DP IB Analysis & Approaches Your notes

(AA): HL
Trigonometric Functions & Graphs
Contents
Graphs of Trigonometric Functions
Transformations of Trigonometric Functions
Modelling with Trigonometric Functions

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 Graphs of Trigonometric Functions
Your notes
Graphs of Trigonometric Functions
What are the graphs of trigonometric functions?
The trigonometric functions sin, cos and tan all have special periodic graphs
You’ll need to know their properties and how to sketch them for a given domain in either
degrees or radians
Sketching the trigonometric graphs can help to
Solve trigonometric equations and find all solutions
Understand transformations of trigonometric functions

What are the properties of the graphs of sin x and cos x?

The graphs of sin x and cos x are both periodic
They repeat every 360° (2π radians)
The angle will always be on the x-axis
Either in degrees or radians
The graphs of sin x and cos x are always in the range -1 ≤ y ≤ 1

Domain: { x | x ∈ ℝ}
Range: { y | − 1 ≤ y ≤ 1}

The graphs of sin x and cos x are identical however one is a translation of the other
sin x passes through the origin
cos x passes through (0, 1)
The amplitude of the graphs of sin x and cos x is 1

What are the properties of the graph of tan x?

The graph of tan x is periodic
It repeats every 180° (π radians)
The angle will always be on the x-axis
Either in degrees or radians
The graph of tan x is undefined at the points ± 90°, ± 270° etc
There are asymptotes at these points on the graph

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 In radians this is at the points ±
π , ± 3π etc
2 2
The range of the graph of tan x is Your notes

x | x ≠ π2 + kπ , k ∈ ℤ
⎧ ⎫
⎪ ⎮
⎪ ⎮
Domain: ⎨
⎪
⎬
⎮
⎪ ⎮
⎩ ⎭

Range: { y | y ∈ ℝ}

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 Your notes

How do I sketch trigonometric graphs?

You may need to sketch a trigonometric graph so you will need to remember the key
features of each one

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The following steps may help you sketch a trigonometric graph
STEP 1: Check whether you should be working in degrees or radians Your notes
You should check the domain given for this
If you see π in the given domain then you should work in radians
STEP 2: Label the x-axis in multiples of 90°

This will be multiples of

π if you are working in radians
2
Make sure you cover the whole domain on the x-axis
STEP 3: Label the y-axis
The range for the y-axis will be – 1 ≤ y ≤ 1 for sin or cos
For tan you will not need any specific points on the y-axis
STEP 4: Draw the graph
Knowing exact values will help with this, such as remembering that sin(0) = 0 and
cos(0) = 1
Mark the important points on the axis first
If you are drawing the graph of tan x put the asymptotes in first
If you are drawing sin x or cos x mark in where the maximum and minimum points
will be
Try to keep the symmetry and rotational symmetry as you sketch, as this will help
when using the graph to find solutions

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Sketch all three trig graphs on your exam paper so you can refer to them as many
times as you need to!

Worked Example
Sketch the graphs of y = cosθ and y = tanθ on the same set of axes in the interval -π ≤ θ
≤ 2π. Clearly mark the key features of both graphs.

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 Your notes

Using Trigonometric Graphs

How can I use a trigonometric graph to find extra solutions?
Your calculator will only give you the first solution to a problem such as sin-1(0.5)
This solution is called the primary value
However, due to the periodic nature of the trig functions there could be an infinite
number of solutions
Further solutions are called the secondary values
This is why you will be given a domain (interval) in which your solutions should be found
This could either be in degrees or in radians
If you see π or some multiple of π then you must work in radians
The following steps will help you use the trigonometric graphs to find secondary values
STEP 1: Sketch the graph for the given function and interval
Check whether you should be working in degrees or radians and label the axes
with the key values
STEP 2: Draw a horizontal line going through the y-axis at the point you are trying to
find the values for
For example if you are looking for the solutions to sin-1(-0.5) then draw the
horizontal line going through the y-axis at -0.5
The number of times this line cuts the graph is the number of solutions within the
given interval
STEP 3: Find the primary value and mark it on the graph
This will either be an exact value and you should know it
Or you will be able to use your calculator to find it

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 STEP 4: Use the symmetry of the graph to find all the solutions in the interval by
adding or subtracting from the key values on the graph
What patterns can be seen from the graphs of trigonometric Your notes
functions?
The graph of sin x has rotational symmetry about the origin
So sin(-x) = - sin(x)
sin(x) = sin(180° - x) or sin(π – x)
The graph of cos x has reflectional symmetry about the y-axis
So cos(-x) = cos(x)
cos(x) = cos(360° – x) or cos(2π – x)
The graph of tan x repeats every 180° (π radians)
So tan(x) = tan(x ± 180°) or tan(x ± π )
The graphs of sin x and cos x repeat every 360° (2π radians)
So sin(x) = sin(x ± 360°) or sin(x ± 2π)
cos(x) = cos(x ± 360°) or cos(x ± 2π)

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Take care to always check what the interval for the angle is that the question is
focused on

Worked Example
One solution to cos x = 0.5 is 60°. Find all the other solutions in the range -360° ≤ x ≤
360°.

