Functions and Graphs 2

At the end of this session, students will be able to:

1. define the six trigonometric functions,
2. define a unit circle,
3. solve angles in terms of radians,
4. solve for the exact and appropriate solutions of trigonometric functions,
5. identify exponential and logarithmic functions,
6. enumerate the properties of exponential function and logarithms,
7. use like bases to solve exponential equations,
8. use logarithms to solve exponential equations; and
9. use the definition of a logarithm to solve logarithmic equations.

Trigonometric Function
Under its simplest definition, a trigonometric (lit. "triangle-measuring")
function, is one of the many functions that relate one non-right angle of
a right triangle to the ratio of the lengths of any two sides of the triangle (or
vice versa).
Any trigonometric function (f), therefore, always satisfies either of the
following equations:
f(q) = a / b OR f(a / b) = q,
where q is the measure of a certain angle in the triangle, and a and b are the
lengths of two specific sides.

The Six Trigonometric Functions

First let’s start with the six trig functions and how they relate to each other.

Figure 1. The six trigonometric functions.

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Recall as well that all the trig functions can be defined in terms of a right
triangle. From this right triangle, we get the following definitions of the six
trig functions. Remembering both the relationship between all six of the trig
functions and their right triangle definitions will be useful in Calculus.

Figure 2. Relationship between all six of the trig

functions and their right triangle definitions.

Unit Circle
The unit circle is one of the more useful tools to come out in trigonometry. It
is defined as a circle of radius one unit with its center at the origin.

Figure 3. A unit cirle.

Presented in the figure is the unit circle with just the first quadrant filled
in. The way the unit circle works is to draw a line from the center of the
circle outwards corresponding to a given angle. Then look at the coordinates
of the point where the line and the circle intersect. The first coordinate is the
cosine of that angle and the second coordinate is the sine of that angle. We’ve
 put some of the basic angles along with the coordinates of their intersections
on the unit circle.
𝜋 √3 𝜋 1
So, from the unit circle below we can see that cos ( 6 ) = and sin ( 6 ) = 2 .
2

Remember how the signs of angles work. If you rotate in a counter clockwise
direction the angle is positive and if you rotate in a clockwise direction the
angle is negative.
Recall as well that one complete revolution is 2𝜋, so the positive x-axis can
correspond to either an angle of 0 or 2π or 4π, or 6π, or -2π, or -4π, etc.
depending on the direction of rotation.
𝜋 𝜋
In fact 6 can be any of the following angles: 6 + 2𝜋𝑛, 𝑛 = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3,… In
this case n is the number of complete revolutions you make around the unit
𝜋
circle starting at 6 . Positive values of n correspond to counter clockwise
rotations and negative values of n correspond to clockwise rotations.

Basic Angles in Degrees and Radians

Figure 4. Relationship between degrees and radians for the angles

in the unit circle.

This figure represents the relationship between degrees and radians for the
most common angles in the unit circle measured in the counterclockwise
direction from the point to the right of the vertex. The form of the ordered
pair is {degree measure, radian measure}
Example 1:
Evaluate each of the following.
2𝜋 2𝜋
1) sin( ) and sin(− )
3 3
7𝜋 7𝜋
2) cos( ) and cos(− )
6 6
𝜋 7𝜋
3) tan (− 4 ) and tan ( )
4

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Solution:
2𝜋 2𝜋
1) sin( ) and sin(− )
3 3

The first evaluation in this part uses the angle 2π/3. That’s not on our
presented unit circle. However, notice that 2π/3 = π – π/3 . So 2π/3 is found
by rotating up π/3 from the negative x-axis. This means that the line for 2π/3
will be a mirror image of the line for π/3 only in the second quadrant. The
coordinates for 2π/3 will be the coordinates for π/3 except the x coordinate
will be negative.
Likewise for 2π/3 we can notice that -2π/3 = - π + π/3 , so this angle can be
found by rotating down π/3 from the negative x-axis. This means that the
line for -2π/3 will be a mirror image of the line for π/3 only in the third
quadrant and the coordinates will be the same as the coordinates for π/3
except both will be negative.
Both of these angles along with their coordinates are shown on this unit
circle. From this unit circle we can see that sin (2π/3) = √3/2 and sin (-
2π/3) = -√3/2 .

