Trigonometric Equation Solutions with Step-by-Step Answers

Problem Solutions Overview

Complete solutions to trigonometric equation problems are presented below. In all solutions, \( n \) represents any integer and \( \pi \) represents the radian measure of a straight angle (\(180^\circ\)).

Detailed Trigonometric Equation Solutions

Problem 1: Basic Cosine Equation

Solve for all solutions:

\[ 2 \cos x + 1 = 0 \]

Answer: \( \displaystyle x = \frac{2\pi}{3} + 2n\pi \quad \text{or} \quad x = \frac{4\pi}{3} + 2n\pi \)

Problem 2: Secant Equation

Solve for all solutions:

\[ 3 \sec^2 x - 4 = 0 \]

Answer: \( \displaystyle x = \frac{\pi}{6} + 2n\pi, \quad x = \frac{5\pi}{6} + 2n\pi, \quad x = \frac{7\pi}{6} + 2n\pi, \quad x = \frac{11\pi}{6} + 2n\pi \)

Note: This includes all four families of solutions from \( \sec x = \pm \frac{2}{\sqrt{3}} \).

Problem 3: Product of Trigonometric Functions

Solve for all solutions:

\[ (3 \cos x + 7)(-2 \sin x - 1) = 0 \]

Answer: \( \displaystyle x = \frac{7\pi}{6} + 2n\pi \quad \text{or} \quad x = \frac{11\pi}{6} + 2n\pi \)

Note: The equation \( 3\cos x + 7 = 0 \) has no solution since \( \cos x = -\frac{7}{3} \) is outside the range \([-1, 1]\).

Problem 4: Tangent Equations

Solve for all solutions:

\[ (6 \tan^2 x - 2)(2 \tan^2 x - 6) = 0 \]

Answer: \( \displaystyle x = \frac{\pi}{6} + n\pi, \quad x = \frac{5\pi}{6} + n\pi, \quad x = \frac{\pi}{3} + n\pi, \quad x = \frac{2\pi}{3} + n\pi \)

Problem 5: Secant Equation on Interval [0, 2π)

Solve in the interval \([0, 2\pi)\):

\[ -2 \sec^2 x + 4 = -2\sec x \]

Answer: \( \displaystyle x = \frac{\pi}{3}, \quad x = \pi, \quad x = \frac{5\pi}{3} \)

Problem 6: Sine and Cosine Products on Interval [0, 2π)

Solve in the interval \([0, 2\pi)\):

\[ 2\sin(x) \cos(-x) = 2 \sin(-x) \sin(x) \]

Answer: \( \displaystyle x = 0, \quad x = \frac{3\pi}{4}, \quad x = \pi, \quad x = \frac{7\pi}{4} \)

Problem 7: Double Angle Equation on Interval [0, 2π)

Solve in the interval \([0, 2\pi)\):

\[ \sin 2x = -\sin(-x) \]

Answer: \( \displaystyle x = 0, \quad x = \frac{\pi}{3}, \quad x = \pi, \quad x = \frac{5\pi}{3} \)

Equation Solvability Analysis

Problem 8: Identifying Equations with no Solutions

Which equation has no solution?

Answer: \( 2\sin x = -3 \)

Explanation: The range of sine is \([-1, 1]\), so \(2\sin x\) cannot equal \(-3\).

Problem 9: Another Unsolvable Equation

Which equation has no solution?

Answer: \( \sec x = -\frac{1}{2} \)

Explanation: The range of secant is \((-\infty, -1] \cup [1, \infty)\), so it cannot equal \(-\frac{1}{2}\).

Problem 10: Quadratic Trigonometric Equation

Solve in the interval \([0, 2\pi)\):

\[ \sin^2 x + \sin x = 6 \]

Answer: No solutions

Explanation: The equation simplifies to \(\sin^2 x + \sin x - 6 = 0\), whose potential solutions \(\sin x = 2\) or \(\sin x = -3\) are outside the range of sine \([-1, 1]\).

Additional Trigonometric Resources