Review of Trigonometry for Calculus

Trigon =triangle +metry=measurement

=Trigonometry
so Trigonometry got its name as the science of measuring triangles.
When one rst meets the trigonometric functions, they are presented in the context of
ratios of sides of a right-angled triangle, where a2 + o2 = h2 :

h
o

We have
sin =

o
opposite
=
,
h
hypotenuse

cos =

adjacent
a
=
, and
h
hypotenuse

tan =

opposite
o
=
,
a
adjacent

which is often remembered with the sohcahtoa rule.

cos = a, so (sin )2 + (cos )2 = 1.

If h = 1, we have sin = o,

The Unit Circle:

In Calculus, most references to the trigonometric functions are based on the unit circle,
Points on this circle determine angles measured from the point (0, 1)
x 2 + y 2 = 1.
on the x-axis, where the counter- clockwise direction is considered to be positive.

Units of Angular Measurement

The most natural unit of measurement for angles in Geometry is the

right angle .

The revolution is used in the study of rotary motion, and is what the r stands for
in rpms.
The degree , 1/90 of a right angle, was rst adopted for navigational
purposes.
The mil , 1/1600 of a right angle, is used by the military.
the basic unit of measurement for angles in Calculus is the radian .

However,

Denition: A radian is the angle subtended by a circular arc on a circle whose

length equals the radius of the circle.
y

1 radian

(0,0)

x
(1,0)

Figure 1.
Thus on the unit circle an angle whose size is one radian subtends a circular arc on the
unit circle whose length is exactly one.

Radian measure and degrees

Since the circumference of a circle is 2 times its radius, we have
2 radians = 360 = 4 right angles,
so
1 radian =
or
1 =

2
180
4 right angles
360
=
right angles
=
=
2

1
2
radians =
radians =
right angles
360
180
90

In high school trigonometry, the trigonometric functions are used to solve problems
concerning triangles and related geometric gures.
In the Calculus, the trigonometric
functions are used in the analysis of rotating bodies.
It turns out that the degree,
the unit of measurement of angles adopted by the Babylonians over 4,000 years ago,
is not particularly well adapted to the analysis of jet engines, radar systems and CAT
scanners.
The radian is, because

The sine and cosine functions live on the unit circle!

If is a number, then cos and sin are dened to be the x- and y- coordinate,
respectively, of the point on the unit circle obtained by measuring o the angle (in
radians!) from the point (0, 1).
If is positive, the angle is measured o in the
counter-clockwise direction, and if is negative it is measured o in the clockwise
direction.
For an animated interactive look at these two functions, take a look at the
y
applet Sine and Cosine Functions

sin

x
(0,0) cos

Figure 2.
The other trigonometric functions are now dened in terms of the rst two:
tan =

sin
cos

cot =

cos
sin

sec =

1
cos

csc =

1
sin

Fundamental Angles of the First Quadrant:

There are three acute angles for which the trigonometric function values are known and
must be memorized by the student of Calculus. They are

(in radians)
,
,
and 3 ,
6
4
(in degrees)
30 , 45 , and 60 ,
(in right angles) 1/3, 1/2, and 2/3.

In addition, the values of the trig functions for the angles 0 and 2 must be known.
The following tables show how they may be easily constructed, if one can count from
zero to four. The rst table is a template, the second shows how it may be lled in, and
the third contains the arithmetical simplications of the values.

Template:
(radians)

(degrees)

30

45

60

90

(right angles)

1
3

1
2

2
3

sin
cos

Fill in the Blanks:

(radians)

(degrees)

30

45

60

90

(right

1
3

1
2

2
3

0
2

4
2

1
2

3
2

2
2

2
2

3
2

1
2

4
2

0
2

angles)

sin
cos

Simplify the Arithmetic:

(radians)

(degrees)

30

45

60

90

(right

1
3

1
2

2
3

1
2

3
2

2
2

2
2

3
2

1
2

angles)

sin

cos

Figure 3 shows these values on the rst quadrant of the unit circle.

(0,1)

1 ,
3 )
(
2 2

2 ,
2)
(
2 2

3 ,
1)
(
2 2

0 (1,0)
x

Figure 3.
4

Moving Beyond the First Quadrant

These values may now be used to nd the values of the trig functions at the other basic
angles in the other three quadrants of unit circle.
The same numerical values will
appear, with the possible addition of minus signs.
The following table gives the
values, and the diagram displays them.
The student should be able to reproduce
them instantaneously!
To do this, it will be necessary to be completely comfortable
with the following identities, all of which are obvious from the symmetry of the unit
circle:
y

/2

Figure 4.
sin( ) sin ,

cos( ) cos

sin( + ) sin ,

cos( + ) cos

sin() sin ,

cos() cos

sin

cos

1
2

3
2

2
2

2
2

sin
cos ,
2

cos
sin
2

3
2

5
6

7
6

2
3

3
2

12

1
2

12

1
2

23

3
4

2
2

22

3
2

5
4

22

22

4
3

23

3
2

5
3

23

12

1
2

7
4

22

2
2

11
6

12

3
2

Figure 5 is left blank for the student to ll in:

(0,1)

(, )
( , )
3
4

(, )

5
6

(-1,0)

(, )

3)
(,
2 2
2 ,
2)
(
2 2

3,
1 )
(
4
2 2

7
6

5
4

( , )
( , )

4
3

3
2
(0,-1)

5
3

7
4

11
6

(1,0)
x

(, )

( , )
( , )

Figure 5.