Figure 5. A unit circle showing that sin (2π/3) = √3/2 and

sin (- 2π/3) = -√3/2 .

This leads to a nice fact about the sine function. The sine function is called an
odd function and so for ANY angle we have sin(-θ) = - sin(θ)

7𝜋 7𝜋
2) cos( ) and cos(− )
6 6
 For this example notice that 7π/6 = π + π/6 so this means we would rotate
down π/6 from the negative x-axis to get to this angle. Also -7π/6 = -π - π/6
so this means we would rotate up π/6 from the negative x-axis to get to this
angle. So, as with the last part, both of these angles will be mirror images of
π/6 in the third and second quadrants respectively and we can use this to
determine the coordinates for both of these new angles. 6π
Both of these angles are shown on the unit circle along with appropriate
coordinates for the intersection points.

Figure 6. A unit circle showing that cos (7π/6) = - √3/2 and

cos (-7π/6) = -√3/2.

From this unit circle we can see that cos (7π/6) = - √3/2 and cos (-7π/6) =
-√3/2.
In this case the cosine function is called an even function and so for ANY
angle we have cos(-θ) = cos (θ)

𝜋 7𝜋
3) tan (− ) and tan ( )
4 4

Here we should note that 7π/4 = 2π – π/4 so 7π/4 and – π/4 are in fact the
same angle. Also note that this angle will be the mirror image of π/4 in the
fourth quadrant. The unit circle for this angle is shown in the figure.

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 Figure 7. A unit circle showing that 7π/4 = 2π – π/4 so 7π/4 and
– π/4 are the same angle.

Now, if we remember that tan(x) = sin(x)/cos(x) we can use the unit circle to
find the values of the tangent function. So, (refer to the equation on the slide)
𝜋
7𝜋 𝜋 sin(− ) − √2/2
4
tan ( 4 ) = tan (− 4 ) = 𝜋 = = −1
cos(− ) √2/2
4

On a side note, notice that tan (π/4) = 1 and we can see that the tangent
function is also called an odd function and so for ANY angle we will have
tan(-θ) = -tan(θ).

Solving Trigonometric Functions

Example 2:

Solve 2 sin (x) – 1 = 0

Solution:
To solve for x, you must first isolate the sine term.
We know that sin (π/6) = ½, therefore, x = π/6. The sine function is positive
in the first and second quadrants. The sin (π – π/6) = sin 5π/6 is also equal
to 1/2. Therefore, two of the solutions to the problem are x = π/6 and x =
5π/6.
The period of the sin (x) function is 2π. This means that the values will
repeat every 2π radians in both directions. Therefore, the exact solutions
are x = π/6 ± n (2π) and x = 5π/6 ± n (2π) where n is an integer. The
approximate solutions are x = 0.523598775598 ± n (2π) and x =
2.61799387799 ± n (2π) where n is an integer.
 The solutions may or may not be the answers to the original problem. You
may check them numerically with the original equation.
(For the values, refer to the slide)
Since the left side equals the right side when you substitute π/6 for x,
then π/6 is a solution.
Numerical Check
• x = (π/6)
2 sin (x) – 1 = 0
2 sin (π/6) – 1 = 0
2 (1/2) – 1 = 0
0= 0
• x = (5π/6)
2 sin (x) – 1 = 0
2 sin (5π/6) – 1 = 0
2 (1/2) – 1 = 0
0= 0
Since the left side equals the right side when you substitute 5π/6 for x,
then 5π/6 is a solution.

