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A couple of lessons back, we learned how to solve trigonometric equations using the unit circle. In this lesson, we will learn how to use trigonometric inverses to solve equations.
Using inverses to solve equations allows us to solve our equation without using the values within the unit circle. An important note, however, is that taking the inverse of a trig function will only yield one answer. Typically, solving sine, cosine, and tangent will provide multiple solutions, but taking the inverse will not do that.
Let's walk through an example.
Example
Our objective is to solve for . To do that, we need to first isolate the trigonometric term.
Next, we will divide both sides by .
Previously, we would have looked at the unit circle to determine what the value would be. For this lesson, we will be using inverses. So, now that we've isolated the trig term, we want to use inverses to get rid of the sine. To do that, we will take the arcsine of both sides.
We will now simplify.
Solve!

