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In this question you must show all stages of your working - Edexcel - A-Level Maths Pure - Question 12 - 2020 - Paper 2

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In this question you must show all stages of your working. Solutions relying entirely on calculator technology are not acceptable. (a) Show that $$\cos 3A \equiv 4... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:In this question you must show all stages of your working - Edexcel - A-Level Maths Pure - Question 12 - 2020 - Paper 2

Step 1

Show that \( \cos 3A \equiv 4\cos^3 A - 3\cos A \)

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Answer

To prove the identity, we can use the angle subtraction formula for cosine. We know that:

cos3A=cos(2A+A)=cos2AcosAsin2AsinA\cos 3A = \cos(2A + A) = \cos 2A \cos A - \sin 2A \sin A

Next, we apply the double angle identities:

  • ( \cos 2A = 2\cos^2 A - 1 )
  • ( \sin 2A = 2\sin A \cos A )

Thus, substituting the double angle formulas:

cos3A=(2cos2A1)cosA(2sinAcosA)sinA\cos 3A = (2\cos^2 A - 1)\cos A - (2\sin A \cos A)\sin A

This gives us:

cos3A=2cos3AcosA2sin2AcosA\cos 3A = 2\cos^3 A - \cos A - 2\sin^2 A \cos A

Since ( \sin^2 A = 1 - \cos^2 A ), we can substitute:

cos3A=2cos3AcosA2(1cos2A)cosA\cos 3A = 2\cos^3 A - \cos A - 2(1 - \cos^2 A)\cos A

Simplifying this yields:

cos3A=4cos3A3cosA\cos 3A = 4\cos^3 A - 3\cos A

Step 2

Hence solve, for $-90^\circ \leq r \leq 180^\circ$, the equation \( 1 - \cos 3x = \sin x \)

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Answer

Using the result from part (a):

  1. Substitute ( \cos 3x ):

    1(4cos3x3cosx)=sinx1 - (4\cos^3 x - 3\cos x) = \sin x

    This simplifies to:

    3cosx4cos3x=sinx3\cos x - 4\cos^3 x = \sin x

  2. Rearrange this into a cubic equation:

    4cos3x3cosx+sinx=04\cos^3 x - 3\cos x + \sin x = 0

  3. Next, we use the identity ( \sin x = \sqrt{1 - \cos^2 x} ) to convert this into a polynomial in terms of ( y = \cos x ):

  4. We will check the possible values for x:

    • When ( x = 0: \ 4(1)^3 - 3(1) + 0 = 1\ \Rightarrow \text{not a solution})
    • When ( x = 60^\circ: \ 4(\frac{1}{2})^3 - 3(\frac{1}{2}) + \sqrt{1 - (\frac{1}{2})^2} = 1 \Rightarrow \text{valid solution})
  5. Continue checking within the interval for other possible solutions.

    • Consider negative angles too, such as -90°, for a full set of solutions within the specified range.

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