Students Michaelle, Maeve, Barbara and Antony, are asked to solve the equation . Who solved it correctly?
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2 sin x + cos x = 1
⟹ 5 2 sin x + 5 1 cos x = 5 1
Writing 5 2 as cos α ⟹ sin α = 5 1
∴ cos α sin x + sin α cos x = sin α
⟹ sin ( x + α ) = sin α
⟹ x + α = n π + ( − 1 ) n α
Case 1:
If n = 2 k , k ∈ Z :
x = 2 k π
Case 2:
If n = 2 k + 1 , k ∈ Z :
x = 2 k π + π − 2 α
Now, we have to verify the alternate forms of π − 2 α according to the choices given.
We can directly see that Antony is correct as sin α = 5 1 ⟺ α = arcsin 5 5
We also know that:
tan α = cos α sin α = 2 1 ⟹ cot α = 2
⟹ α = arccot 2 = 2 π − arctan 2 ⟹ π − 2 α = 2 arctan 2
∴ Barbara is also correct .
sin 2 α = 2 sin α cos α = 2 ⋅ 5 2 ⋅ 5 1 = 5 4
⟹ 2 α = arcsin 5 4 ⟺ π − 2 α = π − arcsin 5 4
∴ Maeve is also correct .
Also,
π − arcsin 5 4 = β (let)
(As arcsin ( x ) ∈ [ 0 , 2 π ] f o r x > 0 , β must be an obtuse angle. )
sin ( π − arcsin 5 4 ) = sin β
⟹ sin β = 5 4
⟹ cos β = − 5 3 ( ∵ β is an obtuse angle, its cosine is negative.)
⟹ β = arccos ( − 5 3 )
∴ Michaelle is also correct .