Problem of the Month (November 19th, 2026)
During this session, we had students attempt to solve the problem of the month for November. The question at hand was the problem of the month by the Mathematical Association of America: [PDF Download]
Prove by elementary means, using trigonometric identities, that \[ (a) \; \cos (1^{\circ} ) \textrm{ is irrational, and } \] \[ (b) \; \cos \left( \frac{1}{n}^{\circ} \right) \textrm{ is irrational, where } n \textrm{ is a positive integer. } \] Computer or AI assisted/generated solutions will not be accepted.
When students solved the problem of the month, they got sent the following MAA prize:
If there are any students interested in problem solving, they should consider reading the following books:
