Solving basic Trigonometric functions for all values.

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jwicken

July 16, 2019 17:24
Edited

I've been working on problems with the basic setup: Select one or more expressions that together represent all solutions to the equation. Your answer should be in radians.

For example, Cos(x) = √2/2

The answer(s) are usually given as +/- pi/4 + 2pi*n (n being an integer)

If you give the answer 7pi/4 + 2pi*n this is usually marked as incorrect. Wouldn't this also be a solution to the equation? Why restrict the answers from -pi to pi?

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Regina Litman

July 16, 2019 18:27
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I think that the reason it's marked wrong is that the base number (the one to which the integers are added) is, by convention, expected to be in the range of [-3pi/2, 3pi/2] when looking for the radians for a given Cosine. Your answer that included 7pi/4 is outside of this range, even though it's correct.

When looking for radians for a given Since, the range is [0, pi].

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Solving basic Trigonometric functions for all values.

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