Saturday, August 8, 2026

2026/067) Given that $ \sum_{k=1}^{35}\sin\,5k =\tan(\frac{a}{b}) $ where angles are measured in degrees and a and b are relatively prime positive integers that satisfy $\frac{a}{b} < 90$ evaluate a + b

We shall use the formula for sum of sin of angles in AP

We have

$ \sum_{k=1}^{n}\sin\,kx = \dfrac{\sin\frac{nx}{2}\sin\frac{(n+1)x}{2}}{\sin \frac{x}{2}}$

Put n = 35 and $ x = 5^\circ$

To get 

 $ \sum_{k=1}^{35}\sin\,5k^\circ = \frac{\sin\dfrac{175}{2}^\circ\sin\,90^\circ}{\sin \dfrac{5}{2}^\circ}$

$ = \dfrac{\sin\dfrac{175}{2}^\circ}{\cos \dfrac{175}{2}^\circ}=\tan  \dfrac{175}{2}^\circ$

From given condition $a=175,b=2,\dfrac{a}{b} = 87.5 <90$ 

So $a+b = 177$

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