# SOLVEDGeneral Solutions for arcsin

#### wiseguy

If x=arcsinA=1 radian, write the general solution for arcsin A.

x=arcsinA=1

sin1=arcsinA
0.841471=A

arcsinA=1

How do I look? This seems like a shady question and there is no where to reference it in the text book...

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#### Ackbeet

MHF Hall of Honor
Have you quoted the problem exactly right? Is there some region of interest, some interval in which you're looking for solutions? Are you sure it isn't

If $$\displaystyle x=\arcsin(A)=1$$, write the general solution for $$\displaystyle \sin(A)$$?

mr fantastic

#### wiseguy

100% positive they were asking for arcsinA, not sinA. Do you think my response would be acceptable? I don't really know what else to put down that would be relevant...

#### Ackbeet

MHF Hall of Honor
Well, if arcsin(A) = 1, then it is not true that sin(1) = arcsin(A). It is true that A = sin(1).

The problem might be asking about how to find all the A's that satisfy the equation. In that case, you'd need to use the symmetries of the sine function to solve it. If you have quoted it 100% accurately, as you've claimed, then it is a terribly worded problem.

But that's life. Life throws all kinds of terribly worded problems your way. Part of problem-solving in the real world is to clarify the problem!

#### wiseguy

Or, A=.84147 ...?

#### Ackbeet

MHF Hall of Honor
Is the number 1 in radians or degrees? If radians, you'd be correct. Otherwise, no.

#### Plato

MHF Helper
Believe it or not the following is a serious question.
Who uses degrees any more and then WHY?

I was at a technology conference some twenty years ago. I watched Ross Finney give a beautiful rant on this. His point was handheld devices should always be in number (read radian) mode.

#### Ackbeet

MHF Hall of Honor

You can blame it on the engineers. They use degrees all over the place.

However, since engineers are often at least as smart and often more influential than mathematicians (for sheer numbers if for no other reason), there's a decent chance this won't change a whole lot in the near future. Also, degrees are used in navies for bearings in navigation.

#### Plato

MHF Helper

You can blame it on the engineers. They use degrees all over the place.

However, since engineers are often at least as smart and often more influential than mathematicians (for sheer numbers if for no other reason), there's a decent chance this won't change a whole lot in the near future. Also, degrees are used in navies for bearings in navigation.
I have no doubt that you are correct.
But Ross was at MIT. So his response is at the more curious.

In my own case, the university required an outside evaluator on a thesis defense.
The engineering school assigned their expert on integration.
My advisor told me to say up front, “the integral we investigate makes any derivative integrable”.
Well that did it. Those are the only words that I said. There in sued and hour of debate between the mathematics department and the socalled expert on integration from engineering.
Now to be honest: My PhD university is not known for engineering.

#### Ackbeet

MHF Hall of Honor

Um, that reply looks like it belonged in a different thread. Is this really where you wanted to put that?