# Trig inequality?

• November 20th 2010, 05:22 AM
atreyyu
Trig inequality?
How would I go about solving $|\cos x|^{1+\sin x+\cos x} \geq 1$? All help is welcome.
• November 20th 2010, 05:47 AM
HallsofIvy
By THINKING, not using "formulas"!

You know that $|cos(x)|$ is always less than or equal to 1. You also know that powers of a number between 0 and 1 are always smaller than the number itself: if $0< y< 1$ then $y^n< y$.

Saying that an absolute value of a power of cos(x) is "greater than or equal to 1" is exactly the same as saying it is equal to 1. And so the power itself is equal to either 1 or -1. That can only happen when the base is 1 or -1. For what x is cos(x)= 1 or cos(x)= -1?
• November 20th 2010, 05:56 AM
Also sprach Zarathustra
Quote:

Originally Posted by atreyyu
How would I go about solving $|\cos x|^{1+\sin x+\cos x} \geq 1$? All help is welcome.

You also can write it in the following form:

$cos^2(x)^{\frac{1}{2}( sin(x)+cos(x)+1)} \geq1$
• November 20th 2010, 05:59 AM
Plato
Actually there are more values of x than Prof Halls gave.
If $1+\sin(x)+\cos(x)<0$ then the given inequality holds.