Study sheet: Trigonometric Functions

Course Outline

  1. Angles and Their Measurement
  2. Degree and Radian Conversion
  3. Arc Length and Circular Motion
  4. Unit-Circle Trigonometric Functions
  5. Signs Domains and Ranges
  6. Periodicity and Function Behaviour
  7. Sum and Difference Identities
  8. Multiple-Angle and Product Identities

1. Angles and Their Measurement

Key Concepts & Definitions

  • Angle : the measure of rotation of a ray about its initial point, with the original ray called the initial side, the rotated ray called the terminal side, and the rotation point called the vertex

★ Must-know

📌 An anticlockwise rotation produces a positive angle, whereas a clockwise rotation produces a negative angle.

Further detail

  • One degree is one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of a revolution, with 1° = 60′ and 1′ = 60″.

Memory Hook

Anticlockwise rotation is positive, whereas clockwise rotation is negative.

2. Degree and Radian Conversion

Key Concepts & Definitions

  • Radian : the angle subtended at the centre of a unit circle by an arc of length one unit

★ Must-know

📐 Formula — The relation between degree and radian measures is 180∘=π radians180^\circ=\pi\text{ radians}.

📐 Formula — Radian measure equals π180×degree measure\frac{\pi}{180}\times\text{degree measure}, and degree measure equals 180π×radian measure\frac{180}{\pi}\times\text{radian measure}.

Further detail

  • The common angle conversions are 30° = π/6, 45° = π/4, 60° = π/3, 90° = π/2, 180° = π, 270° = 3π/2, and 360° = 2π.

Memory Hook

Degree → radian: multiply by π/180; radian → degree: multiply by 180/π.

3. Arc Length and Circular Motion

★ Must-know

📐 Formula — If an arc of length l in a circle of radius r subtends a central angle θ radians, then l=rθl=r\theta and θ=lr\theta=\frac{l}{r}.

Further detail

  • The distance travelled by the tip of a rotating hand is found by expressing its rotation in radians and applying the arc-length relation.

  • If two equal-length arcs subtend angles 65° and 110° at the centres of two circles, the radii are in the ratio 22:13.

Memory Hook

Central angle and radius determine arc length through l = rθ.

4. Unit-Circle Trigonometric Functions

Key Concepts & Definitions

  • Sine and Cosine : For a point P(a,b) on the unit circle reached by an angle x, cos x = a and sin x = b.
  • Quadrantal Angles : Quadrantal angles are integral multiples of π/2, including 0, π/2, π, 3π/2, and 2π.

Essential Points

📐 Formula — For every real x, the fundamental identity is sin⁡2x+cos⁡2x=1\sin^2x+\cos^2x=1.

  • The values at 0, π/2, π, 3π/2, and 2π are respectively sin x = 0, 1, 0, −1, 0 and cos x = 1, 0, −1, 0, 1.

Memory Hook

A point (cos x, sin x) moves around the unit circle.

5. Signs Domains and Ranges

Key Concepts & Definitions

  • Reciprocal Functions : The reciprocal trigonometric functions are cosec x = 1/sin x, sec x = 1/cos x, cot x = cos x/sin x, and tan x = sin x/cos x wherever the denominators are nonzero.

★ Must-know

  • Sine and cosine are positive in quadrant I; sine is positive in quadrant II; tangent is positive in quadrant III; and cosine is positive in quadrant IV.

📐 Formula — The reciprocal identities are 1+tan⁡2x=sec⁡2x1+\tan^2x=\sec^2x and 1+cot⁡2x=cosec⁡2x1+\cot^2x=\cosec^2x.

Further detail

📐 Formula — For all real x, sine and cosine satisfy −1≤sin⁡x≤1-1\leq\sin x\leq1 and −1≤cos⁡x≤1-1\leq\cos x\leq1.

Memory Hook

ASTC: All, Sine, Tangent, Cosine are positive in quadrants I, II, III, IV respectively.

6. Periodicity and Function Behaviour

★ Must-know

📌 Sine and cosine are defined for every real number, while cosecant and cotangent exclude x = nπ and secant and tangent exclude x = (2n+1)π/2, where n is an integer.

  • The ranges of sine and cosine are [−1,1], the ranges of tangent and cotangent are all real numbers, and the ranges of secant and cosecant are y ≤ −1 or y ≥ 1.

📌 Sine, cosine, secant, and cosecant repeat after 2π, whereas tangent and cotangent repeat after π.

