Inverse trig functions with tan-1

mickellowery
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Homework Statement


sin(tan-1(x))


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


y=tan-1(x)
tan(y)=x
sec2(y)= 1+tan2(y)
sec(y)=\sqrt{1+x^2}
This is where I'm getting stuck. I know that I have to say that the sin(y)= whatever, but I'm not sure how to tie the sin sec and tan together. Is there a trig identity or should I make tan= \frac{sin}{cos}?
 
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What exactly are you trying to do here? Are you trying to differentiate the first expression? It's not clear.
 
mickellowery said:

Homework Statement


sin(tan-1(x))


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


y=tan-1(x)
tan(y)=x
sec2(y)= 1+tan2(y)
sec(y)=\sqrt{1+x^2}
Draw a right triangle, labelled according to y = tan-1(x) or equivalently, tan(y) = x/1. One acute angle should be labelled y. The side opposite should be labelled x and the side adjacent should be labelled 1. From this you can figure out the hypotenuse.

What then is sin(y)?

mickellowery said:
This is where I'm getting stuck. I know that I have to say that the sin(y)= whatever, but I'm not sure how to tie the sin sec and tan together. Is there a trig identity or should I make tan= \frac{sin}{cos}?
 
Sorry, the problem says to simplify the expression. The final answer is supposed to be \frac{x}{\sqrt{1+x^2}}
 
mickellowery said:

Homework Statement


sin(tan-1(x))

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution


y=tan-1(x)
tan(y)=x
sec2(y)= 1+tan2(y)
sec(y)=\sqrt{1+x^2}
This is where I'm getting stuck. I know that I have to say that the sin(y)= whatever, but I'm not sure how to tie the sin sec and tan together. Is there a trig identity or should I make tan= \frac{sin}{cos}?

sec(y)=1/cos(y). So you've got cos(y)=1/sqrt(1+x^2). To get sin(y) use sin^2(y)=1-cos^2(y).
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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