
James E.
asked 09/03/20I need help solving these trig functions
For each of these trig functions how will you go about finding the co-terminal/reference angle, exact value and graphing it in an x-y plane.
tan (-210)
sin(13pi/3)
sec (5pi/4)
More
1 Expert Answer

Tracy D. answered 09/04/20
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Co terminal just means between 0 and 360 degrees. So
- tan (-210) = tan (150), which makes a 30 degree triangle with the 180 degree line (2nd quadrant). Using the special triangle (30-60-90), you know tan = 1/√3 = √3/3, but in quadrant 2, tan is negative, so answer is -√3/3
- sin (13π/3) = so you go around the circle 2 times, with π/3 more (1st quadrant). You know π/3 is also 60 degrees, which is the same special triangle as in #1. So the answer is √3/2
- sec (5π/4), this is the reciprocal of cosine and is in the 3rd quadrant, so it will be negative. It is π/4 beyond 180 degrees, which is 45 degrees beyond, so 225 degrees, use special triangle 45-45-90, so cosine is 1/√2 = √2/2 for cosine, but this is for secant, so the answer is the reciprocal just at √2!
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William W.
It appears you need a refresher on the unit circle. I would be happy to provide a free tutoring session to go through this for you. Although I could answer the question in a couple of paragraphs, it's important that you have a good understanding of it.09/04/20