Question

Mike is using a telescope to view three stars. He notes the distances and angles between the lines joining the stars, as shown below.



Which expression shows the distance between Star 2 and Star 3?

y sec x°

y over sec x

y cot x°

y over cot x

Answer 1

@chemENGINEER @hba @jim_thompson5910

Answer 2

let z = distance between Star 2 and Star 3

Answer 3

cos(x) = y/z

z*cos(x) = y

z = y/cos(x)

So it's basically using the same idea as before

Answer 4

but instead of tangent, we're using cosine now

Answer 5

cosx = y/d, where d is the distance you want...

but this can also be written as secx = d/y

and if you solve for d in that second equation, you'll have your answer... :)