7

7.1

The Trigonometric Functions (a.k.a. the Circular Functions)

Denition: One radian is the angle for which the length of the arc of a circle matches the radius of that circle.

The radian measure of an angle is the ratio of arc length to radius (in any circle drawn with s the vertex of the angle at its center): = . r A few observations should be made here: 1. Our denition of radian measure immediately gives us a formula for the length of an arc: in a circle of radius r, the arc length corresponding to an angle is given by s = r. 2. At this point youre probably more familiar with degrees than radians, so we should know how they are related. Well, we know that the circumference of a circle (that is, the arc length for a full circle) is s = 2 r. Matching this to the formula s = r, we discover that in a full circle, = 2 radians. Hence 2 radians = 360 , which allows us to conclude that 1 rad = 180 , and 1 = 180 rad. To make you a bit more comfortable with radian measure, it may help to note that 1 radian 57.3 . An easy way to make sense of this is to compare the diagram above to an equilateral triangle; each angle in an equilateral triangle is 60 , but if you imagine bending one side into an arc of a circle, then the angle opposite must be reduced by a small amount! 3. There is one way in which radians (and degrees) dier from other kinds of units. Since they are dened by a ratio of lengths, they are dimensionless. That is, a second is a unit of time a meter is a unit of length a gram is a unit of mass a radian is ... a pure number!

In calculus we will use radians only. Youll see why when we discuss derivatives, but to put it simply its because they work better! Degrees are useful because the number 360 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, but in calculus we wont always be working with integers. Radians can be said to be a more natural measure, because they are dened only in terms of properties of circles themselves.

7.2

The Trigonometric Functions

Youve probably seen the sine and cosine functions dened as ratios of lengths of sides of triangles, but well use a slightly dierent denition. Consider the unit circle, x2 + y 2 = 1, and an angle made between a ray from its center and the x-axis. We dene the cosine and sine of as the coordinates of the point of intersection of that ray and the circle itself:
1.6

1.2

0.8

P(cos!,sin!)

0.4

!
-2.4 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4

-0.4

-0.8

-1.2

Figure 1: That is, we have

-1.6

x = cos y = sin These are parametric equations for the unit circle; if we imagine running through the values from 0 to 2 , the point (x, y ) traces out the circle. Many of the properties of the sine and cosine functions should now appear to be immediate consequences of our denition: sin (0) = 0, cos (0) = 1, sin
2

= 1, cos

|sin | 1 and |cos | 1 for all values of 2

= 0, sin

3
2

= 1, etc.

 sin ( + 2 k ) = sin (), cos ( + 2 k ) = cos (), for all integers k (that is, the functions are periodic, with period 2 ). Imagine moving clockwise from the origin instead; compare the values we obtain with the values we obtain from moving counterclockwise:
1.6

1.2

0.8

cos(!),sin(!)

0.4

!
-2.4 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0

-!

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

2.4

-0.4

-0.8

cos(-!),sin(-!)

-1.2

Figure 2:

-1.6

From this it is clear that cos () = cos (), and sin () = sin (), so the cosine function is even and the sine function is odd! The sine of is positive when P is above the x-axis (in the 1st & 2nd quadrants), while the cosine is positive when P is to the right of the y -axis (in the 1st & 4th quadrants). If you know the right denition of the trigonometric functions, theres no need for the CAST rule! Where does the tangent function come from? We draw a line which is tangent to the circle at the point (1, 0), and observe where it intersects our ray. The y -coordinate of that intersection point is dened to be the tangent of , tan (). By similar triangles, we tan sin can see that = , which gives us a more practical denition. 1 cos The other three functions can be dened simply as reciprocals of the three we have already named, but they all have geometric origins. The secant function, for example, is the length of the part of our original ray which lies within the circle (a secant line is a line which cuts through a circle). 3

1.5

! (1,tan(!))

cos(!),sin(!)

0.5

!
-2.4 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4

-0.5

-1

Figure 3:

-1.5

1.5

!
se c(! )

cos(!),sin(!)

