26 CONTENTS

1.6 Trigonometric Functions

When students first encounter trigonometry, it is usually in the context of the study of triangles. Whereas
the study of triangles is very important in many parts of mathematics and its applications, for calculus our
main interest in trigonometry is not the study of triangles, but is rather the six trigonometric functions,
which arise from the study of triangles, but which are also useful in many other context, for example
oscillatory motion.

Radians and Degrees

The study of triangles involves the measurement of angles. As with other types of measurements, for ex-
ample length, volume and weight, the measurement of angles involves units of measurement. And, just as
there are various units that are used for the measurement of length (for examples, inches and centimeters),
so too for angles there are various units that can be used. The units for measuring angles that is the most
commonly used in elementary school, middle school and high school are degrees. For calculus, however,
it is important to stress that degrees are the wrong units to be used for measuring angles, and instead the
only units that should be used for calculus are radians.
The problem with degrees is that they are a completely arbitrary unit of measurement. One degree is
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obtained by taking a complete angle around a point and dividing it into 360 equal parts. The choice of
360 is completely arbitrary; any other number could have been used. By contrast, radians are not arbitrary,
because they are based upon the circumference of the unit circle (that is, the circle of radius 1 centered at
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the origin in the plane).

Because we all learn about degrees before learning about radians, the key to using radians is to know
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how to convert degrees to radians and vice-versa. The key to that conversion is to recall that the circum-
ference of the unit circle is 2π, and the unit circle corresponds to a complete angle around a point, which
is 360◦ . Hence 360◦ is equal to 2π radians, which leads to the following method for conversion between
degrees and radians.

Degrees to Radians Conversion

π
1. To convert an angle in degrees to radians, multiply by .
180
180
2. To convert an angle in radians to degrees, multiply by .
π

Some regularly used conversions between degrees and radians are the following.

Degrees to Radians Conversion: Standard Angles

π 3π
1. 90◦ = 2 rad. 3. 270◦ = 2 rad.

2. 180◦ = π rad. 4. 360◦ = 2π rad.

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The Six Trigonometric Functions

When you first learn about the six trigonometric functions, it is usually in the context of angles in right
triangles. That approach is correct, but limited in use, because the angles in a right triangle must be
between 0◦ and 90◦ , or, stated properly in radians, between 0 and π2 . For calculus and its applications,
by contrast, we need the six trigonometric functions defined for all real numbers (in the case of sine and
cosine), and almost all real numbers (in the case of tangent, cotangent, secant and cosecant).
In order to define the six trigonometric functions for all (or almost all) real numbers, we use the unit
circle, which has equation x2 + y 2 = 1. Specifically, let t be a real number, which we think of as an angle
measured in radians. We plot this angle at the origin, starting with the positive x-axis and going counter-
clockwise, which then gives rise to a ray starting at the origin. This ray intersects the unit circle at a point
(x, y). We then form a right triangle, with one side of the triangle the line segment going from (x, y) to (x, 0),
with the other side of the triangle the line segment going from (x, 0) to (0, 0), and with the hypotenuse the
radius of the unit circle going from (0, 0) to (x, y). See Figure 2 of this section for what happens when (x, y)
is in the first quadrant; similar figures occur when (x, y) is in the other quadrants.

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Figure 2: Unit Circle and Trigonometric Functions

Using the point (x, y) on the unit circle, we then define the six trigonometric functions of t as follows:

y
sin t = y cos t = x tan t =
x
1 1 x
sec t = csc t = cot t = .
x y y

We note that sin t and cos t are defined for all real numbers t. By contrast, we see that tan t and sec t are
defined whenever x , 0, which is when x is not any of . . ., − 3π π π 3π
2 , − 2 , 2 , 2 , . . .. Similarly, we see that cot t and
csc t are defined whenever y , 0, which is when x is not any of . . ., −2π, −π, 0, π, 2π, . . ..
We also note that if t is between 0 and π2 , then the above definition of the six trigonometric functions of t
is the same as the definition given for angles in a Sright triangle, because the hypotenuse in the right triangle
has length 1. For example sin t is “opposite over hypotenuse,” and similarly for the other trigonometric
functions.