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 Your notes

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 Transformations of Trigonometric Functions
Your notes
Transformations of Trigonometric Functions
What transformations of trigonometric functions do I need to
know?
As with other graphs of functions, trigonometric graphs can be transformed through
translations, stretches and reflections
Translations can be either horizontal (parallel to the x-axis) or vertical (parallel to the y-
axis)
For the function y = sin (x)
A vertical translation of a units in the positive direction (up) is denoted by
y = sin (x) + a
A vertical translation of a units in the negative direction (down) is denoted by
y = sin (x) - a
A horizontal translation in the positive direction (right) is denoted by y = sin (x -
a)
A horizontal translation in the negative direction (left) is denoted by y = sin (x +
a)
Stretches can be either horizontal (parallel to the x-axis) or vertical (parallel to the y-axis)
For the function y = sin (x)
A vertical stretch of a factor a units is denoted by y = a sin (x)

x
A horizontal stretch of a factor a units is denoted by y = sin ( )
a
Reflections can be either across the x-axis or across the y-axis
For the function y = sin (x)
A reflection across the x-axis is denoted by y = - sin (x)
A reflection across the y-axis is denoted by y = sin (-x)

What combined transformations are there?

Stretches in the horizontal and vertical direction are often combined
The functions a sin(bx) and a cos(bx) have the following properties:
The amplitude of the graph is |a |

360 2π
The period of the graph is ° (or rad)
b b
Translations in both directions could also be combined with the stretches

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 The functions a sin(b(x - c )) + d and a cos(b(x - c )) + d have the following properties:
The amplitude of the graph is |a | Your notes
360 2π
The period of the graph is ° (or )
b b
The translation in the horizontal direction is c
The translation in the vertical direction is d
d represents the principal axis (the line that the function fluctuates about)
The function a tan(b(x - c )) + d has the following properties:
The amplitude of the graph does not exist

The period of the graph is

180 π
° (or )
b b
The translation in the horizontal direction is c
The translation in the vertical direction (principal axis) is d
How do I sketch transformations of trigonometric functions?
Sketch the graph of the original function first
Carry out each transformation separately
The order in which you carry out the transformations is important
Given the form y = a sin(b(x - c )) + d carry out any stretches first, translations next
and reflections last
If the function is written in the form y = a sin(bx - bc ) + d factorise out the
coefficient of x before carrying out any transformations
Use a very light pencil to mark where the graph has moved for each transformation
It is a good idea to mark in the principal axis the lines corresponding to the maximum and
minimum points first
The principal axis will be the line y = d
The maximum points will be on the line y = d + a
The minimum points will be on the line y = d - a
Sketch in the new transformed graph
Check it is correct by looking at some key points from the exact values

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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 Be sure to apply transformations in the correct order – applying them in the
wrong order can produce an incorrect transformation
When you sketch a transformed graph, indicate the new coordinates of any Your notes
points that are marked on the original graph
Try to indicate the coordinates of points where the transformed graph intersects
the coordinate axes (although if you don't have the equation of the original
function this may not be possible)
If the graph has asymptotes, don't forget to sketch the asymptotes of the
transformed graph as well

Worked Example

Sketch the graph of y = 2 sin 3 x – π4 − 1 for the interval -2π ≤ x ≤ 2π. State
⎛
⎜
⎛
⎜
⎞⎞
⎟⎟

⎝ ⎝ ⎠⎠

the amplitude, period and principal axis of the function.

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 Modelling with Trigonometric Functions
Your notes
Modelling with Trigonometric Functions
What can be modelled with trigonometric functions?
Anything that oscillates (fluctuates periodically) can be modelled using a trigonometric
function
Normally some transformation of the sine or cosine function
Examples include:

D t is the depth of water at a shore t hours after midnight

( )

T d is the temperature of a city d days after the 1st January

( )

H t is vertical height above ground of a person t seconds after entering a Ferris

( )

wheel
Notice that the x-axis will not always contain an angle
In the examples above time or number of days would be on the x-axis
Depth of the water, temperature or vertical height would be on the y-axis

What are the parameters of trigonometric models?

A trigonometric model could be of the form

f x
( ) = a sin b x − c + d
( ( ))

f x
( ) = a cos b x − c + d
( ( ))

f x
( ) = a tan b x − c + d
( ( ))

The a represents the amplitude of the function

The bigger the value of a the bigger the range of values of the function

For the function a tan b x − c

( ( )) + d the amplitude is undefined
The b determines the period of the function

360°
Period = b
= 2bπ
The bigger the value of b the quicker the function repeats a cycle
The c represents the horizontal shift
The d represents the vertical shift
This is the principal axis

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What are possible limitations of a trigonometric model?
The amplitude is the same for each cycle Your notes
In real-life this might not be the case
The function might get closer to the value of d over time
The period is the same for each cycle
In real-life this might not be the case
The time to complete a cycle might change over time

Examiner Tips and Tricks

The variable in these questions is often t for time.
Read the question carefully to make sure you know what you are being asked to
solve.

Worked Example
The water depth, D, in metres, at a port can be modelled by the function

Dt ( ) = 3 sin ( 15° t − 2
( )) + 12, 0 ≤ t < 24
where t is the elapsed time, in hours, since midnight.

a) Write down the depth of the water at midnight.

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 Your notes

b) Find the minimum water depth and the number of hours after midnight that this
depth occurs.

c) Calculate how long the water depth is at least 13.5 m each day.

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 Your notes

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