Review of Basic Trigonometry

1 Definitions of cos θ and sin θ

Draw a circle of radius r = 1 centered at the origin. This is the unit circle. Now pick a point
somewhere on the perimeter of the circle and call the coordinates of this point (x, y). A line
drawn from this point to the center of the circle will be 1 unit long (since the radius of the
circle is 1) and will make an angle θ (the Greek letter Theta) between itself an the positive
x-axis; θ is positive if measured in the counter-clockwise direction and negative if measured
clockwise.
y
(0, 1)
(x, y)

1 y

(−1, 0) θ
x
x (1, 0)

(0, −1)

Notice that for any point on the circle’s perimeter, x and y will always have values between
−1 and 1, and that both these values will change as θ changes. It turns out to be terrifically
helpful to have functions that tell us the values of x and y given a value for θ.

Definition: Let x and y be given as described above. Then

cos θ = x and sin θ = y

give the definitions of the cosine and sine functions, respectively.

2 A Unit Circle Reference

The following reference unit circle1 can help you with the values of cosine and sine for a
range of common angles. Note: For reasons that will become clear during the semester, we
always prefer to measure angles using radians rather than degrees. Please make sure your
calculator is in radian mode!
1
Based on one from http://www.texample.net/media/tikz/examples/TEX/unit-circle.tex
 y

(0, 1)
 √   √ 
3 3
− 12 , 2
1
,
2 2
 √ √  √ √ 
2
− 2
, 22 π
2
2
, 22
2
2π π
 √  3 3 √ 
3 1 3 1
− ,
2 2
3π
90 ◦ π
4
,
2 2
4
5π
120◦ 60◦ π
6 6
150◦ 30◦
(−1, 0) (1, 0)
π 180◦ 0◦ ◦ 2π
360 x

210◦ 330◦
7π 11π
6 ◦ ◦ 6
 √  5π 240 300 7π
√ 
− 2
3
, − 21 4 270◦ 4 2
3
, − 21
4π 5π
√ √ 3 3 √ √ 
3π
 
2
− 2
, − 22 2 2
2
, − 2
2
 √   √ 
− 2 , − 23
1 1
2
, − 23
(0, −1)

The coordinates shown around the √perimeter of the circle give the values of cos θ and sin θ,
respectively. For example, cos π6 = 23 and sin π6 = 21 .

3 Four More Trigonometric Functions

There are four more trigonometric functions that are defined in terms of sine and cosine.

Definition: We define tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant as

sin θ cos θ 1 1
tan θ = , cot θ = , sec θ = , csc θ =
cos θ sin θ cos θ sin θ
Here are a few questions to think about. You may find it helpful to refer to the unit circle
diagrams on the previous pages.
1. The range of sin θ and cos θ is [−1, 1] (all values from −1 to 1). What is the range of
each of these new functions?

2. Both sin θ and cos θ are defined for all real numbers. Are there any values of θ at which
these new functions are not defined?

4 SOHCAHTOA
Let’s draw a reference triangle – this is a right triangle with one of the other angles labeled.
The side opposite the right angle is called the hypotenuse, the side connecting the right angle
to the labeled angle is the adjacent side, and the remaining side is the opposite side (it is
opposite the named angle).

hypotenuse
opposite
θ
adjacent

The mnemonic “SOHCAHTOA” stands for “Sine – Opposite over Hypotenuse; Cosine –
Adjacent over Hypotenuse; Tangent – Opposite over Adjacent.” Many find this helps them
remember the relationship between each of the trigonometric functions and ratios of side
lengths on a reference triangle.

The Sine of θ is the ratio of The Cosine of θ is the ra- The Tangent of θ is the
the length of the Opposite tio of the length of the ratio of the length of the
side to the length of the Adjacent side to the length Opposite side to the length
Hypotenuse. of the Hypotenuse. of the Adjacent side.
opposite adjacent opposite
sin θ = . cos θ = . tan θ = .
hypotenuse hypotenuse adjacent

5 Trigonometric Identities
Remember the Pythagorean Theorem? It
says that if a, b, and c are the lengths of c
b
the sides of any right triangle with c being
the length of the hypotenuse, the relation- a
ship a2 + b2 = c2 holds.

Look back at the triangle on the first page. Using the Pythagorean Theorem we see that
y 2 + x2 = 12 . However, since we defined cos θ = x and sin θ = y, we see that

sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1.

This is a trigonometric identity; a relation that is always true regardless of the value of θ.
Dividing this by either cos θ or sin θ we have two more identities:

tan2 θ + 1 = sec2 θ, 1 + cot2 θ = csc2 θ.

Here are several more useful identities.

• sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β • cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β
1 1
• sin2 θ = (1 − cos 2θ) • cos2 θ = (1 + cos 2θ)
2 2
• sin 2θ = 2 sin θ cos θ • cos 2θ = cos2 θ − sin2 θ

• cos(−θ) = cos θ (even function) • sin(−θ) = − sin θ (odd function)

The last two statements demonstrate that sin θ and cos θ are odd and even functions, re-
spectively. Can you see, by looking at the unit circle, why these must be true?

