Precalcus help!

To solve the equation tan(2x) + tan(3x) = sec(3x), we can first use the identity sec(x) = 1/cos(x) to rewrite the equation as:

 

tan(2x) + tan(3x) = 1/cos(3x)

 

Next, we can use the identity tan(x) = sin(x)/cos(x) to rewrite the equation again:

 

sin(2x)/cos(2x) + sin(3x)/cos(3x) = 1/cos(3x)

 

Now, we can multiply both sides of the equation by cos(2x)cos(3x) to eliminate the denominators:

 

sin(2x)cos(3x) + sin(3x)cos(2x) = cos(2x)

 

Using the double angle and angle addition formulas, we can simplify the left side of the equation:

 

sin(x)cos(x) = cos(2x)

Finally, we can divide both sides of the equation by cos(x) and use the identity tan(x) = sin(x)/cos(x) to get:

 

tan(x) = 1/cos(x)

Therefore, the equation is equivalent to tan(x) = sec(x).

 

To find the smallest positive solution to this equation, we can use the unit circle or a calculator. We can see that the solution is x = π/4.

 

Therefore, the smallest positive solution to the equation tan(2x) + tan(3x) = sec(3x) is x = π/4 radians.