How do you find the exact value of csc(theta) = 1/4?

1 Answer
Oct 17, 2015

The equation has no solutions.

Explanation:

You probably mean to find the solution of the equation. And the solution doesn't exist, because csc(x)=1/sin(x), and so the equation becomes

1/sin(x)=1/4, from which we would derive sin(x)=4, which is obviously impossible.

Indeed, since sin(x) \in [-1,1] for any x, then 1/sin(x) ranges in the intervals (-infty,-1] \cup [1,\infty), and so it can never be equal to 1/4.