5.1 Trigonometric Identities you should remember

In this and the following sections we will see how, starting with just three of the identi-
ties listed on the previous page, we can derive nearly all the commonly used trigonometric
identities. The “big three” identities are

sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1 (1)

sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β (2)

cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β (3)
Using these we can derive many other identities. Even if we commit the other useful identities
to memory, these three will help be sure that our signs are correct, etc.

5.2 Two more easy identities

From equation (1) we can generate two more identities. First, divide each term in (1) by
cos2 θ (assuming it is not zero) to obtain

tan2 θ + 1 = sec2 θ. (4)

When we divide by sin2 θ (again assuming it is not zero) we get

1 + cot2 θ = csc2 θ. (5)

5.3 Identities involving the difference of two angles

From equations (2) and (3) we can get several useful identities. First, recall that

cos(−θ) = cos θ, sin(−θ) = − sin θ. (6)

From (2) we see that

sin(α − β) = sin(α + (−β))

= sin α cos(−β) + cos α sin(−β)

which, using the relationships in (6), reduces to

sin(α − β) = sin α cos β − cos α sin β. (7)

In a similar way, we can use equation (3) to find

cos(α − β) = cos(α + (−β))

= cos α cos(−β) − sin α sin(−β)

which simplifies to
cos(α − β) = cos α cos β + sin α sin β. (8)
Notice that by remembering the identities (2) and (3) you can easily work out the signs in
these last two identities.
5.4 Identities involving products of Sines and Cosines
If we now add equation (2) to equation (7)

sin(α − β) = sin α cos β − cos α sin β

+(sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β)

we find
sin(α − β) + sin(α + β) = 2 sin α cos β
and dividing both sides by 2 we obtain the identity
1 1
sin α cos β = sin(α − β) + sin(α + β). (9)
2 2
In the same way we can add equations (3) and (8)

cos(α − β) = cos α cos β + sin α sin β

+(cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β)

to get
cos(α − β) + cos(α + β) = 2 cos α cos β
which can be rearranged to yield the identity
1 1
cos α cos β = cos(α − β) + cos(α + β). (10)
2 2
Suppose we wanted an identity involving sin α sin β. We can find one by slightly modifying
the last thing we did. Rather than adding equations (3) and (8), all we need to do is subtract
equation (3) from equation (8):

cos(α − β) = cos α cos β + sin α sin β

−(cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β)

This gives
cos(α − β) − cos(α + β) = 2 sin α sin β
or, in the form we prefer,
1 1
sin α sin β = cos(α − β) − cos(α + β). (11)
2 2

5.5 Double angle identities

Now a couple of easy ones. If we let α = β in equations (2) and (3) we get the two identities

sin 2α = 2 sin α cos α, (12)

cos 2α = cos2 α − sin2 α. (13)
5.6 Identities for Sine squared and Cosine squared
If we have α = β in equation (10) then we find
1 1
cos α cos α = cos(α − α) + cos(α + α)
2 2
1 1
cos2 α = cos 0 + cos 2α.
2 2
Simplifying this and doing the same with equation (11) we find the two identities
1
cos2 α = (1 + cos 2α), (14)
2
1
sin2 α = (1 − cos 2α). (15)
2

5.7 Identities involving tangent

Finally, from equations (2) and (3) we can obtain an identity for tan(α + β):

sin(α + β) sin α cos β + cos α sin β

tan(α + β) = = .
cos(α + β) cos α cos β − sin α sin β

Now divide numerator and denominator by cos α cos β to obtain the identity we wanted:
tan α + tan β
tan(α + β) = . (16)
1 − tan α tan β

We can get the identity for tan(α − β) by replacing β in (16) by −β and noting that tangent
is an odd function:
tan α − tan β
tan(α − β) = . (17)
1 + tan α tan β

5.8 Summary
There are many other identities that can be generated this way. In fact, the derivations above
are not unique — many trigonometric identities can be obtained many different ways. The
idea here is to be very familiar with a small number of identities so that you are comfortable
manipulating and combining them to obtain whatever identity you need to.
6 A Short Table of Identities
1. sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1

2. tan2 θ + 1 = sec2 θ

3. 1 + cot2 θ = csc2 θ

4. sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β

5. cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β

6. sin(α − β) = sin α cos β − cos α sin β

7. cos(α − β) = cos α cos β + sin α sin β

1 1
8. sin α cos β = sin(α − β) + sin(α + β)
2 2
1 1
9. cos α cos β = cos(α − β) + cos(α + β)
2 2
1 1
10. sin α sin β = cos(α − β) − cos(α + β)
2 2

11. sin 2α = 2 sin α cos α

12. cos 2α = cos2 α − sin2 α

1
13. cos2 α = (1 + cos 2α)
2
1
14. sin2 α = (1 − cos 2α)
2

tan α + tan β
15. tan(α + β) =
1 − tan α tan β
tan α − tan β
16. tan(α − β) =
1 + tan α tan β