Example 3
Solve for x in sin (x) + √2 = – sin x
Solution:
There are numbers of solutions to this problem. To solve for x, you must first
isolate the sine term.
sin (x) + √2 = – sin x
2 sin (x) = – √2
sin (x) = – √2 / 2
If we restrict the domain of the sine function to [-1/2 ≤ x ≤ π/2], we can use
the inverse sine function to solve for reference angle x, and then x.
sin (x) = - √2 / 2
sin -1 (sin(x)) = sin -1 (- √2 / 2)
x = sin -1 (- √2 / 2)
x ≈ - 0.785398163397
Reference Angle: x = sin -1 (- √2 / 2)
Reference Angle: x’ ≈ 0.785398163397

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We know that the sine function is negative in the third and the fourth
quadrant. Therefore two of the solutions are the angle π + x’ that terminates
in the third quadrant and the angle that terminates in the fourth. We have
already solved for x’.
• 3rd Quadrant: x 1 = π + x’ = π + sin -1 (- √2 / 2)
x1 ≈ 3.92699081699
• 4th Quadrant: x 2 = 2π – x’ = 2π - sin -1 (- √2 / 2)
x2 ≈ 5.497787
• Exact solutions: x = π + sin -1 (- √2 / 2) ± n (2π) and x = 2π - sin -1 (-
√2 / 2) ± n (2π) where n is an integer
• Approximate solutions: x1 ≈ 3.92699081699 ± n (2π) and x2 ≈
5.497787 ± n (2π) where n is an integer.
The solutions may or may not be the answers to the original problem. You
may check them numerically with the original equation. For the given, sin (x)
+ √2 = – sin x. Check the answer: x = 3.92699081699
Substitute the value of x to the equation. Since the left side equals the right
side when you substitute 3.92699081699 for x, then 3.926990816995 is a
solution.
Again, substitute the value of x to the equation. Since the left side equals the
right side when you substitute 5.497787 for x, then 5.497787 is a solution.
Numerical Check:
• sin (x) + √2 = – sin x
Check answer: x = 3.92699081699
sin (3.92699081699) + √2 = – sin 3.92699081699
0.70710678 = 0.70710678
Check answer: x = 5.497787
sin (5.497787) + √2 = – sin 5.497787
0.70710678 = 0.70710678

Example 5:
Solve sin (3t) = 2.
Solution:
This example is designed to remind you of certain properties about sine and
cosine. Recall that −1 ≤ sin (θ) ≤ 1 and −1 ≤ cos(θ) ≤ 1. Therefore, since sine
will never be greater that 1 it definitely can’t be 2. So THERE ARE NO
SOLUTIONS to this equation!
 It is important to remember that not all trigonometric equations will have
solutions.

(Refer to the slides for the values)

The solutions are: x = π + sin -1 (- √2 / 2) and x = 2π - sin -1 (- √2 / 2).
The period of the sin (x) function is 2π. This means that the values will repeat
every 2π radians in both directions. Therefore, the exact solutions are x = π +
sin -1 (- √2 / 2) ± n (2π) and x = 2π - sin -1 (- √2 / 2) ± n (2π) where n is an
integer.
The approximate solutions are x 1 ≈ 3.92699081699 ± n (2π) and x2 ≈
5.497787 ± n (2π) where n is an integer.

Remember that…
From a right triangle, we get the following definitions of the six trig functions.

Figure 8. Definitions of the six trig functions.

A unit circle is a circle of radius one unit with its center at the origin. If you
rotate in a counter clockwise direction the angle is positive and if you rotate
in a clockwise direction the angle is negative. Recall as well that one
complete revolution is 2π , so the positive x-axis can correspond to either an
angle of 0 or 2π or 4π, or 6π, or -2π, or -4π, etc. depending on the direction of
rotation
In solving trigonometric functions:
1. Isolate the trigonometric function (sin, cos, tan , etc.).
2. Get the reference or mirror angles.
3. Determine the appropriate quadrant that satisfies the sign of the
trigonometric expression.

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Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
In this section we are going to review one of the more common functions in
calculus, the Exponential Functions

Exponential Functions
Before getting to this function let’s take a much more general approach to
things.
Let’s start with b > 0, b ≠ 1. An exponential function is then a function in the
form, f(x) = bx , where b is the base and x is the variable in the exponent
Note that we avoid b=1 because that would give the constant function, f(x) =
1. We avoid b=0 since this would also give a constant function and we avoid
negative values of b for the following reason. Suppose that we did allow b to
be negative and look at the following function: g(x)=− (4) x
Let’s do some evaluation.
g(2)=− (4) 2 = 16 ; g(1/2)=− (4) 1/2 = √-4 = 2i
So, for some values of x we will get real numbers and for other values of x we
well get complex numbers. We want to avoid this and so if we require b> 0
this will not be a problem.
Example 1:
Sketch the graph of f(x) = 2x and g(x) = (1/2)x
Solution:
First, let’s get a table of values for these two functions.