Further detail

  • The even-odd relations are sin(−x) = −sin x and cos(−x) = cos x.

Memory Hook

Sine and cosine repeat every 2π, whereas tangent and cotangent repeat every π.

7. Sum and Difference Identities

★ Must-know

📐 Formula — The addition and subtraction identities are sin⁡(x+y)=sin⁡xcos⁡y+cos⁡xsin⁡y\sin(x+y)=\sin x\cos y+\cos x\sin y and sin⁡(x−y)=sin⁡xcos⁡y−cos⁡xsin⁡y\sin(x-y)=\sin x\cos y-\cos x\sin y.

📐 Formula — The cosine identities are cos⁡(x+y)=cos⁡xcos⁡y−sin⁡xsin⁡y\cos(x+y)=\cos x\cos y-\sin x\sin y and cos⁡(x−y)=cos⁡xcos⁡y+sin⁡xsin⁡y\cos(x-y)=\cos x\cos y+\sin x\sin y.

📐 Formula — When the expressions are defined, tan⁡(x+y)=tan⁡x+tan⁡y1−tan⁡xtan⁡y\tan(x+y)=\frac{\tan x+\tan y}{1-\tan x\tan y} and tan⁡(x−y)=tan⁡x−tan⁡y1+tan⁡xtan⁡y\tan(x-y)=\frac{\tan x-\tan y}{1+\tan x\tan y}.

Further detail

📐 Formula — The complementary-angle identities are cos⁡(π/2−x)=sin⁡x\cos(\pi/2-x)=\sin x and sin⁡(π/2−x)=cos⁡x\sin(\pi/2-x)=\cos x.

Memory Hook

Cosine keeps the minus sign for a sum, whereas sine keeps the plus sign.

8. Multiple-Angle and Product Identities

★ Must-know

📐 Formula — The double-angle identities are sin⁡2x=2sin⁡xcos⁡x\sin2x=2\sin x\cos x and cos⁡2x=cos⁡2x−sin⁡2x=2cos⁡2x−1=1−2sin⁡2x\cos2x=\cos^2x-\sin^2x=2\cos^2x-1=1-2\sin^2x.

📐 Formula — The tangent double-angle identity is tan⁡2x=2tan⁡x1−tan⁡2x\tan2x=\frac{2\tan x}{1-\tan^2x} when defined.

📐 Formula — The triple-angle identities are sin⁡3x=3sin⁡x−4sin⁡3x\sin3x=3\sin x-4\sin^3x and cos⁡3x=4cos⁡3x−3cos⁡x\cos3x=4\cos^3x-3\cos x.

Further detail

📐 Formula — The product-to-sum identities include 2cos⁡xcos⁡y=cos⁡(x+y)+cos⁡(x−y)2\cos x\cos y=\cos(x+y)+\cos(x-y) and 2sin⁡xcos⁡y=sin⁡(x+y)+sin⁡(x−y)2\sin x\cos y=\sin(x+y)+\sin(x-y).

📐 Formula — The sum-to-product identities include cos⁡x+cos⁡y=2cos⁡x+y2cos⁡x−y2\cos x+\cos y=2\cos\frac{x+y}{2}\cos\frac{x-y}{2} and sin⁡x+sin⁡y=2sin⁡x+y2cos⁡x−y2\sin x+\sin y=2\sin\frac{x+y}{2}\cos\frac{x-y}{2}.

Memory Hook

Double angle → triple angle → sum-to-product transformations.

Synthesis Tables

Domains and ranges of trigonometric functions

FunctionDomainRange
sin xAll real numbers[−1,1]
cos xAll real numbers[−1,1]
tan xx ≠ (2n+1)π/2All real numbers
cot xx ≠ nπAll real numbers
sec xx ≠ (2n+1)π/2y ≤ −1 or y ≥ 1
cosec xx ≠ nπy ≤ −1 or y ≥ 1

Test your knowledge

Test your knowledge on Trigonometric Functions with 21 multiple-choice questions with detailed corrections.

1. What are the initial side, terminal side, and vertex of an angle?

2. A ray rotates clockwise from its initial position to its terminal position. How is the resulting angle classified?

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Review with flashcards

Memorize the key concepts of Trigonometric Functions with 58 interactive flashcards.

What is an angle in geometry?

The measure of rotation of a ray about its initial point.

What is the original ray in an angle called?

The initial side.

What is the rotated ray in an angle called?

The terminal side.

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