Two sides of a triangle are 5 and 8 units respectively. If the included angle is changing at rate of one radian, at what rate is the third side changing when the included angle is 60 degrees?
2 answers
One radian is not a rate. It is an angle. Look at the problem statement again.
drwls is right, you must have left out the units of time.
(e.g. ... is changing at a rate of one radian per minute )
In that case, use the cosine law equation as your starting point
let the third side be x and the angle be Ø
x^2 = 5^2 + 8^2 - 2(5)(8)cosØ
2x dx/dt = 0 + 0 + 80 sinØ dØ/dt
from the original equation, find x , then sub in the given values
pretty easy after that.
(e.g. ... is changing at a rate of one radian per minute )
In that case, use the cosine law equation as your starting point
let the third side be x and the angle be Ø
x^2 = 5^2 + 8^2 - 2(5)(8)cosØ
2x dx/dt = 0 + 0 + 80 sinØ dØ/dt
from the original equation, find x , then sub in the given values
pretty easy after that.
1 answer