In Chapter 9, you explore the inverse trigonometric functions: arcsin x, arccos x, and arctan x. Whereas the corresponding trigonometric functions sin x, cos x, and tan x accept angle inputs and produce real number outputs, their inverse functions do precisely the opposite. They also eliminate trigonometric functions from equations, which empowers you to solve trigonometric equations.
In basic algebra, you learned a few basic equation-solving techniques, including:
* Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing both sides of an equation by the same number to isolate the variable
* Factoring an equation, when one side of the equation equals zero
* Applying the quadratic formula when you can’t factor a quadratic equation
In this chapter, you’ll use all of these techniques to solve basic trigonometric equations. Make sure to work through Chapter 9 and pay special attention to Problems 9.15–9.17. They outline the major difference between trigonometric and algebraic equations: the different ways you may have to report a trigonometric solution.