Proving: (sec^2-6*tan+7)/sec^2-5 = (tan-4)/tan+2

  • Thread starter duffman868
  • Start date
In summary: For example, 1 + tan^2(x) = (a^2+b^2)tan^2(x).In summary, d_leet said that substituting tan-4 for tan in the equation proves the equation. However, his notation is gibberish and he does not explain what "tan-4" or "tan+2" are. He also explained that tan + 4 and tan - 2 do not make sense and are not explained in terms of sine and cosine. He then gave a hint that suggests that by factoring, you will see that 1 + tan^2(x) can be factored like a^2+b^2.
  • #1
duffman868
7
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ok i have been working on this problem for a little bit and am stumped. i need to prove.
(sec^2-6*tan+7)/sec^2-5 = (tan-4)/tan+2

this is what i have done skipping a few steps
((1/u^2)-6*(v/u)+7)/(1-5u^2)/u^2

then (u-6u^3*vu^2*1-5u^3)/u^3 got this by finding a common denominator and flipping the bottom fraction. i missed quite a bit of class just trying to catch up but have no idea what i am doing
 
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  • #2
duffman868 said:
ok i have been working on this problem for a little bit and am stumped. i need to prove.
(sec^2-6*tan+7)/sec^2-5 = (tan-4)/tan+2

this is what i have done skipping a few steps
((1/u^2)-6*(v/u)+7)/(1-5u^2)/u^2

then (u-6u^3*vu^2*1-5u^3)/u^3 got this by finding a common denominator and flipping the bottom fraction. i missed quite a bit of class just trying to catch up but have no idea what i am doing


Well firstly why are you making substitutions like that, there is absolutely no reason too and makes it incredibly unobvious when you use a trig identity if you do that. Second your notation is mostly gibberish to me, I have no clue what "tan-4) or "tan+2" are supposed to be.
 
  • #3
that was the way i was taught.
sec= secant=1/u
tan= tangent=u/v

so tan-4 would be (u/v)- 2
 
  • #4
duffman868 said:
ok i have been working on this problem for a little bit and am stumped. i need to prove.
(sec^2-6*tan+7)/sec^2-5 = (tan-4)/tan+2

this is what i have done skipping a few steps
((1/u^2)-6*(v/u)+7)/(1-5u^2)/u^2

then (u-6u^3*vu^2*1-5u^3)/u^3 got this by finding a common denominator and flipping the bottom fraction. i missed quite a bit of class just trying to catch up but have no idea what i am doing
As d_leet already said, tan + 4, tan - 2 really make no sense.
You should write tan(x) + 4, or tan(x) - 2 instead.
back to the problem, I hope you mean:
Prove:
[tex]\frac{\sec ^ 2 (x) - 6 \tan (x) + 7}{\sec ^ 2 (x) - 5} = \frac{\tan (x) - 4}{\tan (x) + 2}[/tex]
Is that what you mean?
I'll give you a hint, try to change all secant function to tangent function. Do you know:
[tex]1 + \tan ^ 2 (x) = \sec ^ 2 (x)[/tex]?
Then factor it, and shortly arrive at what you want to prove. :smile:
 
  • #5
yes that is what i mean i will try that
 
  • #6
duffman868 said:
that was the way i was taught.
sec= secant=1/u
tan= tangent=u/v

so tan-4 would be (u/v)- 2

That substitution is one of two things, either completely wrong, or very unusual, put everything in terms of sine and cosine, that might help better, and I still have no clue what "tan-4" means.

Because if secant is 1/u, thangent cannot be u/v it would be v/u assuming that v = sine and u = cosine.
 
