given equation.
First, move to the right-hand side of the equation. Then, square each side of the equation.
Now, to rewrite one trigonometric function in terms of the other, use the Pythagorean Identity. Similarly to Part A, substitute for
To find the solutions of this equation, look for the angles for which the sine equals The table with the trigonometric ratios of notable angles can be useful here.
Finally, substitute each of these solutions into the original equation in order to determine whether any of them is extraneous.
Solution Substitute Evaluate True or False

It can be concluded that and are extraneous solutions. Therefore, only and are solutions to the equation. This means that Davontay bet on the right equation and he will get the last piece of the cake!

Example

Determining the Cardinal Direction

Magdalena's math teacher designed a labyrinth in the school athletics field for her students. To determine which direction to go at each crossroad, she made signs with certain clues. At one of the crossroads, the clue said to follow the direction that is not a solution to either of the two given trigonometric equations.

A map, a compass, the math teacher and two equations written

The clue also advised to graph the solutions on a unit circle. Write all the possible solutions in the form of general equations where is an integer number.

a
b
Which direction should the students go at that crossroad?

Hint

a Start by applying the Cotangent Identity.
b Use the Negative-Angle Identity and one of the Pythagorean Identities involving secant.

Solution

a In order to solve the given equation, first use the Cotangent Identity.
When the cotangent of is undefined, as division by zero cannot be calculated. According to the table of trigonometric values of common angles, equals for equal and so on. All these angles can be described by the expression where is an integer number.
Therefore, these values of cannot be solutions to the equation. Now, substitute for and simplify the equation.

By the Zero Product Property, at least one factor in the equation should be equal to From this point, two equations can be formed.
The solutions of the equations can be found by identifying the angles for which cosine is and Again, using the table of trigonometric values of common angles, it can be found that there are two solutions to Equation (I), and Since cosine is a periodic function, these two solutions repeat every period of
The solutions can be visualized on the following diagram.
Solutions of the equation cos(theta)=0 are graphed
These solutions together can be described by the following general equation.
Similarly, the table of trigonometric values can be used to find that Equation (II) has one solution, which also repeats every period of
However, recall that cannot be a solution to the equation because cotangent is undefined for these values. This means that the equation itself is undefined for these values. Therefore, only are solutions to the initial equation. Finally, graph these solutions on a unit circle to see which directions are indicated.
Two solutions theta=pi/2, and theta=3pi/2 plotted on a unit circle

As shown on the unit circle, the solutions are located at two out of the four cardinal directions, north and south. Therefore, these are the directions the students should not choose.

b First, start by recalling the Negative-Angle Identity for cosine.
According to this identity, can be substituted for on the right-hand side of the equation.
Additionally, one of the Pythagorean Identities that involves secant can be used to simplify the left-hand side of the equation.
To find the solutions to this equation, use the table of trigonometric ratios of notable angles again. According to the table, for Furthermore, since cosine is a periodic function, it has the same value for the angles and so on. Therefore, all the solutions can be described by the following equation.
Finally, plot the solution on a unit circle.
The solution of theta=pi is graphed on a unit circle

The solution is located in the western direction, which means that students should not choose it. Considering the solutions to the first equation, the only direction left is east, so the students should turn east at the crossroad.

Example

Which Equation Has More Solutions?

In the next exercise, the teacher showed the class two trigonometric equations and asked them to guess which equation has more solutions. The class was evenly split; roughly half the class voted for the first equation, while the other half voted for the second equation.
Students vote for an equation with more solutions by raising a hand
Therefore, the teacher said to solve both equations and see who was right. How many solutions does each equation have if
a
b

Hint

a First, use the Double-Angle Identity for sine. Then gather all the terms on one side of the equation and factor them into two parentheses.

Solution

a In order to simplify the equation, start by recalling the Double-Angle Identity for sine.
Use this identity to rewrite the equation and then simplify it.

Factor
Two equations can be formed by applying the Zero Product Property.
Finally, try to identify angles for which the values of sine is or the values of cosine is
Here, and are the solutions to Equation (I), while and are the solutions to Equation (II). Since and two of the angles are the same, there are three solutions to the equation.
b The second equation can be simplified by using the Cofunction Identity for cosine and the Reciprocal Identity for cosecant.

Now, look for the angles for which sine is equal to or Here the table of trigonometric ratios of notable angles can be useful.
As can be seen, there are two solutions to the equation. Therefore, the first equation has more solutions.
Example

The Height of the Tide

It was finally the weekend and Madgalena and her family went on a boat ride on the local river. A man who worked there said that there was a very high tide recently.

Boat-on-river.jpg

When Magdalena asked how they measure the height of the tide, the worker said that, in addition to sensors, they also use a formula to determine the height of the tide.
Here, is the height of the tide in feet above the mean water level and is the number of hours past midnight. At what times of the day was the tide feet above the mean level of water? Round the answer to the nearest minute.

Answer

and

Hint

Substitute for and use arccosine to solve the equation for

Solution

In order to find at what times of the day the tide was feet above the mean level of water, substitute for into the given equation and solve it for Note that to do this, the inverse function of cosine will have to be used.

It can be concluded that the tide was feet above the mean level of water about hours before and after midnight. Note that is roughly and one third of an hour is minutes. Therefore, these times are and respectively.
Closure

Answering Questions About the Ferris Wheel

It was previously stated that when Magdalena and Paulina were at the amusement park Adventurally, they were so amazed by the size of the Ferris wheel that they asked a worker about how large it is.

A Ferris wheel
The worker replied that it has a diameter of meters and it turns at a rate of revolutions per minute. When Magdalena's father heard this, he said that in that case the height of their seat above the ground in meters after minutes can be modeled by the following function.
Then, their father asked them two questions.
a How long will they have to wait until their seat is meters above the ground for the first time? Round the answer to the first decimal.
b At what height will they be after minutes of riding?

Hint

a Substitute for into the equation and solve it for After simplifying, apply the arccosine to both sides of the equation.
b Substitute for and calculate the value of

Solution

a The park worker told the girls that the height of their seat on the Ferris wheel above the ground, represented by is modeled by the following function.
In order to calculate when the seat would be meters above the ground, substitute for and solve equation for
To solve this equation, use the inverse function of cosine — arccosine. Apply it to the both sides of the equation. Since the value of is known, the equation can be further simplified until the solution is found.
Next, the value of can be found by looking for an angle for which the value of cosine is By using the table of the values of notable angle, it can be concluded that there are two such angles, and
What is more, since cosine is a periodic functions, those angles will appear every periods. This fact can be represented by adding to the found solutions where is an integer number.
Finally, divide both sides of the equations by to find the values of
The girls want to find when the seat will be meters above the ground for the first time. Therefore, the least value of should be found. Note that when has the smallest value out of all. It can be concluded that they will be meters above the ground after of a minute. Use a conversion factor of to rewrite minutes in seconds.
Simplify
Therefore, Magdalena and Paulina will be meters high after only seconds of riding on the Ferris wheel.
b This time the girls want the height of the seat after riding for minutes. Substitute for into the given equation and solve for
The seat will be meters above the ground after minutes of riding.



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