What is the maximum ratio of the length of the cosine curve to that of the sine curve as measured from
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The arc length L of a curve y = f ( x ) between x = a and x = b is given by L = ∫ a b 1 + ( d x d y ) 2 d x . Thus, we seek the maximum possible value of ∫ 0 t 1 + cos 2 ( x ) d x ∫ 0 t 1 + sin 2 ( x ) d x , for some value of t . By inspecting the graphs of y = 1 + cos 2 ( x ) and y = 1 + sin 2 ( x ) , it is easy to see that the maximum must occur when 4 π < t < 4 3 π , but other than this, I found no way to evaluate the derivative of this ratio analytically (anyone else find a way?)
Solving numerically gives t ≈ 2 . 2 4 4 9 1 2 6 5 7 4 0 5 5 1 6 4 7 2 6 and R ≈ 1 . 0 7 6 4 9 4 7 1 6 6 9 6 3 0 0 4 3 0 6 , meaning that ⌊ 1 0 0 0 R ⌋ = 1 0 7 6 .