Presentation Problem

pg. 502: #50

Emily Butcher
Pre-Cal/6th period
 The Problem:

(a) Write α as a function of β

18 γ 9

α β
First, Use the Law of Sines
sinα = sinβ
9 18
18 * sinα = 9 * sinβ
sinα = 9*sinβ
18
α= sin-1 (9*sinβ/ 18)
 (b) Use a graphing utility to graph the
function
Remember to be in radian mode
 Determine the domain and range of the
function

Use the graph to determine this.

Domain: (-∞, ∞)
Range: [-π/2, π/2]
 (c) Use the result of part (a) to write c as a
function of β
•Again, use the law of sines to get the
relationship:
Sinγ = sinα
c 9
• Substitute the answer from part (a) in for α
 This gives:
sinγ = sin[sin-1(9*sinβ/18)]
c 9
•Cross multiply
9*sinγ = c*sin[sin-1(9* sinβ/18)]
•Divide both sides by sin[sin-1(9*sinβ/18)]
to get c by itself
 Current Equation:
C= 9*sinγ____________
sin[sin-1(9*sinβ/18)]

•The problem asks us to get the function in

terms of β so we need to substitute something
for γ
•We know that the angles of a triangle must
add up to 180 degrees or π radians
•That means that γ=π- (α+β)
• Now the function looks like:

C= 9*sin(π-(α+β))
sin[sin-1(9*sinβ/18)]
•The function is still not in terms of β because
of the α
•Now we can use the result of part (a) to
substitute for α

C= 9*sin(π-[sin-1(9*sinβ/18)+β)
sin-1(9*sinβ/18)
 (e) Complete the Table
What can you infer?

β 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8

c
•Use the Law of Sines to find α and c
•For Example, for the first column:
Solve for α Solve for c
Sin(0.4) = sinα γ= π-(0.4+0.20)
18 9 γ= 2.54
18*sinα= 9*sin(0.4) sin(0.4) = sin(2.54)
Sinα=[9*sin(0.4)]/18 18 c
α = 0.20 c=26.16
 β 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8

α 0.20 0.37 0.48 0.52 0.47 0.34 0.17

c 26.16 23.12 19.19 15.34 12.29 10.38 9.09

From the table, we see that as β increases, α increases

as well for a while. Then, because the three angles of a
triangle must be 180 degrees, α starts to decrease. C
gradually decreases as β increases because the bigger β
is, the smaller γ must be causing its corresponding
side, c, to decrease as well.
The End