Which of the following expressions can be used to complete the equation below?

start fraction secant x over 1 plus cotangent squared x end fraction equals
(1 point)
Responses

tan x
tan x

tangent squared theta
Image with alt text: tangent squared theta

tan x cos x
tan x cos x

tan x sin x
tan x sin x

1 answer

To solve the equation

\[ \frac{\sec x}{1 + \cot^2 x} \]

we can first rewrite the components in terms of sine and cosine.

  1. Recall the trigonometric identities:

    • \(\sec x = \frac{1}{\cos x}\)
    • \(\cot^2 x = \frac{\cos^2 x}{\sin^2 x}\)
    • Using the Pythagorean identity, \(1 + \cot^2 x = \frac{\sin^2 x + \cos^2 x}{\sin^2 x} = \frac{1}{\sin^2 x}\).
  2. Plug these into the equation: \[ \frac{\sec x}{1 + \cot^2 x} = \frac{\frac{1}{\cos x}}{\frac{1}{\sin^2 x}} = \frac{\sin^2 x}{\cos x}. \]

  3. Rewriting \(\frac{\sin^2 x}{\cos x}\) yields: \[ \frac{\sin^2 x}{\cos x} = \tan x \cdot \sin x. \]

Thus, the expression that completes the equation is:

\(\tan x \sin x\).

The correct response among the options given is:

tan x sin x.