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AMC 12 Mock Exam 2 Problem 11

Problem 11 of 25

In triangle ABCABC, angles AA and BB are acute, sin⁡A=35\sin A=\dfrac35, and sin⁡B=513\sin B=\dfrac{5}{13}. What is cos⁡C\cos C?

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Solution

Since AA and BB are acute, cos⁡A=45\cos A=\frac45 and cos⁡B=1213\cos B=\frac{12}{13}. Because C=π−(A+B)C=\pi-(A+B), cos⁡C=−cos⁡(A+B)=sin⁡Asin⁡B−cos⁡Acos⁡B=1565−4865=−3365.\cos C=-\cos(A+B)=\sin A\sin B-\cos A\cos B=\frac{15}{65}-\frac{48}{65}=\boxed{-\tfrac{33}{65}}. (So CC is obtuse. The distractors −6365-\frac{63}{65} and 1665\frac{16}{65} are −cos⁡(A−B)-\cos(A-B) and sin⁡(A−B)\sin(A-B).)

Tagged: angle addition in a triangle