Question #c2afe

2 Answers

#cos ((-19pi)/6)# as #color(purple)(cos(-theta) = cos theta#

#=cos ((19pi)/6)#

#=cos (2pi + (5pi)/6)#

#=cos ((5pi)/6)# as #color(purple)(cos(2npi+theta)=costheta#

#=-sqrt3/2#

Feb 14, 2018

The result is #sqrt(3)/2#.

Explanation:

Since the cosine function has a period of #2pi# (which means it repeats itself every #2pi# units), we can add or subtract any multiples of #2pi# from the inside of the parentheses to make it easier to compute:

#color(white)=cos(-(19pi)/6)#

#=cos(-(19pi)/6+4pi)#

#=cos(-(19pi)/6+(24pi)/6)#

#=cos(-(19pi)/6+(24pi)/6)#

#=cos((5pi)/6)#

Here's that rotation on our unit circle:

https://www.desmos.com/calculator

We know that in this triangle with the #30^@# reference angle that the cosine ratio (adjacent over hypotenuse) is #(sqrt(3)/2)/1#, or just #sqrt(3)/2#.