Periodicity

All six trig functions have period 2 , and two of them, tan and

cot have period :

sin( + 2 ) sin()
cos( + 2 ) cos()
tan( + ) tan()
cot( + ) cot()
sec( + 2 ) sec()
csc( + 2 ) csc()

Identities of the sine and cosine functions

The identity

sin2 + cos2 1

is obvious as a result of our use of the unit circle.

It really should be written as

(sin )2 + (cos )2 1
but centuries of tradition have developed the confusing convention of writing sin2 for
the square of sin .
This identity leads to a number of other important identities and
formulas:
tan2 sec2 1
sec2 1 + tan2 + 1
cot2 csc2 1
csc2 1 + cot2

sin = 1 cos2
In addition to this fundamental knowledge, the student should be completely comfortable in deriving the trig identities which result from the fundamental identities for the
sines and cosines of sums and dierences of angles. First we need:

The Law of Cosines:

c 2 = a2 + b2 2ab cos

b
c

We have w = b sin( ) = b sin , and

z = b cos( ) = b cos , so

c 2 = w 2 +(a+z)2 = (b sin )2 +(ab cos )2 = b2 sin2 +a2 2ab cos +b2 (cos )2 =
a2 + b2 2ab cos
Next we compute c 2 slightly dierently:
b

a
y

x = b cos , y = a cos , h = b sin = a sin ,

x 2 = b2 h2 , y 2 = a2 h2 , so
c 2 = (x + y)2 = x 2 + 2xy + y 2 =
b2 h2 + 2(b cos )(a cos ) + a2 h2 =
a2 + b2 2h2 + 2ab cos cos =
7

a2 + b2 2ab sin sin + 2ab cos cos =

a2 + b2 2ab(sin sin cos cos )
so cos = sin sin cos cos = cos( ) = cos( + ).
Therefore
cos( + ) = cos cos sin sin

We collect the angle sum and dierence formulae:

sin( + ) sin cos + sin cos

(1)

sin( ) sin cos sin cos

(2)

cos( + ) cos cos sin sin

(3)

cos( ) cos cos + sin sin

(4)

If we add (1) and (2) and divide by 2, we get

1
(sin( + ) + sin( ))
2
If we add (3) and (4) and divide by 2,we get
sin cos

1
(cos( + ) + cos( ))
2
and if we subtract (3) from (4) we get
cos cos

sin sin

1
(cos( ) cos( + ))
2

Double Angle Formulae:

If we let = in (1) and (3) and divide by 2, we get:
sin 2 2 sin cos
cos 2

(5)

cos sin = 2 cos 1 = 1 2 sin

(6)

(6) leads to the two identities:

1 + cos 2
2
1 cos 2
2

cos2
sin2
8

(7)
(8)

which in turn lead to the formulas


1 + cos 2
cos =
2


sin =

1 cos 2
.
2

These in turn lead to the

Half-Angle Formulae:


cos
2

sin

1 + cos
2

(9)

1 cos
2

(10)

The above identities may be used to compute the exact values of trig functions at many

other angles, such as 8 = 2 4 and 12 , but in practice one usually uses a calculator or
computer to get extremely accurate values of the trig functions.

Identities of the Other Four Trigonometric Functions

These may all be derived from the preceding:
For example,

sin cos + sin cos

sin( + )
sin cos + sin cos
tan + tan
cos cos
tan(+)

cos

cos

sin

sin

cos( + )
cos cos sin sin
1 tan tan
cos cos
sin( + 2 )

cos
1
)

2
cos( + 2 )
sin
tan
dicluar lines).
tan( +

tan( )
tan(2)

and

(thus the formula for slopes of perpen-

sin( + )
tan + tan

,
cos( + )
1 + tan tan

2 tan
,
1 tan2

1 cos

1 cos
2
2 = 
tan =
=

2
1 + cos
1 + cos
cos

2
2
sin

Inverse Trigonometric Functions

Denition: If h is a real number, the inverse sine or
number between /2 and /2 whose sine is h.

Arcsin of h is that

This is often called the Primary angle whose sine is h.

It may be found geometrically
by drawing the horizontal line y = h and observing the points where it intersects the
unit circle.
If there are two such points, the one on the right determines the
Primary Angle .
The point on the left determines another angle whose sine is also
h; this angle is called the Secondary Angle .
There are, of course, innitely many
other angles whose sine is h, they may all be obtained by adding integer multiples of
2 to the Primary or Secondary Angles.
Geometrically, this is the same as going
completely around the unit circle a number of times and ending up at the same point.

Denition:

If k is a real number, the inverse cosine or Arccos of k is that

number between 0 and whose cosine is k.
This is often called the Primary angle whose cosine is k.
It may be found geometrically by drawing the vertical line x = k and observing the points where it intersects the unit circle.
If there are two such points, the upper one determines the
Primary Angle .
The lower point determines another angle whose cosine is also
k; this angle is called the Secondary Angle .
There are, of course, innitely many
other angles whose cosine is k, they may all be obtained by adding integer multiples
of 2 to the Primary or Secondary Angles.
Geometrically, this is the same as going
completely around the unit circle a number of times and ending up at the same point.

Figure 6.
10