Question
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4b The length of the side \( A B \) is reduced by 1 cm . The length of the side \( B C \) is still 7 cm . Angle \( A C B \) is still \( 90^{\circ} \) Will the value of \( \cos A B C \) increase or decrease? You must give a reason for your answer.

Ask by Griffiths Schofield. in India
Jan 08,2025

Real Tutor Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

Reducing the length of side \( AB \) makes \( \cos(\angle ABC) \) increase because the adjacent side remains the same while the hypotenuse becomes shorter, resulting in a larger cosine value.

Solution

In the given right-angled triangle \( ABC \) with \( \angle ACB = 90^\circ \), let's analyze the effect of reducing the length of side \( AB \) by 1 cm while keeping side \( BC \) constant at 7 cm. 1. **Original Configuration:** - **Side \( AB \)**: Hypotenuse of the right-angled triangle. - **Side \( BC \)**: One of the legs, fixed at 7 cm. - **Angle \( ABC \)**: We're interested in the cosine of this angle, \( \cos(\angle ABC) \). 2. **Cosine of Angle \( ABC \):** \[ \cos(\angle ABC) = \frac{\text{Adjacent side}}{\text{Hypotenuse}} = \frac{BC}{AB} \] Since \( BC \) remains constant at 7 cm, the value of \( \cos(\angle ABC) \) depends inversely on the length of \( AB \). 3. **Effect of Reducing \( AB \) by 1 cm:** - **Decrease in \( AB \)**: When the hypotenuse \( AB \) decreases, the denominator in the cosine ratio \( \frac{BC}{AB} \) becomes smaller. - **Resulting Increase in Cosine Value**: As the denominator decreases while the numerator remains the same, the overall value of \( \cos(\angle ABC) \) increases. **Conclusion:** Reducing the length of side \( AB \) by 1 cm while keeping \( BC \) constant causes \( \cos(\angle ABC) \) to increase. This is because the adjacent side \( BC \) remains unchanged while the hypotenuse \( AB \) becomes shorter, making the ratio \( \frac{BC}{AB} \) larger. **Final Answer:** Its cosine increases because the adjacent side stays the same while the hypotenuse becomes shorter, making cos ABC larger.

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Beyond the Answer

To analyze the situation, we can use the cosine definition in a right triangle. The cosine of angle \( A B C \) is calculated as the adjacent side over the hypotenuse. By reducing side \( A B \) by 1 cm, the new length of \( A B \) becomes \( x - 1 \) (where \( x \) is the original length). While side \( B C \) remains 7 cm and angle \( A C B \) remains \( 90^{\circ} \), this reduction results in a reduction of the adjacent length in the triangle. Consequently, the length of the hypotenuse \( A C \) will also change, since it’s calculated using the Pythagorean theorem \( A C = \sqrt{(A B)^2 + (B C)^2} \). As the adjacent side becomes shorter while the opposite side stays the same, \( \cos A B C \) will decrease. The correlation between cosine and the lengths is that as the angle increases (which occurs when the adjacent side decreases), the cosine value gets smaller. Thus, the value of \( \cos A B C \) will decrease.

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