b0b444 said:
this is not a question you would be asked for an exact value because they can't be read off the exact value triangles or graphs. you would be more likely to get inverse Tan of : 1, -1, sqrt3, -sqrt3, 1/sqrt3 or -1/sqrt3.
You can definitely make triangles for it. For example what if i took sin(tan
-1 (1/2) + tan
-1 (1/3) ) instead of tan(tan
-1(1/2) + tan
-1(1/3) )
Construct two triangles.
First one relates to the angle tan
-1(1/2): Opposite side = 1, Adjacent side = 2, Hypotenuse = root 5 units
Second one relates to angle tan
-1(1/3): Opposite: 1, Adjacent = 3, Hypotenuse = root 10
Let
a = (tan
-1(1/2) + tan
-1(1/3))
sin a = sin(tan
-1(1/2) + tan
-1(1/3))
= sin(tan
-1(1/2))cos(tan
-1(1/3)) + cos(tan
-1(1/2)sin(tan
-1(1/3))
= (1/root5)*(3/root10) + (2/root5)*(1/root10)
= 3/root50 + 2/root50
= 5/root50
= 5/5root2
sin a = 1/root2
a = pi/4
Hence (tan
-1(1/2) + tan
-1(1/3)) = pi/4
Youd more likely get a question like this then a simple one such as tan
-1(1/root3) which can be easily done on a calculator