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NCERT Exemplar · Q3

Q.Prove that cot⁡(π4−2cot⁡−13)=7\cot\left(\frac{\pi}{4}-2\cot^{-1}3\right)=7.

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The key idea is to rewrite the inverse cotangent as an inverse tangent, then simplify the angle using the tangent subtraction formula. The final result is that the expression equals 7.

Let’s start with the intuition. The problem asks us to prove that a messy-looking trigonometric expression simplifies to the neat integer 7. The core challenge is the nested inverse function: 2cot⁡−132\cot^{-1}3 inside a cotangent of a shifted angle.

Whenever you see cot⁡−1\cot^{-1}, it’s often easier to convert to tan⁡−1\tan^{-1} because the tangent addition/subtraction formulas are more familiar. Remember: cot⁡−1x=tan⁡−1(1/x)\cot^{-1} x = \tan^{-1}(1/x) for x>0x>0. Since 3 is positive, we can safely do that.

Then the angle becomes π4−2tan⁡−1(1/3)\frac{\pi}{4} - 2\tan^{-1}(1/3). The π4\frac{\pi}{4} suggests using the tangent subtraction formula: tan⁡(A−B)=tan⁡A−tan⁡B1+tan⁡Atan⁡B\tan(A-B) = \frac{\tan A - \tan B}{1 + \tan A \tan B}. And since we ultimately want the cotangent, we can compute the tangent first and then take its reciprocal.

Let’s work through it step by step.

  1. Rewrite the inverse cotangent For x>0x>0, cot⁡−1x=tan⁡−1(1/x)\cot^{-1} x = \tan^{-1}(1/x). So:

cot⁡−13=tan⁡−1(13)\cot^{-1}3 = \tan^{-1}\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)

Hence the given expression becomes:

cot⁡(π4−2tan⁡−113)\cot\left(\frac{\pi}{4} - 2\tan^{-1}\frac{1}{3}\right)

  1. Let θ=tan⁡−1(1/3)\theta = \tan^{-1}(1/3) Then tan⁡θ=13\tan\theta = \frac{1}{3}. We need tan⁡(2θ)\tan(2\theta) because the angle inside is π4−2θ\frac{\pi}{4} - 2\theta. Using the double-angle formula:

tan⁡(2θ)=2tan⁡θ1−tan⁡2θ=2⋅131−(13)2=231−19=2389=23⋅98=1824=34\tan(2\theta) = \frac{2\tan\theta}{1 - \tan^2\theta} = \frac{2 \cdot \frac{1}{3}}{1 - \left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^2} = \frac{\frac{2}{3}}{1 - \frac{1}{9}} = \frac{\frac{2}{3}}{\frac{8}{9}} = \frac{2}{3} \cdot \frac{9}{8} = \frac{18}{24} = \frac{3}{4}

  1. Now find tan⁡(π4−2θ)\tan\left(\frac{\pi}{4} - 2\theta\right) Use the subtraction formula:

tan⁡(π4−2θ)=tan⁡π4−tan⁡(2θ)1+tan⁡π4⋅tan⁡(2θ)=1−341+1⋅34=141+34=1474=17\tan\left(\frac{\pi}{4} - 2\theta\right) = \frac{\tan\frac{\pi}{4} - \tan(2\theta)}{1 + \tan\frac{\pi}{4} \cdot \tan(2\theta)} = \frac{1 - \frac{3}{4}}{1 + 1 \cdot \frac{3}{4}} = \frac{\frac{1}{4}}{1 + \frac{3}{4}} = \frac{\frac{1}{4}}{\frac{7}{4}} = \frac{1}{7}

  1. Convert tangent to cotangent Since cot⁡x=1tan⁡x\cot x = \frac{1}{\tan x} (provided tan⁡x≠0\tan x \neq 0), we have:

cot⁡(π4−2cot⁡−13)=1tan⁡(π4−2θ)=11/7=7\cot\left(\frac{\pi}{4} - 2\cot^{-1}3\right) = \frac{1}{\tan\left(\frac{\pi}{4} - 2\theta\right)} = \frac{1}{1/7} = 7

Watch out

A common mistake is to forget that cot⁡−13\cot^{-1}3 is not the same as (cot⁡3)−1(\cot 3)^{-1}. The notation cot⁡−1\cot^{-1} means the inverse function, not the reciprocal. Also, when converting cot⁡−1\cot^{-1} to tan⁡−1\tan^{-1}, ensure the argument is positive to avoid sign issues.

Tip

If you prefer working directly with cotangent, you could use cot⁡(A−B)=cot⁡Acot⁡B+1cot⁡B−cot⁡A\cot(A-B) = \frac{\cot A \cot B + 1}{\cot B - \cot A}, but the tangent route is usually simpler because the double-angle formula for tangent is more straightforward.

✓Final answer

7\boxed{7}

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