  • #7
duffman868 said:
that was the way i was taught.
sec= secant=1/u
tan= tangent=u/v

so tan-4 would be (u/v)- 2
Nooooo, you again forget the angle, the tangent, secant values of what angle? (x, y, t, k, [itex]\alpha, \ \beta, \ \gamma, \ \theta[/itex] or what?)
------------
EDIT: Have you solved the problem? :smile:
 
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  • #8
i relised that after i posted it is v/u also that is what i used in the first problem. and no i have not solved it yet i think not taking algebra 1 or 2 is hurting me now
 
  • #9
ok i don't know if you can do this if so why did my answer come out flipped
1+ tan^2(x) -6 tan(x) +7/ 1+ tan^2(x) -5 to
tan^2(x) -5 tan(x) +7/ tan^2(x) -4 to
tan(x) -5 tan(x) +7/ tan(x) -4 to
tan(x) +2/ tan (x) -4
 
  • #10
1+ tan^2(x) -6 tan(x) +7/ 1+ tan^2(x) -5 this is what i get after changing them to tangents
i remember doing quadratic equation once but don't remember what they were and i thought i could factor but can't see it in this problem. got any links handy that can help with this problem

edit there was a post above mine
i think that by factoring you want me to see that 1 + tan^2(x) can be factored like a^2+b^2 but i can't remember if there are others that apply to this problem
 
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  • #11
duffman868 said:
1+ tan^2(x) -6 tan(x) +7/ 1+ tan^2(x) -5 this is what i get after changing them to tangents
i remember doing quadratic equation once but don't remember what they were and i thought i could factor but can't see it in this problem. got any links handy that can help with this problem

edit there was a post above mine
i think that by factoring you want me to see that 1 + tan^2(x) can be factored like a^2+b^2 but i can't remember if there are others that apply to this problem

Combine like terms and you should find that those expressions factor very nicely.
 
  • #12
duffman868 said:
1+ tan^2(x) -6 tan(x) +7/ 1+ tan^2(x) -5 this is what i get after changing them to tangents
i remember doing quadratic equation once but don't remember what they were and i thought i could factor but can't see it in this problem. got any links handy that can help with this problem

edit there was a post above mine
i relised that after i posted it is v/u also that is what i used in the first problem. and no i have not solved it yet i think not taking algebra 1 or 2 is hurting me now
Arrghh, you should take Algebra before taking pre-calculus! i.e, you should have some solid, and basic knowledge of algebra, or you'll not learn much in pre-calculus. You can either find some Algebra book and study it by yourself, or you can ask a tutor... (a tutor maybe better).
---------------------
You know what addition and multiplication are, right?
Commutative property of addition: a + b = b + a, ie two numbers add to the same thing whichever order you add them in.
Example:
2 + 3 = 5
3 + 2 = 5
Commutative property of multiplication: ab = ba
3 . 5 = 15
5 . 3 = 15
Associative property of addition: (a + b) + c = a + (b + c), ie, if you take a + b first, then add c, it's the same as you add b + c together first, and then add a.
Example:
(1 + 9) + 7 = 10 + 7 = 17
1 + (9 + 7) = 1 + 16 = 17.
Associative property of multiplication: (ab)c = a(bc).
Example:
(2 . 3) . 5 = 6 . 5 = 30
2 . (3 . 5) = 2 . 15 = 30
Distributive property of multiplication with respect to addition: a(b + c) = ab + ac
Example:
2 . (3 + 4) = 2 . 7 = 14
2 . 3 + 2 . 4 = 6 + 8 = 14
Additive inverse, or opposite, of a number n is the number which, when added to n, yields zero. We denote it to be: -n.
That means n + (-n) = 0
Example:
The additive inverse of 7 is −7, because 7 + (−7) = 0
The additive inverse of a is −a (definition).
The additive inverse of (ab) = -(ab).
Subtraction is the reverse of addition, to subtract b from a, we do as follow:
a - b = a + (-b), ie, we add a and the opposite number of b.
-----------------------
Say, you want to simplify the expression:
3x - 7y + 12x - 4y - 9y = 3x + (-7y) + 12x + (-4y) + (-9y)
= 3x + 12x + (-4y) + (-9y) + (-7y) (Associative property of addition)
= (3 + 12)x + ((-4) + (-9) + (-7))y = 15x + (-20)y = 15x - 20y.
Do the same, can you go from
[tex]\frac{\tan ^ 2 (x) + 1 - 6 \tan (x) + 7}{\sec ^ 2 (x) - 5}[/tex] to [tex]\frac{\tan ^ 2 (x) - 6 \tan (x) + 8}{\tan ^ 2 (x) - 4}[/tex]?
-----------------------
QUADRATIC EQUATION:
Look here for quadratic equations.
-----------------------
FACTORIZATION:
See here for some basic stuff about factorization.
-----------------------
Remember that, once we've factor both numerator and denominator, we can cancel out something that both numerator, and denominator have.
Example:
[tex]\frac{(x - 2) (3x + 5) (x + 7)}{(6x - 5) (x - 2) (x + 7)}[/tex]
(x - 2) and (x + 7) are in both numerator, and denominator, cancelling them out, we have:
[tex]\frac{(x - 2) (3x + 5) (x + 7)}{(6x - 5) (x - 2) (x + 7)} = \frac{3x + 5}{6x - 5}[/tex]
Can you do the problem now?
My last advice is: Go buying some book, and study Algebra, or hire some good tutor.
GET ALGEBRA BOOK! :smile:
 
