Chapter 1: Problem 48
Without using a calculator, evaluate, if possible, the following expressions. $$\cos ^{-1}(-1)$$
Short Answer
Expert verified
Answer: \(\pi\)
Step by step solution
01
Recall the inverse cosine function definition
Recall that the inverse cosine function, denoted as \(\cos^{-1}(x)\), is the angle whose cosine is x. In this case, we are looking for an angle (in radians) whose cosine is -1.
02
Use the unit circle to find the angle
On the unit circle, cosine represents the x-coordinate value at a given angle. We want to find the angle where the x-coordinate is -1. We know that cosine function is -1 at one particular point on the unit circle. This point is located at \(\pi\), as cos(π) = -1 (or 180° in degrees).
03
Write the final answer
Since the x-coordinate is -1 at the angle \(\pi\), we determined that:
$$\cos ^{-1}(-1) = \pi$$
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Cosine
Cosine is a fundamental concept in trigonometry that deals with the relationship between the angle and the sides of a right triangle.
- In a right triangle, cosine is defined as the ratio of the length of the adjacent side to the hypotenuse.
- Mathematically, it is expressed as: \[\cos(\theta) = \frac{\text{adjacent}}{\text{hypotenuse}}\]where \(\theta\) is the angle in question.
- In the context of the unit circle, the cosine value corresponds to the x-coordinate of a point on the circle.
- Cosine values range between -1 and 1.
Unit Circle
The unit circle is a circle with a radius of one centered at the origin of a coordinate plane. It is a key tool in trigonometry to define the trigonometric functions such as sine and cosine.
- On the unit circle, each angle \(\theta\) corresponds to a point \((x, y)\).
- The x-coordinate of this point gives the cosine of the angle \(\theta\), and the y-coordinate gives the sine.
- Therefore, for an angle \(\theta\), the coordinates \((\cos(\theta), \sin(\theta))\) are obtained.
Radians
Radians are a way of measuring angles based on the radius of a circle. Instead of measuring in degrees, which divide a circle into 360 equal parts, radians focus on the relationship between the radius and the arc length.
- One full circle encompasses \(2\pi\) radians.
- Therefore, all 360 degrees translate into \(2\pi\) radians.
- This implies that \(\pi\) radians corresponds to 180°.
- In trigonometry, radians often provide a more natural measure of angles, especially when dealing with periodic functions.