Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /68 of 173

Algebra Difficulty 2.5 Junior Find the answer

If cos60=cos45cosθ\cos 60^{\circ} = \cos 45^{\circ} \cos \theta with 0θ900^{\circ} \leq \theta \leq 90^{\circ}, what is the value of θ\theta?

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Since cos60=12\cos 60^{\circ}=\frac{1}{2} and cos45=12\cos 45^{\circ}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}, then the given equation cos60=cos45cosθ\cos 60^{\circ}=\cos 45^{\circ} \cos \theta becomes 12=12cosθ\frac{1}{2}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \cos \theta. Therefore, cosθ=22=12\cos \theta=\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}. Since 0θ900^{\circ} \leq \theta \leq 90^{\circ}, then θ=45\theta=45^{\circ}.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: Omni-MATH, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.