Solving for sin & cos of -1 ∞: Answers & Explanation

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The discussion centers on the values of inverse trigonometric functions as they approach infinity. It confirms that tan^-1(infinity) equals π/2, while tan^-1(0) equals 0, but notes that sin^-1(infinity) and cos^-1(infinity) do not yield defined values since their domains do not include infinity. The inverse sine and cosine functions are restricted to specific intervals to maintain one-to-one properties, unlike the inverse tangent function. The conversation highlights that only tan^-1(x) approaches a limit as x goes to infinity, while the others do not. Overall, the key takeaway is that sin^-1 and cos^-1 do not have values at infinity.
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this isn't homework just wanted to know what the values are.

tan -1 (infinity) = pi/2
tan-1 (0) = 0

what is sin -1 infinty and cos -1 infinity?
 
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Looks like LaTeX isn't working again.

intenzxboi said:
this isn't homework just wanted to know what the values are.

tan -1 (infinity) = pi/2
tan-1 (0) = 0
The second one is correct, but not the first one. What you can say, though, is that
lim(x -->infinity) tan-1(x) = pi/2

The domain of the inverse tangent function is all real numbers, but neither -infinity nor infinity is included in that set.
intenzxboi said:
what is sin -1 infinty and cos -1 infinity?
The domain for sin-1(x) is usually taken as [-pi/2, pi/2], and the domain for cos-1(x) is usually taken as [0, pi]. These intervals are chosen to make these function one-to-one, which a function has to be in order for it to have an inverse.

Unline tan-1(x), neither the inverse sine nor inverse cosine have limits as x approaches infinity, so the answer to your last questions is that they aren't anything.
 
o ok thanks so only tan-1 (x) as x goes to infinty is pi/2
 
That is the simplest way to think of it. Using the symbol \infty is often useful shorthand for the same thing. It can also be put on a sound rigorous footing geometrically (projective space) or analytically (Riemann sphere), but that requires using spaces strictly larger than the real (or complex) numbers.
 
Question: A clock's minute hand has length 4 and its hour hand has length 3. What is the distance between the tips at the moment when it is increasing most rapidly?(Putnam Exam Question) Answer: Making assumption that both the hands moves at constant angular velocities, the answer is ## \sqrt{7} .## But don't you think this assumption is somewhat doubtful and wrong?

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