Table 1. Table of values for f(x) = 2 x and g(x) = (1/2) x.

 Here’s the sketch of both of these functions. This graph illustrates some very
nice properties about exponential functions in general.

Properties of f(x) = bx
Here are the properties of exponential functions that will guide us in solving
related problems.
1. f(0) = 1: The value will always take the value of 1 at x = 0
2. f(x) ≠ 0: An exponential function will never be zero
3. f(x) > 0: An exponential function is always positive
Figure 9. Sketch of the graph for f(x) = 2x and g(x) = (1/2) x.
4. f(x) ≠ 0 and f(x) > 0 can be summarized by saying that the range of an
exponential function is (0, ∞)
5. The domain of an exponential function is (-∞, ∞)
• you can plug every x into an exponential function
6. If 0 < b < 1 then
a) f(x)  0 as x  ∞
b) f(x)  ∞ as x  -∞
7. If b > 1 then,
a) f(x)  ∞ as x  ∞
b) f(x)  0 as x  -∞

Natural Exponential Function

There is a very important exponential function that arises naturally in many
places. This function is called the natural exponential function.
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The natural exponential function is f(x) =e x , where e = 2.71828182845905
Since e >1, we also know that e x  ∞ as x  ∞ and e x  0 as x  -∞

Example 2:
Sketch the graph of ℎ (𝑡) = 1 − 5𝑒 1−𝑡/2 .
Solution:
First, let’s get a table of values for these two functions.

Table 2. Table of values for t and h(t).

Here is the sketch.

Figure 10. Sketch of the graph for t and h(t).

The main point behind this problem is to make sure you can do this type of
evaluation so make sure that you can get the values that we graphed in this
example.

Logarithm Functions
Logarithms (or logs) are inverses of exponential. Inverse functions undo
each other, so logs just undo exponentials.
Let’s start with b>0 , b≠0. We can say that y = log bx is equivalent to x = b y,
where b is the base. The first is called logarithmic form and the second is
called the exponential form. Therefore, the inverse of f(x) = 2x is f -1(x) =
log2x.
 Example 1:
Without a calculator give the exact value of log 216
Solution:
To quickly evaluate logarithms the easiest thing to do is to convert the
logarithm to exponential form.
First, let’s convert to exponential form: log 216 = ? is equivalent to 2 ? = 16
So, we’re really asking 2 raised to what gives 16. Since 2 raised to 4 is 16 we
get, log2 16 = 4 because 24 = 16.
Example 2:
Without a calculator give the exact value of each of the following logarithms:
a) log4 16
b) log5 625
c) log9 (1/531441)
d) log1/6 36
e) log2/3 (27/8)
Solution
a) log4 16 = 2 because 42= 16. Note the difference between the first
example and second logarithm.
The base is important! It can completely change the answer.
b) log5 625 = 4 because 54= 625
c) log9 (1/531441) = -6 because 9-6 = 1/96 = 1/531441
d) log1/6 36 = -2 because (1/6)-2 = 62 = 36
e) log3/2 (27/8) = 3 because (3/2)3 = (27/8)

Special Logarithms
There are a couple of special logarithms that arise in many places. These are:
 ln x = log ex - this log is called the natural logarithm
 log x = log 10 x - this log is called the common logarithm
In the natural logarithm, the base e is the same number as in the natural
exponential logarithm that we saw in the last section.

Course Module
Here is a sketch of both of these logarithms.

Figure 11. Sketch of graph for ln x and log x.

