2.

Inverse trigonometric functions

Inverse trigonometric functions are simply defined as the inverse functions of the basic
trigonometric functions which are sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant functions.
They are also termed as arcus functions, antitrigonometric functions or cyclometric functions. These
inverse functions in trigonometry are used to get the angle with any of the trigonometry ratios. The
inverse trigonometry functions have major applications in the field of engineering, physics, geometry
and navigation.

What are Inverse Trigonometric Functions?

Inverse trigonometric functions are also called “Arc Functions” since, for a given value of
trigonometric functions, they produce the length of arc needed to obtain that particular value. The
inverse trigonometric functions actually performs the opposite operation of the trigonometric
functions such as sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent. We know that, trig
functions are specially applicable to the right angle triangle. These six important functions are used
to find the angle measure in a right triangle when two sides of the triangle measures are known.

Formulas
The basic inverse trigonometric formulas are as follows:

Inverse Trig Functions Formulas

Arcsine sin-1(-x) = -sin-1(x), x ∈ [-1, 1]

Arccosine cos-1(-x) = π -cos-1(x), x ∈ [-1, 1]

Arctangent tan-1(-x) = -tan-1(x), x ∈ R

Arccotangent cot-1(-x) = π – cot-1(x), x ∈ R

Arcsecant sec-1(-x) = π -sec-1(x), |x| ≥ 1

Arccosecant cosec-1(-x) = -cosec-1(x), |x| ≥ 1

Inverse Trigonometric Functions Graphs

There are particularly six inverse trig functions for each trigonometry ratio. The inverse of six
important trigonometric functions are:

 Arcsine
 Arccosine
 Arctangent
 Arccotangent
 Arcsecant

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  Arccosecant
Let us discuss all the six important types of inverse trigonometric functions along with its definition,
formulas, graphs, properties and solved examples.

Arcsine Function
Arcsine function is an inverse of the sine function denoted by sin-1x. It is represented in the graph as
shown below:

Domain -1 ≤ x ≤ 1

Range -π/2 ≤ y ≤ π/2

Arccosine Function
Arccosine function is the inverse of the cosine function denoted by cos-1x. It is represented in the
graph as shown below:

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Therefore, the inverse of cos function can be expressed as; y = cos-1x (arccosine x)Domain &
Range of arcsine function:

Domain -1≤x≤1

Range 0≤y≤π

Arctangent Function
Arctangent function is the inverse of the tangent function denoted by tan -1x. It is represented in the
graph as shown below:

Therefore, the inverse of tangent function can be expressed as; y = tan-1x (arctangent x)Domain &
Range of Arctangent:

Domain -∞ < x < ∞

Range -π/2 < y < π/2

Arccotangent (Arccot) Function

Arccotangent function is the inverse of the cotangent function denoted by cot -1x. It is represented in
the graph as shown below:

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Therefore, the inverse of cotangent function can be expressed as; y = cot-
1
x (arccotangent x) Domain & Range of Arccotangent:

Domain -∞ < x < ∞

Range 0<y<π

Arcsecant Function
What is arcsecant (arcsec)function? Arcsecant function is the inverse of the secant function
denoted by sec-1x. It is represented in the graph as shown below:

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Therefore, the inverse of secant function can be expressed as; y = sec-1x (arcsecant x)Domain &
Range of Arcsecant:

Domain -∞ ≤ x ≤ -1 or 1 ≤ x ≤ ∞

Range -π/2 < y < π/2 ; y≠0

Arccosecant Function
What is arccosecant (arccsc x) function? Arccosecant function is the inverse of the cosecant function
denoted by cosec-1x. It is represented in the graph as shown below:

Therefore, the inverse of cosecant function can be expressed as; y = cosec-

1
x (arccosecant x)Domain & Range of Arccosecant

Domain -∞ ≤ x ≤ -1 or 1 ≤ x ≤ ∞

Range -π/2 < y < π/2 ; y≠0

Inverse Trigonometric Functions Table

Let us rewrite here all the inverse trigonometric functions with their notation, definition, domain and
range.

Function Name Notation Definition Domain of x Range

Arcsine or inverse y = sin-  − π/2 ≤ y ≤ π/2

x=sin y −1 ≤ x ≤ 1
sine 1
(x)  -90°≤ y ≤ 90°

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Arccosine or inverse  0≤y≤π
y=cos-1(x) x=cos y −1 ≤ x ≤ 1
cosine  0° ≤ y ≤ 180°

Arctangent or For all real  − π/2 < y < π/2

y=tan-1(x) x=tan y
Inverse tangent numbers  -90°< y < 90°

Arccotangent or For all real  0<y<π

y=cot-1(x) x=cot y
Inverse Cot numbers  0° < y < 180°

 0≤y<π/2 or π/2<y≤π
Arcsecant or y = sec-
x=sec y x ≤ −1 or 1 ≤ x  0°≤y<90° or
Inverse Secant 1
(x)
90°<y≤180°

 −π/2≤y<0 or 0<y≤π/2
Arccosecant y=csc-1(x) x=csc y x ≤ −1 or 1 ≤ x
 −90°≤y<0°or 0°<y≤90°

Inverse Trigonometric Functions Derivatives

The derivatives of inverse trigonometric functions are first-order derivatives. Let us check here the
derivatives of all the six inverse functions.

Inverse Trig Function dy/dx

sin-1(x) 1/√(1-x2)

cos-1(x) -1/√(1-x2)

tan-1(x) 1/(1+x2)

cot-1(x) -1/(1+x2)

sec-1(x) 1/[|x|√(x2-1)]

csc-1(x) -1/[|x|√(x2-1)]

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions Properties
The inverse trigonometric functions are also known as Arc functions. Inverse Trigonometric
Functions are defined in a certain interval (under restricted domains).
Trigonometry Basics
Trigonometry basics include the basic trigonometry and trigonometric ratios such as sin x, cos x, tan
x, cosec x, sec x and cot x. The following article from BYJU’S discusses the basic definition of
another tool of trigonometry – Inverse Trigonometric Functions.

Inverse Trigonometric Functions Problems

Example 1: Find the value of x, for sin(x) = 2.
Solution: Given: sinx = 2 x =sin-1(2), which is not possible.
Hence, there is no value of x for which sin x = 2; since the domain of sin-1x is -1 to 1 for the values of
x.
Example 2: Find the value of sin-1(sin (π/6)).
Solution:
sin-1(sin (π/6) = π/6 (Using identity sin-1(sin (x) ) = x)

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