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  • #13
ok i understand this what i don't is how tan(x)+2/tan(x)-4 = tan(x)-4/tan(x)+2
 
  • #14
No, they are not equal:
[tex]\frac{\tan x + 2}{\tan x - 4} \neq \frac{\tan x - 4}{\tan x + 2}[/tex]
Since, it's quite a long time, and you may not have worked out the problem, I think I can post the solution.
Prove that:
[tex]\frac{\sec ^ 2 (x) - 6 \tan (x) + 7}{\sec ^ 2 (x) - 5} = \frac{\tan (x) - 4}{\tan (x) + 2}[/tex]
---------
Proof:
We will now prove that the LHS of the equation is equal to the RHS. So we will start from the LHS:
[tex]\frac{\sec ^ 2 (x) - 6 \tan (x) + 7}{\sec ^ 2 (x) - 5} = \frac{\tan ^ 2 x + 1 - 6 \tan x + 7}{\tan ^ 2 x + 1 - 5} = \frac{\tan ^ 2 x - 6 \tan x + 8}{\tan ^ 2 x - 4}[/tex]
We then factor both numerator and denominator:
[tex]\frac{(\tan x - 2) (\tan x - 4)}{(\tan x - 2) (\tan x + 2)} = \frac{\tan x - 4}{\tan x + 2}[/tex] (Q.E.D)
---------
Can you understand this proof? And have you got an Algebra book yet? :)
 
  • #15
VietDao29 said:
Can you understand this proof? And have you got an Algebra book yet? :)
Oh man :cry:

We all have trouble sometimes :)

I have been working on a long homework assignment for the past 6 hours, I wish I had never taken thermodynamics
:cry: :cry:
 

FAQ: Proving: (sec^2-6*tan+7)/sec^2-5 = (tan-4)/tan+2

How do you prove the equation (sec^2-6*tan+7)/sec^2-5 = (tan-4)/tan+2?

To prove this equation, you can use the trigonometric identity: sec^2x - tan^2x = 1. This identity can be rearranged to get: sec^2x = 1 + tan^2x. Then, substitute this into the original equation and simplify to get the desired result.

Can this equation be proven algebraically?

Yes, this equation can be proven using algebraic manipulations and trigonometric identities. The key is to use the identities in a strategic way to simplify the equation and reach the desired result.

Is there any other method to prove this equation?

Yes, this equation can also be proven using geometric proofs. You can use the properties of triangles and circles to show that both sides of the equation are equal.

Can this equation be generalized for any value of x?

Yes, this equation can be generalized for any value of x. The key is to use the same trigonometric identity and algebraic manipulations to simplify the equation for any given value of x.

What are the common mistakes to avoid when proving this equation?

Some common mistakes to avoid when proving this equation include not using the correct trigonometric identities, not simplifying the equation properly, and not showing each step of the proof clearly. It is important to be precise and thorough when proving equations in mathematics.

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