From this graph we can get a couple of properties about the natural
logarithm that we will use in Calculus. These are:
• ln x  ∞ as x  ∞
• ln x  - ∞ as x  0, x > 0
Example 3:
Without a calculator give the exact value of each of the following logarithms.
a) ln 3√e
b) log 1000
c) log16 16
d) log23 1
e) log2 7√32
Solution:
a) Since e1/3 = 3√e, ln 3 √e = 1/3
b) Since 103 = 1000, log 1000 = 3
c) Since 161 = 16, log16 16 = 1
d) Since 230 = 1, log23 1 = 0
e) Since 321/7 = (25)1/7 = 25/7, log2 7 √32 = 5/7

Properties of Logarithms
Like exponential functions, logarithms has properties that will guide us in
solving related problems.
1. The domain of the logarithm function is (0,∞). In other words, we can
only plug positive numbers into a logarithm. We can’t plug in zero or a
negative number.
2. logb b = 1
 3. logb 1 = 0
4. logb b x = x
5. blogb x = x
The last two properties (properties 4 and 5) will be especially useful in the
next section. Notice that these last two properties are inverses of each other.
Here are some more properties that are useful in the manipulation of
logarithms.
6. logb xy = logb x + logb y
7. logb (x/y) = logb x - logb y
8. logb (x r ) = r logb x

Example 4:
Write ln x3 y4 z5 in terms of simpler logarithms.
Solution:
For the given, ln x3y4z5
We can use Property 6. This property above can be extended to products of
more than two functions. Once we’ve used Property 6 we can then use
Property 8.
• ln x3y4z5
= ln x3 + ln y4 + ln z5 (use Property 6)
= 3 ln x + 4 ln y + 5 ln z (use Property 8)

Example 5:
9𝑥 4
Write log 3 ( ) in terms of simpler logarithms.
√𝑦

Solution:
9𝑥 4
For the given, log 3 ( )
√𝑦

We can use Property 7. When using this property, make sure that the
logarithm that you subtract is the one that contains the denominator as its
argument. Also, note that that we’ll be converting the root to fractional
exponents in the first step.
9𝑥 4
log 3 ( ) = log 3 9𝑥 4 − log 3 𝑦 1/2
√𝑦

= log 3 9 + log 3 𝑥 4 − log 3 𝑦 1/2 (use Property 7)

1
= 2 + 4 log 3 𝑥 − log 3 𝑦 (convert the root of fractional exponents)
2

Course Module
 Example 6:
𝑥 2 +𝑦2
Write log( )in terms of simpler logarithms.
(𝑥−𝑦) 3

Solution:
𝑥 2 +𝑦2
For the given, log( )
(𝑥−𝑦) 3

We can use Property 8. The point to this problem is mostly the correct use of
property 8. You can use Property 8 on the second term because the WHOLE
term was raised to the 3, but in the first logarithm, only the individual terms
were squared and not the term as a whole so the 2’s must stay where they
are
𝑥 2 +𝑦2
log( ) = log 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 - log(𝑥 − 𝑦)3 (use Property 8)
(𝑥−𝑦) 3

= log (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 ) - 3 log(𝑥 − 𝑦)

Solving Exponential & Logarithmic Equations

In this section we will solve:
• Exponential Equations with Like Bases,
• Exponential Equations with Different Bases, and
• Logarithmic Equations

Exponential Equations with Like Bases

In an Exponential Equation, the variable is in the exponent. There may be
one exponential term or more than one, like 32𝑥+1 − 5 = 4 or 3𝑥+1 = 9𝑥−2 .
If you can isolate terms so that the equation can be written as two
expressions with the same base, as in the equations above, then the solution
is simple.

Example 1 - One exponential expression.

1. Isolate the exponential expression and rewrite the constant in terms
of the same base.
32𝑥 +1 − 5 = 4
32𝑥 +1 = 9
32𝑥+1 = 33
2. Set the exponents equal to each other (drop the bases) and solve the
resulting equation.
 2𝑥 + 1 = 2
2𝑥 = 1
1
𝑥=
2
Example 2 - Two exponential expressions.
1. Isolate the exponential expression and rewrite the constant in terms
of the same base.
3𝑥+1 = 9𝑥 −2
3𝑥+1 = (32 )𝑥−2
32𝑥+1 = 32𝑥 −4
2. Set the exponents equal to each other (drop the bases) and solve the
resulting equation.
𝑥 + 1 = 2𝑥 − 4
𝑥=5

Exponential Equations with Different Bases

The Exponential Equations below contain exponential expressions whose
bases cannot be rewritten as the same rational number.
32𝑥+1 − 5 = 11 or 3𝑥+1 = 4𝑥−2 .
The solutions are irrational numbers, we will need to use a log function to
evaluate them.

