What is the minimum value of a trigonometric expression with a given condition?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around finding the minimum value of the expression $\cot^2(A) + \cot^2(B) + \cos^2(C)$ under the condition that $A + B + C = \pi$. Participants explore various mathematical approaches and reasoning related to this trigonometric expression, including optimization techniques and properties of trigonometric functions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose using Lagrange multipliers to find the minimum value of the expression given the constraint.
  • One participant suggests converting the problem into an unconstrained optimization problem by substituting $C = \pi - (A + B)$.
  • Another participant discusses the relationship between the tangents of the angles and provides a series of inequalities using the Arithmetic Mean-Geometric Mean inequality.
  • Some participants note that the equality condition for the minimum value occurs when $A = B = C = \frac{\pi}{3}$, but this is debated regarding whether it implies that $A$, $B$, and $C$ must be equal without additional restrictions.
  • One participant emphasizes that the critical points derived from the optimization process do not necessarily correspond to minima and that periodicity of the cotangent function must be considered.
  • There is a discussion about the implications of equality in the context of the cotangent values and whether additional constraints are needed to assert that $A$, $B$, and $C$ are equal.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of the equality conditions and the necessity of additional constraints. There is no consensus on the final minimum value or the conditions under which it occurs, leading to multiple competing perspectives.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the importance of specifying the range of the angles $A$, $B$, and $C$, as this affects the critical points and the conclusions drawn from the optimization process.

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If $A+B+C=\pi$. Then Minimum value of $\cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cos^2(C)$ is
 
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jacks said:
If $A+B+C=\pi$. Then Minimum value of $\cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cos^2(C)$ is

What have you tried?

If you put \(C=\pi-(A+B) \) and substitute into the objective you get an unconstrained optimisation problem in two variables.

CB
 
Thanks Caption Black But I did not Understand What steps i do after that means after converting into 2 variable.

would you like to explain it to meWe Know that If A+B+C = \pi, Then \tan (A)+\tan(B)+\tan(C) = \tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)Which we can prove easilyA+B=\pi-C\Leftrightarrow \tan(A+B) = \tan (\pi-C) = -\tan (C)So \frac{\tan(A)+\tan(B)}{1-\tan(A).\tan(B)} = -\tan (C)So \tan (A)+\tan(B)+\tan(C) = \tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)Now Using \mathbb{A.M}\geq \mathbb{G.M}\frac{\tan (A)+\tan(B)+\tan(C) }{3}\geq \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)^{\frac{1}{3}}\frac{\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)}{3}\geq \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)^{\frac{1}{3}}\left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)^3\geq 27 \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)So \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)\geq 3\sqrt{3}bcz \tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)> 0So \cot(A).\cot(B).\cot(C)\leq \frac{1}{3\sqrt{3}}Now again Using \mathbb{A.M}\geq \mathbb{G.M}\frac{\cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cot^2(C)}{3}\geq \left(\cot(A).\cot(B).\cot(C)\right)^{\frac{2}{3}}So \cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cot^2(C)\geq 1and equality hold when A=B=C=\frac{\pi}{3}
 
jacks said:
Thanks Caption Black But I did not Understand What steps i do after that means after converting into 2 variable.

would you like to explain it to meWe Know that If A+B+C = \pi, Then \tan (A)+\tan(B)+\tan(C) = \tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)Which we can prove easilyA+B=\pi-C\Leftrightarrow \tan(A+B) = \tan (\pi-C) = -\tan (C)So \frac{\tan(A)+\tan(B)}{1-\tan(A).\tan(B)} = -\tan (C)So \tan (A)+\tan(B)+\tan(C) = \tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)Now Using \mathbb{A.M}\geq \mathbb{G.M}\frac{\tan (A)+\tan(B)+\tan(C) }{3}\geq \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)^{\frac{1}{3}}\frac{\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)}{3}\geq \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)^{\frac{1}{3}}\left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)^3\geq 27 \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)So \left(\tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)\right)\geq 3\sqrt{3}bcz \tan(A).\tan(B).\tan(C)> 0So \cot(A).\cot(B).\cot(C)\leq \frac{1}{3\sqrt{3}}Now again Using \mathbb{A.M}\geq \mathbb{G.M}\frac{\cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cot^2(C)}{3}\geq \left(\cot(A).\cot(B).\cot(C)\right)^{\frac{2}{3}}So \cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cot^2(C)\geq 1and equality hold when A=B=C=\frac{\pi}{3}

This is a different question from the one you asked in the original post. Please clarify what the question really is.

Also as this is posted in the calculus area of MHB I would expect to see some calculus.

CB
 
jacks said:
So \cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cot^2(C)\geq 1and equality hold when A=B=C=\frac{\pi}{3}

By the way equality holds when \( \cot^2(A)=\cot^2(B)=\cot^2(C) \) which does not imply that \(A=B=C \) unless you place some restriction on the allowed values of \(A,B\) and \(C\), which you have not done.

CB
 
jacks said:
Thanks Caption Black But I did not Understand What steps i do after that means after converting into 2 variable.

would you like to explain it to me

Given a function \(f(x,y,z)\) for which you seek a minimum subject to a constraint \(z=g(x,y)\), we look for the unconstrained minimum of \(h(x,y)=f(x,y,g(x,y))\).

Such a minimum if it exists is a solution of:

\[ \begin{aligned} \frac{\partial}{\partial x}h(x,y)=0 \\ \frac{\partial}{\partial y}h(x,y)=0 \end{aligned} \]

Applying this to the given problem of minimising \(f(A,B,C)= \cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cot^2(C)\) subject to \(A+B+C=\pi\) , gives us a condition:

\[\frac{\cos(A)}{\sin^3(A)}=\frac{\cos(B)}{\sin^3(B)}=\frac{\cos(C)}{\sin^3(C)}\]

and as \( \cos(x)/\sin^3(x) \) strictly decreasing over \((0,\pi)\) and periodic with period \( \pi \) this implies that \( B=A+n\pi,\ C=A+m\pi ,\ n,m \in \mathbb{Z}\). So:

\[ A=\frac{\pi(1-n-m)}{3} \]

(Not all of these critical point correspond to minima, in particular the cases where \(1-n-m\) is a multiple of \(3\) are not)

Now since \( \cot^2(x) \) is periodic with period \(\pi\) at a critical point we have:

\[f(A,B,C)= \cot^2(A)+\cot^2(B)+\cot^2(C)=3\;\cot^2(A)=3\;\cot^2\left( \frac{\pi(1-n-m)}{3} \right)\]

and a bit more checking shows that the mimimum is \(1\) and occurs whenever \(1-n-m\) is not a multiple of \(3\).

Note: if we had specified that \(0\le A,B,C \le \pi\) at the start we would have found that the critical point is \(A=B=C=\pi/3\) without much trouble.

CB
 
Last edited:
CaptainBlack said:
By the way equality holds when \( \cot^2(A)=\cot^2(B)=\cot^2(C) \) which does not imply that \(A=B=C \) unless you place some restriction on the allowed values of \(A,B\) and \(C\), which you have not done.

CB

Yes CaptionBlack
 

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