0.5

!
-2.4 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4

-0.5

-1

Figure 4:

-1.5

There is also a cosecant and a cotangent, abbreviated csc and cot . For simplicity, its enough to remember our original denition of sine and cosine, and to remember that sin , cos 1 , cos 1 , sin 1 . tan

tan =

sec =

csc =

cot =

We will rarely use the cosecant and cotangent, and even the secant function is of limited importance, except that it appears in some useful identities.

7.3

Trigonometric Identities

Most textbooks have long lists of identities, but there are really only a few that you really have to know. Weve placed them in boxes in the following discussion. The other identities are either less commonly needed, or can be derived quickly from this short list. We emphasize, though, that you MUST KNOW the important ones! The trigonometric identities are our tools for performing algebra with trigonometric functions, so this is as important as knowing the rules for manipulating exponentials and logartithms, for example, or knowing how to multiply and divide powers of x. The Pythagorean Identity is obvious: since x = cos and y = sin , and x2 + y 2 = 1, we have cos2 + sin2 = 1 . Dividing this result by cos2 gives tan2 + 1 = sec2 . Consider the angles and
2

Figure 5: We can see that cos

is even and sine is odd, we can express these as

= sin . Similarly, sin = cos . Furthermore, since cosine 2 cos = sin 2 and sin = cos . 2

The sum-of-angle identities are more dicult to establish (see your textbook). However, there are really only two that we need to know:

cos ( + ) = cos cos sin sin sin ( + ) = sin cos + cos sin . 5

If you know these, and you know that cosine is even and sine is odd, then you can immediately determine that

cos ( ) = cos cos + sin sin and sin ( ) = sin cos cos sin .

Also, if we set = = , we obtain the double-angle formulas: cos 2 = cos2 sin2 sin 2 = 2 sin cos . Furthermore, the rst of these can be combined with the Pythagorean identity to give cos 2 = 2 cos2 1 or cos 2 = 1 2 sin2 ,

and these can then be re-arranged to give cos2 = 1 (1 + cos 2) 2 1 (1 cos 2) . 2

and

sin2 =

These are known as the half-angle formulas 1 Example: Solve for , if sin 2 = cos , and x [0, 2 ]. Solution: One option is to rewrite the equation as 2 sin cos = cos . This allows us to see that either 2 sin = 1 or cos = 0 (dont overlook the second possibility - we can only cancel the cosines if cos = 0!!!).
1

This is because they can be expressed in the form cos2

1 2

(1 + cos ) and sin2

1 2

(1 cos ).

Case 1: If 2 sin = 1, then sin = 1 2 , so =

or =

5 6

(to nd the second angle, just

remember that sin corresponds to the y -coordinate, and observe that there are two angles which give the same value. If one is , then the other is (see the gure below).
1.5

"-!

0.5

!
-2.4 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0

!
0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4

-0.5

-1

-1.5

Case 2: If cos = 0, then =

or =

3 2 . 3 2, 3 ,

Thus weve found four solutions: = 6,

or

5 6 .

Example: Rewrite cos4 in terms of cos 2 and cos 4 (this is a skill well need later, when we discuss integration). Solution: All we need is one of the half-angle formulas, used twice:
4

cos = cos

1 + cos 2 2

= 1 = 4 =

1 1 + 2 cos 2 + (1 + cos 4) 2 1 (3 + 4 cos 2 + cos 4) . 8

1 1 + 2 cos 2 + cos2 2 4

The Hyperbolic Functions

that cosh2 x sinh2 x = 1 (try it). Therefore, if we set x = cosh and y = sinh , then we obtain parametric equations for the curve x2 y 2 = 1, which is the unit hyperbola ! This analogy does have one peculiar twist; the variable here is NOT the angle! Nevertheless, there is a connection. It turns out that is twice the area enclosed by the x-axis, the ray, and the curve... for both hyperbolic and circular functions!