MATH 121: ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY

Introduction to Trigonometry

Ralph A. Twum, PhD

First Semester, 2022

Department of Mathematics
University of Ghana

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Outline

1 Radian Measure

2 Trigonometric Functions

3 Inverse Trigonometric Functions

4 Trigonometric Identities

5 The expression a cos θ + b sin θ

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We now consider the trigonometric functions.
These have important applications throughout mathematics, and
we will be studying them in calculus as well.

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Radian Measure
Length of an Arc

We are familiar with measuring angles in degrees, due to the

Babylonians:
The number 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30. This
makes it a useful reference digit, which is what was used in ancient
Babylon.
For our purposes, a circle has 360 degrees (360○ ). An angle in a
circle is a measurement of part or all of the circle.

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Angles are positive when measured in the anticlockwise direction,
and negative when measured in the clockwise direction.

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The Unit Circle and Radian Measure

Consider the unit circle above (with equation x2 + y 2 = 1)

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The angle subtended by the circle is 360○ , and the length of the arc
(which is the circumference) is 2π.
Using the arc length equation s = rθ, we can define the radian
measure of an angle as follows:
1 radian (denoted 1 or 1c ) is the measure of the angle of the unit
circle so the length of the arc equals its radius.

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The importance of the radian measure is that it converts angles
from degree measure to real numbers, which is useful for the
trigonometric functions we are studying. We will use the radian
measure as often as possible.

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The importance of the radian measure is that it converts angles
from degree measure to real numbers, which is useful for the
trigonometric functions we are studying. We will use the radian
measure as often as possible.
Since the circumference of the unit circle is 2π, we have the
following way to convert between degrees and radians

360○ ≡ 2π
180○ ≡ π

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So to convert from degrees to radians, we multiply by π/180○ , and
to convert from radians to degrees, we multiply by 180○ /π. The
following table summarizes common angles in degree and radian
measure.

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Degree Radian
0○ 0
30○ π/6
45○ π/4
60○ π/3
90○ π/2
120○ 2π/3
180○ π
360○ 2π

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Trigonometric Functions
Trigonometric Functions - Unit Circle

Consider the diagram of the unit circle we had earlier:

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Suppose the point B has coordinates (x, y). Then x2 + y 2 = 1. We
define the cosine of the angle θ = CAB to be the value of x,
denoted cos θ = x. Similarly, we denote the sine of θ to be y.
Therefore for any point P (x, y) on the unit circle, x = cos θ, and
y = sin θ.

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If we use a circle of radius r, our equation becomes x2 + y 2 = r2 .
Our definitions are modified as follows:
x
We have for any point P (x, y) on our new circle, cos θ = and
y r
sin θ = . This is similar to the definition of trigonometric functions
r
using right triangles.

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Other Trigonometric Functions

Given a point on the unit circle, we can find the sine and cosine of
the corresponding angle θ. We can define other trigonometric
functions. We present a few:

y 1 1
tan θ = sec θ = =
x x cos θ
x 1 1 1
cot θ = = csc θ = =
y tan θ x sin θ
1
1
In some books csc is written as cosec.
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Note that these are trigonometric functions of real numbers, so the
domain is some subset of the set of real numbers.
For instance, for the sine function, we can find the sine of any
angle, positive or negative, but from our definition, the image
cannot lie outside the closed interval [−1, 1]. The same holds for
the cosine function.
The graphs for each of the six trigonometric functions are presented
below.

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The Sine Function

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The Cosine Function

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Sine and Cosine

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The Tangent Function

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The Cosecant Function

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Sine and Cosecant

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The Secant Function

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Cosine and Secant

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The Cotangent Function

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Tangent and Cotangent

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions
We have noticed that none of the trigonometric functions are
injective. However, by restricting the domain, we can find the
inverses to these functions.
Consider the sine function. By considering

sin ∶ [−π/2, π/2] → [−1, 1],

we can define the arcsine, denoted sin−1 (x).

For instance, since sin(π/6) = 21 , sin−1 (1/2) = π/6. But there are
other solutions!
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We see that, to solve the equation
1
sin x =
2
1
Or, x = sin−1 ( )
2

x = π/6 and x = 5π/6 are solutions within the interval 0 ≤ x ≤ 2π.

We can also find other solutions within larger intervals.

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Example 1
Solve the following trigonometric equations:
1 sin x = − 21
√
3
2 cos x = 2

3 tan x = −1
4 sec x = −2
−2
5 csc x = √
3
.

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In order to solve trigonometric equations, we need to locate where
the angle is in the plane.

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From the definition of the trigonometric functions, we can locate
where the angles are likely to lie. We can then solve the equation
by use of reference angles or by formulas.

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We will cover more examples of these when we start solving more
general trigonometric equations.

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Trigonometric Identities
Trigonometric Identities

Because of the nature of trigonometric functions, we can establish

several useful trigonometric identities.
From the unit circle approach to the definition of the trigonometric
functions, we note that for a point P (x, y) on the unit circle,
x2 + y 2 = 1. Since x = cos θ, y = sin θ, we have the first of many
useful identities, the Pythagorean Identity:

sin2 θ + cos2 θ ≡ 1.

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We can formulate the Pythagorean Identity in other ways:
Given
sin2 θ + cos2 θ ≡ 1 (1)
Dividing (1) by cos2 θ, we obtain

tan2 θ + 1 ≡ sec2 θ

Dividing (1) by sin2 θ, we obtain

1 + cot2 θ ≡ csc2 θ

These equations will be very useful in Calculus I and II.

