Sunday, September 18, 2011

7-6 Inverse Trig Functions

This week I am going to teach you how to solve inverse trig inverse trig functions. When you find the inverse of a trig function you are finding an angle measure. In just four simple steps, you can solve these problems.
Steps:
1. First of all, you have to isolate the trig function
2. Then you have to take the inverse of the trig function, sin^-1(arcsin), cos^-1(arccos), etc.
3. You can do one of two things in this step. You can either use your trig chart or plug into your calculator to find the answer. *only use the positive value*
4. Lastly, you use the quadrants to find the right angle measures. You determine which quadrants the different angles are in by using the formulas for the different trig functions.
*each problem will have at least two answers*
Moving Quadrants:
• Quadrant I to quadrant II-----make the number negative and add 180 degrees
• Quadrant I to quadrant III----add 180 degrees to the number
• Quadrant I to quadrant IV----make the number negative and add 360 degrees
Example: sin^-1 (33/100)
1. This step is already done
2. This step is also already completed
3. You have to plug it into your calculator because 33/100 is not on the trig chart. This gives you 19.269 degrees. *sin is positive in quadrant I and quadrant II, so that is where your two answers will be located*
4. 19.269 degrees is your first answer because it is in quadrant one. Then you make it negative and add 180 degrees to move to quadrant II. This gives you 160.731 degrees (remember, your answer cannot be a decimal, so you have to convert the numbers into minutes and seconds)
Final Answer: 19 degrees 17 minutes 45 seconds, & 160 degrees 43 minutes 51 seconds

-Braxton-

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