Example 1 - One exponential expression

1. Isolate the exponential expression.
32𝑥+1 − 5 = 11
32𝑥+1 = 16
2. Take the log (log or ln) of both sides of the equation.
ln( 32𝑥+1 ) = ln 16
3. Use the log rule that lets you rewrite the exponent as a multiplier.
(2𝑥 + 1) ln 3 = ln 16
4. Isolate the variable.
(2𝑥 + 1) ln 3 = ln 16
ln 16
2𝑥 + 1 =
ln 3
ln 16
2𝑥 = −1
ln 3

Course Module
 ln 16 1
𝑥= −
2 ln 3 2
𝑥 = 0.762

Example 2 - Two exponential expressions

1. Isolate the exponential expression.
3𝑥+1 = 4𝑥 −2
2. Take the log (log or ln) of both sides of the equation.
ln( 3𝑥+1 ) = ln(4𝑥−2 )
3. Use the log rule that lets you rewrite the exponent as a multiplier.
(𝑥 + 1) ln 3 = (x − 2)ln 4
4. Isolate the variable.
𝑥 ln 3 + ln 3 = 𝑥 ln 4 − 2 ln 4
𝑥 ln 3 − x ln 4 = ln 3 − 2 ln 4
𝑥 (ln 3 − ln 4) = −(ln 3 + 2 ln 4)
−(ln 3 + 2 ln 4)
𝑥=
(ln 3 − ln 4)
𝑥 = 13.457

Logarithmic Equations
In a Logarithmic Equation, the variable can be inside the log function or
inside the base of the log. There may be one log term or more than one. For
example:
log 4 (2𝑥 − 1) + 3 = 5
ln 𝑥 − ln (2𝑥 − 1) = 1
log 𝑥 3 = −2

Example 1 - Variable inside the log function.

1. Isolate the log expression.
log 4 (2𝑥 − 1) + 3 = 5
log 4 (2𝑥 − 1) = 2
2. Rewrite the log equation as an exponential equation and solve for ‘x ’.
42 = 2𝑥 − 1
16 = 2𝑥 − 1
 2𝑥 = 17
𝑥 = 8.5
Example 2 - Variable inside the log function, two log expressions.
1. To isolate the log expression, use the log property to combine a
difference of logs.
ln 𝑥 − ln (2𝑥 − 1) = 1
𝑥
ln( )=1
2𝑥 + 1

2. Rewrite the log equation as an exponential equation (here, the base is

‘e ’).
𝑥
𝑒1 =
2𝑥 + 1
3. To solve for ‘x’ we must distribute the ‘e ’ and then collect the ‘x’ terms
together and factor out the ‘x’ and divide.

e (2𝑥 − 1) = 𝑥
2 e x+ e = 𝑥
2 e x − x = −𝑒
x (2 e x − 1) = −𝑒
−𝑒
x=
2𝑒 − 1
x = −0.613

Example 3 - Variable inside the base of the log.

1. Rewrite the log equation as an exponential equation.
log 𝑥 3 = −2
𝑥 −2 = 3
1 1
(𝑥 −2 ) 2
= 3−2
2. Solve the exponential equation.
1
𝑥=
√3
√3
𝑥=
3

Remember that…

Course Module
 • Exponential function is in the form of f(x) = b x , where b is the base
and x is the variable in the exponent
• The natural exponential function is f(x) =e x , where e =
2.71828182845905
• The properties of exponential functions guide us in solving related
problems
• Logarithms are inverses of exponentials in a form of log b x, where b is
the base
• ln x = log ex is natural logarithm and log x = log 10 x is common
logarithm
• The properties of logarithms functions guide us in solving related
problems

Activities and Exercises

Work on an assignment and complete the quiz. Refer to Week002-

Assessments-FunctionsAndGraphs2 file.

References
Angenent, Sigurd B. (2006). MATH 221 - 1st Semester Calculus Lecture
Notes, Version 2.0. Free Software Foundation
Strang, Gilbert. Calculus. Massachusetts: Wellesley, Wellesley-Cambridge
Press.
Dawkins, Paul. (2007). Calculus I – Review. Retrieved from
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