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Let us summarize some important fundamental identities:
Reciprocal Identities:

1 1
sin x ≡ csc x ≡
csc x sin x
1 1
cos x ≡ sec x ≡
sec x cos x
1 1
tan x ≡ cot x ≡
cot x tan x

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Quotient Identities:
sin x
tan x ≡
cos x
cos x
cot x ≡
sin x
Even/Odd Identities:

sin(−x) ≡ − sin x cos(−x) ≡ cos x tan(−x) ≡ − tan x

csc(−x) ≡ − csc x sec(−x) ≡ sec x cot(−x) ≡ − cot x

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Cofunction Identities

π π
sin ( − x) ≡ cos x sec ( − x) ≡ csc x
2 2
π π
cos ( − x) ≡ sin x csc ( − x) ≡ sec x
2 2
π π
tan ( − x) ≡ cot x cot ( − x) ≡ tan x
2 2

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Example 2
sin θ cos θ
Simplify the expression + .
1 + cos θ sin θ
We have
sin θ cos θ sin2 θ + cos θ + cos2 θ
+ =
1 + cos θ sin θ (1 + cos θ) sin θ
1 + cos θ
=
(1 + cos θ) sin θ
1
=
sin θ

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Example 3
Simplify the following expressions:
cot x
1
csc x
sec2 x − 1
2
sin2 x
sin θ csc θ
3 .
tan θ

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Verifying Identities

To verify an identity, we select one side, and using the fundamental

identities, convert that side into the other.
Example 4
Verify the identity (1 + sin α)(1 − sin α) ≡ cos2 α).

(1 + sin α)(1 − sin α) ≡ 12 − sin2 α

≡ cos2 α

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Example 5
Verify the following identities:
cot2 t 1 − sin2 t
1 ≡
csc t sin t
sec θ − 1
2 ≡ sec θ
1 − cos θ
1 + sin x cos x
3 + ≡ 2 sec x.
cos x 1 + sin x
1 1
4 + ≡ −2 csc x cot x.
cos x + 1 cos x − 1

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Sum and Difference Formulas

We can show that, given angles A, B ∈ R, the following hold:

sin(A ± B) = sin A cos B ± cos A sin B

cos(A ± B) = cos A cos B ∓ sin A sin B
tan A ± tan B
tan(A ± B) =
1 ∓ tan A tan B

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Double-Angle Formulas

If A = B, the previous equations reduce to the following:

sin(2A) = 2 sin A cos A

cos(2A) = cos2 A − sin2 A
2 tan A
tan(2A) =
1 − tan2 A
We can derive other multiple angle formulas.

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Half-Angle Formulas

If 2A = θ, then A = θ/2. The double angle formulas can then be

expressed differently:

sin(θ) = 2 sin(θ/2) cos(θ/2)

cos(θ) = cos2 (θ/2) − sin2 (θ/2)
2 tan(θ/2)
tan(θ) =
1 − tan2 (θ/2)

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Example 6
1 Find the exact value of sin 75○ .
2 Given that cos u = − 45 , π
2 < u < π, find the exact values of sin 2u,
cos 2u, and tan 2u.
tan 45○ − tan 30○
3 Find the exact value of .
1 + tan 45○ tan 30○
4 Solve the equation cos(x − π/2) + sin2 x = 0 in the interval
[0, 2π).

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We can then derive the following equations2 :
√
1 + cos θ
cos(θ/2) = ±
2
√
1 − cos θ
sin(θ/2) = ±
2
√
1 − cos θ
tan(θ/2) = ±
1 + cos θ

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The ± sign is dependent on the quadrant of θ/2.
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The expression a cos θ + b sin θ
Linear Combinations of Sine and Cosine

As we have seen, y = sin x and y1 = cos x are both sinusoidal

graphs. This means any linear combination of y and y1 is also a
sinusoidal graph. We may express it as a sine or a cosine.
Given a linear combination

a sin θ + b cos θ,

we can express the linear combination in the forms R cos(θ ± α) or

R sin(θ ± α), as follows.

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Suppose a sin θ + b cos θ = R cos(θ + α). Then

a sin θ + b cos θ = R(cos θ cos α − sin θ sin α)

= R cos θ cos α − R sin θ sin α

Therefore, matching sin θ and cos θ, we have

a = −R sin α, b = R cos α
Solving for R and α, we get R2 = a2 + b2 , α = tan−1 (−a/b).

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We can express the linear combinations as any of the other three
forms.
Example 7 √
Solve the equation sin θ − 3 cos θ = 1, where 0 ≤ θ < 2π.
Solution:
√
We express sin θ − 3 cos θ in the form R sin(θ − α). (We can use
any of the others)

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 √
Let R sin(θ − α) = sin θ − 3 cos θ
√
R sin θ cos α − R sin θ sin α = sin θ − 3 cos θ
√
Therefore R cos α = 1, R sin α = 3.
So R2 = 1 + 3 = 4. Then R = 2.
√
θ = tan−1 ( 3) = π/3

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 π
We have 2 sin(θ − ) = 1
3
π
sin(θ − ) = 1/2
3
π π π 5π
θ− = , θ− =
3 6 3 6
π 7π
∴θ = ,
2 6

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Example 8 √
Solve the equation cos θ + sin θ = 2.

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