Angle between catenary and line

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on finding the angle between the vertical line x=7 and the catenary defined by the equation y=20cosh(x/20)-15. The gradient of the tangent at x=7 is determined to be sinh(7/20). The angle θ is calculated using the formula tan(θ)=|1/m|, where m=sinh(7/20). The participants clarify that manual evaluation of the inverse tangent function is not straightforward, emphasizing the complexity of calculating tan^{-1}(1/sinh(7/20)} without a calculator.

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  • Understanding of hyperbolic functions, specifically sinh and cosh
  • Knowledge of calculus concepts, particularly derivatives and gradients
  • Familiarity with trigonometric functions and their inverses
  • Basic algebra skills for manipulating equations
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Homework Statement


Find the angle between the line x=7 and the catenary y=20\cosh{(\frac{x}{20})}-15

The Attempt at a Solution



I found the tangent has gradient \sinh{(\frac{7}{20})}

Then I used \tan{\theta}=|\frac{1}{m}|
where m=\sinh{(\frac{7}{20})}

And evaluated using inverse tan on my calculator.

I'm pretty sure we aren't meant to use a calculator though, so my question is can the inverse tan of that be evaluated manually somehow?

Thanks
 
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If you "aren't meant to use a calculator" then give, as your answer,
tan^{-1}(\frac{1}{sinh(7/20)})
There is no simple way to calculate a numerical solution.
 

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