DP IB Analysis & Approaches Your notes

(AA): HL
Inverse & Reciprocal Trigonometric Functions
Contents
Reciprocal Trigonometric Functions
Inverse Trigonometric Functions

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 Reciprocal Trigonometric Functions
Your notes
Reciprocal Trig Functions
What are the reciprocal trig functions?
There are three reciprocal trig functions that each correspond to either sin, cos or tan
Secant (sec x)

1
secx =
cos x
Cosecant (cosec x)

1
cosec x =
sin x
Cotangent (cot x)

1
cot x = tan x
The identities above for sec x and cosec x are given in the formula booklet
The identity for cot x is not given, you will need to remember it
A good way to remember which function is which is to look at the third letter in each
of the reciprocal trig functions
cot x is 1 over tan x etc
Each of the reciprocal trig functions are undefined for certain values of x
sec x is undefined for values of x for which cos x = 0
cosec x is undefined for values of x for which sin x = 0
cot x is undefined for values of x for which tan x = 0
When tan x is undefined, cot x = 0

sin x
Rearranging the identity tan x = cos x gives

cos x
cot x = sin x
This is not in the formula booklet but is easily derived
Be careful not to confuse the reciprocal trig functions with the inverse trig functions

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 1
sin−1 x ≠ sin x
Your notes
What do the graphs of the reciprocal trig functions look like?
The graph of y = secx has the following properties:
The y-axis is a line of symmetry
It has a period of 360° (2π radians)
There are vertical asymptotes wherever cos x = 0
If drawing the graph without the help of a GDC it is a good idea to sketch cos
x first and draw these in
The domain is all x except odd multiples of 90° (90°, -90°, 270°, -270°, etc.)
in radians this is all x except odd multiples of π/2 (π/2, - π/2, 3π/2, -3π/2, etc.)
The range is y ≤ -1 or y ≥ 1

The graph of y = cosec x has the following properties:

It has a period of 360° (2π radians)
There are vertical asymptotes wherever sin x = 0
If drawing the graph it is a good idea to sketch sin x first and draw these in
The domain is all x except multiples of 180° (0°, 180°, -180°, 360°, -360°, etc.)
in radians this is all x except multiples of π (0, π, - π, 2π, -2π, etc.)
The range is y ≤ -1 or y ≥ 1

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 Your notes

The graph of y = cot x has the following properties

It has a period of 180° or π radians
There are vertical asymptotes wherever tan x = 0
The domain is all x except multiples of 180° (0°, 180°, -180°, 360°, -360°, etc.)
In radians this is all x except multiples of π (0, π, - π, 2π, -2π, etc.)
The range is y ∈ ℝ (i.e. cot can take any real number value)

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 Your notes
Examiner Tips and Tricks
To solve equations with the reciprocal trig functions, convert them into the
regular trig functions and solve in the usual way
Don't forget that both tan and cot can be written in terms of sin and cos
You will sometimes see csc instead of cosec for cosecant

Worked Example
Without the use of a calculator, find the values of

a) sec
π
6

b) cot 45 °

Pythagorean Identities
What are the Pythagorean Identities?
Aside from the Pythagorean identity sin2x + cos2x = 1 there are two further Pythagorean
identities you will need to learn

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 1 + tan2 θ = sec2 θ
1 + cot2 θ = cosec2 θ Your notes

Both can be found in the formula booklet

Both of these identities can be derived from sin2x + cos2x = 1
To derive the identity for sec2x divide sin2x + cos2x = 1 by cos2x
To derive the identity for cosec2x divide sin2x + cos2x = 1 by sin2x

Examiner Tips and Tricks

All the Pythagorean identities can be found in the Topic 3: Geometry and
Trigonometry section of the formula booklet

Worked Example
Solve the equation 9 sec2 θ – 11 = 3 tan θ in the interval 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π.

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 Your notes

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 Inverse Trigonometric Functions
Your notes
Inverse Trig Functions
What are the inverse trig functions?
The functions arcsin, arccos and arctan are the inverse functions of sin, cos and tan
respectively when their domains are restricted
sin (arcsin x) = x for -1 ≤ x ≤ 1
cos (arccos x) = x for -1 ≤ x ≤ 1
tan (arctan x) = x for all x
You will have seen and used the inverse trig operations many times already
Arcsin is the operation sin-1
Arccos is the operation cos-1
Arctan is the operation tan-1
The domains of sin, cos, and tan must first be restricted to make them one-to-one
functions
A function can only have an inverse if it is a one-to-one function
The domain of sin x is restricted to -π/2 ≤ x ≤ π/2 (-90° ≤ x ≤ 90°)
The domain of cos x is restricted to 0 ≤ x ≤ π (0° ≤ x ≤ 180°)
The domain of tan x is restricted to -π/2 < x < π/2 (-90° < x < 90°)
Be aware that sin-1 x, cos-1 x, and tan-1 x are not the same as the reciprocal trig functions
They are used to solve trig equations such as sin x = 0.5 for all values of x
arcsin x is the same as sin-1 x but not the same as (sin x)-1

What do the graphs of the inverse trig functions look like?

The graphs of arcsin, arccos and arctan are the reflections of the graphs of sin, cos and
tan (after their domains have been restricted) in the line y = x
The domains of arcsin x and arccos x are both -1 ≤ x ≤ 1
The range of arcsin x is -π/2 ≤ y ≤ π/2

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 Your notes

The range of arccos x is 0 ≤ y ≤ π

The domain of arctan x is x ∈ ℝ

The range of arctan x is -π/2 < y < π/2
Note that there are horizontal asymptotes at π/2 and -π/2

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 Your notes

How are the inverse trig functions used?

The functions arcsin, arccos and arctan are used to evaluate trigonometric equations
such as sin x = 0.5
If sin x = 0.5 then arcsin 0.5 = x for values of x between -π/2 ≤ x ≤ π/2
You can then use symmetries of the trig function to find solutions over other
intervals
The inverse trig functions are also used to help evaluate algebraic expressions
From sin (arcsin x) = x we can also say that sinn(arcsin x) = xn for -1 ≤ x ≤ 1
If using an inverse trig function to evaluate an algebraic expression then remember
to consider the domain and range of the function
arcsin(sin x) = x only for -π/2 ≤ x ≤ π/2
arccos(cos x) = x only for 0 ≤ x ≤ π
arctan(tan x) = x only for -π/2 < x < π/2
The symmetries of the trig functions can be used when values lie outside of the
domain or range
Using sin(x) = sin(π - x) you get arcsin(sin(2π/3)) = arcsin(sin(π/3)) = π/3

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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 Make sure you know the shapes of the graphs for sin, cos and tan so that you can
=
easily reflect them in the line y x and hence sketch the graphs of
Your notes
arcsin, arccos and arctan

Worked Example

Given that x satisfies the equation arccos x = k where π2 < k < π , state the
range of possible values of x .

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