“Teach A Level Maths”

Yr1/AS Pure Maths

34: The graphs of

sinq and cosq

© Christine Crisp
 Graphs of s in  and cos 

Trig Functions and Graphs

We are going to sketch the graph of sin 

 
where  is an angle between 0 and 90 .
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

Let P be a point with coordinates (x, y) on the circle

with centre at the origin and radius 1.
y
Let angle PON be 
P (x, y) y
1 Then, s in  
1
y
 x
O N  s in   y
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

e.g.   2 0 
y
1 y

y
20 
x 20 40 60 80  
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

e.g.   4 0 
y
1 y

y
40 
x 20 40 60 80  
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

e.g.   6 0 
y
1 y

y
60 
x 20 40 60 80  
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

e.g.   8 0 
y
1 y

80 
x 20 40 60 80  
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

e.g.   9 0 
y
1 y

90 
x 20 40 60 80  
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

Also, when   0  , y  0
y
1 y x x
x
x

x
x 20 40 60 80  
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

y  s in 
y
1 y x x
x
x

x
x 20 40 60 80  
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

y
y  s in 



As  increases from 0to 90, y increases from 0 to 1.

 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

We have, so far, only defined s in  for angles

between 0 and 90.

We will now extend the definitions for an angle 

which can be any size and may be positive or
negative.
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

Suppose   30  , then s in   0  5 y

s in   y  y  05   30 

y
30  x
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

Suppose   30  , then s in   0  5 y

s in   y  y  05   30 

05
30  x
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

If   150  , . . . y

  150    30 
150 
180  150  30 y 05
30  30  x
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

If   150  , . . . y
. . . then y is still 0  5

  150    30 
150 
y 05
30  x

But s in   y
So,
s in 1 50   0  5
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

The quarter of the circle where the angles are

between 0 and 90  is called the 1st quadrant.

For each angle  in the 1st quadrant there is an
angle of ( 180   )  in the 2nd quadrant where
s in    s in ( 1 8 0   ) 
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

e.g.   70  so ( 180   )  110

y
  110    70 

s in 1 1 0   s in 7 0  110 
70  x

Notice the symmetry about the y-axis (   90  ) .

 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

The symmetry about   90  enables us to draw

the graph for y  s in  between 0 and 180 .

y y  s in  

x x

e.g.


70  110 
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

The symmetry about   90  enables us to draw

the graph for y  s in  between 0 and 180 .

y y  s in  

x x

e.g.


70  110 
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

The graph of y  s in  between 0 and 180  is

y y  s in  

e.g.


 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 
For angles between 180  and 360  ( the 3rd and 4th
quadrants ), the y coordinates are negative.
y
e.g.
y  05 y  05

  150   30  So,
210 
s in 2 1 0    s in 1 5 0 
x
  s in 30 
330  s in 3 3 0    s in 3 0 
  210    330 
y   05 y   05
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

The sine of each angle between 180  and 360  has

the same magnitude as an angle between 0 and 180 
   360
BUT is negative. The graph 0for
is:
y y  s in 


 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 
For angles larger than 360  we continue round the

circle, so the values of s in  repeat every 360 .
y
e.g.

  390 

05
30  x
  360 
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

We can extend the graph as shown

y y  s in  


 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

We can extend the graph as shown

y y  s in  


 Graphs of s in  and cos 
y  s in 

Negative angles are defined as those formed by


turning in a clockwise direction from   0 .
e.g. y

  30 
So,
05
30  x s in (  3 0  )  s in 3 3 0 
 30 

   30 
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
We can now draw the graph of y  s in  for any
interval. e.g.

y  s in 



If you have a graphical calculator, this graph will

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angles can BUT make
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so check
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not radians.
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
SUMMARY
• The trig function s in  is defined for any
angle.

• The graph of y  s in  repeats every 360  .
(It is cyclic with period 360 )
• The minimum value of s in  is – 1 and the
maximum is 1. y y  s in 
• The graph for
0    360 
is . . .
. . . and must
be memorised.
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises

1. Sketch the graph of y  s in  for the interval

0    360
Write down an angle  between 0 and 360 
( not equal to the given angle! ) where
(a) s in   s in 4 0  (b) s in   s in 2 4 0 
Ans: (c) s in    s in 5 0  (d) s in    s in 2 8 0 
y y  s in  (a)   140 
x x

40  140 
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises

1. Sketch the graph of y  s in  for the interval

0    360
Write down an angle  between 0 and 360 
( not equal to the given angle! ) where
(a) s in   s in 4 0  (b) s in   s in 2 4 0 
Ans: (c) s in    s in 5 0  (d) s in    s in 2 8 0 
y y  s in  (a)   140 
(b)   300 
240  300  

x x
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises

1. Sketch the graph of y  s in  for the interval

0    360
Write down an angle  between 0 and 360 
( not equal to the given angle! ) where
(a) s in   s in 4 0  (b) s in   s in 2 4 0 
Ans: (c) s in    s in 5 0  (d) s in    s in 2 8 0 
y y  s in 
x
(a)   140 
(b)   300 
230  310  
50  (c)   2 3 0  or 3 1 0 
x x
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises

1. Sketch the graph of y  s in  for the interval

0    360
Write down an angle  between 0 and 360 
( not equal to the given angle! ) where
(a) s in   s in 4 0  (b) s in   s in 2 4 0 
Ans: (c) s in    s in 5 0  (d) s in    s in 2 8 0 
y y  s in 
xx (a)   140 
(b)   300 

280  
(c)   2 3 0  or 3 1 0 

80  100

(d)  8 0  or 1 0 0 
x
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises
2(a) Sketch a circle with radius 1 and centre at the
origin O.
(b) Mark a point P (x, y) on the circumference in the 1st
quadrant.
(c) Mark , the angle between the radius OP and
the x-axis.
(d) Using the sketch, write down an expression for cos  .
(e) Use the sketch to estimate enough values of cos 
to sketch the graph of cos  for 0    90  .
(f) Refer to the circle to determine symmetry and
 
hence complete the graph for  3 6 0    7 2 0 .
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises
y 2. (a), (b), and (c)
2. Solution: See diagram

P (x, y) (d ) cos   x
1

 x
O x N
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises
y 2. (a), (b), and (c)
2. Solution: See diagram
(d ) cos   x
(e) e.g.

90  
  0, x 1
60 30 x 
O x  0xx 5=01 8   30 , x  08
x=0   60 , x  05
  90 , x0
As  increases, x
decreases from 1 to 0

When we sketch the graph we use y instead of x.

 Graphs of s in  and cos 
Exercises
2(f) Solution:

y 
y  cos 



Notice that y  co s  is symmetric about   0

( the y-axis ).
Graphs of s in  and cos 
 Graphs of s in  and cos 

The following slide contains repeats of

information on the earlier slide, shown
without colour, so that it can be printed
and photocopied.
 Graphs of s in  and cos 
• The trig functions s in  and cos  are defined
for any angle.
• The graphs repeat every 360 .
• The minimum value is  1 and the maximum is 1.
• The graphs for 0    3 6 0  are

y  s in  y  co s 

 