Proof of the trig identities for half-angles

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the proof of the half-angle identity for sine, specifically the formula $$\sin\left(\frac{A}{2}\right)=\sqrt{\frac{(s-b)(s-c)}{bc}}$$. A user attempts to apply this identity using a right-angled triangle with sides AB=5cm, BC=4cm, and CA=3cm, calculating the semi-perimeter s=6cm. The user identifies an error in their initial calculation of angle A, realizing that the square root sign was omitted in the formula, which led to an incorrect result of 23.06° instead of the correct 53.13°.

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chwala
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Homework Statement
see attached
Relevant Equations
Trigonometry
1649053062522.png


I was just checking this out the sin##\frac {A}{2}## property, in doing so i picked a Right-Angled triangle, say ##ABC##, with ##AB=5cm##, ##BC=4cm## and ##CA= 3cm##. From this i have,
##s=6cm## now substituting this into the formula,
##sin\frac {A}{2}##= ##\frac {1×3}{5×3}##=##\frac {3}{15}##=##0.2##
giving us angle ##A=23.06^0## which does not look correct to me because,

angle ##A=53.13^0## ...using trigonometry directly...##sin{A}##= ##\frac {4}{5} =0.8##... i suspect a mix up in the indicated property...or i may have made a mistake.
i will amend my latex later using phone...aaaaaaaaargh these guys are missing the square root sign! I had to check that from google.
 
Last edited:
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The left hand sides should be squared or the right hand sides square-rooted
ie
$$\sin^2\left(\frac{A}{2}\right)=\frac{(s-b)(s-c)}{b c}$$
or
$$\sin\left(\frac{A}{2}\right)=\sqrt{\frac{(s-b)(s-c)}{b c}}$$
 
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