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Trigonometric Functions of Standard Angles

For most angles, a calculator or computer is needed to calculate the various trigonometric functions of
that angle. (When you are using radians to measure angles, and you are using a calculator, made sure the
calculator is set for radians rather than degrees.) However, there a few angle that occur so frequently that
it is worth knowing the values of sine and cosine of these angle. These values are as follows.

Sine of Standard Angles

√
3
1. sin 0 = 0. 4. sin π3 = sin 60◦ = 2 .
2. sin π6 = sin 30◦ = 12 . 5. sin π2 = sin 90◦ = 1.
√
2
3. sin π4 = sin 45◦ = 2 .

Cosine of Standard Angles

1. cos 0 = 1. 4. cos π3 = cos 60◦ = 21 .

√
3
2. cos π6 = cos 30◦ = 2 . 5. cos π2 = cos 90◦ = 0.
√
2
3. cos π4 = cos 45◦ = 2 .
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Observe that the values listed in Items (1)–(5) in the above chart for the values of cosine are in backwards
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order from the values listed in Items (1)–(5) in the above chart for the values of sine; that symmetry makes
these values √
easier
√ to remember. One
√ way of remembering these five values is that for sine, the five values
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√ √
0 1 2 3 4
in order are , , , and , which has a simple pattern.
2 2 2 2 2

Graphs of Functions
Graphs you should know: y = sin x, and y = cos x and y = tan x.

Basic Trigonometric Function Graphs

1. y = sin x

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1.6. TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS 29

2. y = cos x

3. y = tan x

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It is worth seeing (though not necessarily memorizing) the graphs of the other three trigonometric
functions: y = sec x, and y = csc x and y = cot x.

Optional: Additional Trigonometric Function Graphs

1. y = sec x

2. y = csc x

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3. y = cot x

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Trigonometric Identities
There are a number of relations, called trigonometric identities, between various of the six trigonometric
functions. The most basic trigonometric identities are the following.

Basic Trigonometric Formulas

Let x be a real number.

sin x
1. tan x = cos x . 5. sin(x + 2π) = sin x.
1
2. sec x = cos x . 6. cos(x + 2π) = cos x.
1
3. csc x = sin x . 7. sin2 x + cos2 x = 1.
cos x
4. cot x = sin x .

There are a a number of other useful trigonometric identities that are useful in calculus on occasion. It
is not necessary to memorize these formulas, but it is important to know that they exist, and to be able to
find them when needed.

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1.6. TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS 31

Optional: Additional Trigonometric Formulas

Let x and y be real numbers.

1. sin(−x) = − sin x.

2. cos(−x) = cos x.

3. sin(x + y) = sin x cos y + cos x sin y.

4. sin(x − y) = sin x cos y − cos x sin y.

5. cos(x + y) = cos x cos y − sin x sin y.

6. cos(x − y) = cos x cos y + sin x sin y.

7. sin(2x) = 2 sin x cos x.

8. cos(2x) = cos2 x − sin2 x = 2 cos2 x − 1 = 1 − 2 sin2 x.

1 − cos(2x)
9. sin2 x = .
2
1 + cos(2x)
10. cos2 x = .
2
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EXERCISES
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1–4 Convert each of the following angle given in 9–12 Evaluate each expression without a calcula-
degrees to radians without calculator. tor.

5π π
   
1. 45◦ 2. −30◦ 9. sin 10. cos −
2 6
3. 135◦ 4. 330◦ π π
   
11. tan 12. csc
3 2

5–8 Convert each of the following angle given in

radians to degrees without calculator. 13–20 Suppose that angles α and β are between
π 3 12
0 and , and that sin α = and cos β = . Evaluate
π 2 5 13
5. 4π 6. each expression without a calculator.
6
3π 5π 13. sin(−α) 14. cos(−β)
7. − 8.
4 12
15. cos α 16. sin β

17. sin(2α) 18. cos(2α)

19. sin(α + β) 20. cos(α + β)

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21–24 Sketch the graph of each function.

π
21. y = sin x + 3 22. y = tan(x − )
2

23. y = 3 sec x 24. y = cos(2x)

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