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Trigonometry Made Easy

by Kevin Skolnick
Table of Contents
Sine 3

Cosine 4

Tangent 5

Inverse vs. Reciprocal Functions 6

Radians and the Unit Circle 8

Graphs 9
Sine
The sine of an angle is the ratio of the leg opposite that angle to the hypotenuse.

Hy
A

po
te
nu
se
Opposite

Example

The triangle at right was set up using the pythagorean theorem.

A = 30° B = 60°
A
If the sine of A equals the opposite length
over the hypotenuse, then the sine of 30°
would equal 1/2.
30°
2

60°
B
1
Cosine
The cosine of an angle is the ratio of the leg adjacent to that angle to the hypotenuse.

Hy
A

po
te
nu
se
Adjacent

Example

A = 30° B = 60°
A
If the cosine of A equals the opposite length
over the hypotenuse, then the cosine of 30°
would equal the square root of 3 over 2.
30°
2

60°
B
Notice that cos(A) equals sin(B) and cos(B) 1
equals sin(A). The relationship between sine
and cosine is as follows:
Tangent
The tangent of an angle is the ratio of the leg opposite that angle to the adjacent leg.

A
Adjacent

Opposite

Example

A = 30° B = 60°
A
If the tangent of A equals the opposite length
over the adjacent length, then the tangent of 30°
would equal 1 over the square root of 3.
30°
2

60°
B
1
As a side note:
Inverse vs. Reciprocal Functions
They are not the same...

Inverse Functions

If you take the sine of an angle, you get a ratio. However, you take the inverse sine
(arcsine) of the ratio to get an angle.

Inverse sine = arcsine


Inverse cosine = arccosine
Inverse tangent = arctangent

Notice the notations for the arcsine. This applies to all inverse trigonometric functions.

Example:

Reciprocal Functions

To reiterate, if you take the sine of an angle, you get opposite over hypotenuse. If you
take the reciprocal function (cosecant), you get hypotenuse over opposite.

Reciprocal of sine = cosecant (csc)


Reciprocal of cosine = secant (sec)
Reciprocal of tangent = cotangent (cot)

Examples:

Inverse vs. Reciprocal Functions continued onto the next page


The Differences

The inverse of a trigonometric function gives you the angle instead of the ratio.
The reciprocal of a trigonometric function gives you the inverse of the ratio.

This is better explained in the examples below:

Therefore,

Remember this:

IS NOT

This is why it is less confusing to use “arcsin” instead of “sin-1.”


Radians and the Unit Circle
Radians are simply another unit to measure angles, like degrees. Though, they are
usually measured in terms of pi. Radians are used almost always instead of degrees in
trigonometry.

The unit circle is a circle with a radius of 1. It demonstrates many ideas in trigonometry
and in geometry.

First, it can show the relationship between degrees and radians. The length of the
segment between the two rays of any angle is equal to that angleʼs measure in radians.

45°

Also, the unit circle can define the functions of sine and cosine. If a triangle is drawn
within the unit circle like the one below, its hypotenuse will always be 1 (the radius of the
unit circle). Since the sine of an angle is the opposite leg over the hypotenuse and the
cosine is the adjacent leg over the hypotenuse, the legs of the triangle below will be
equal to the sine and cosine of the angle.
Graphs
5 5

2.5 2.5

-10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 0 2.5 5 7.5 10 -10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 0 2.5 5 7.5 10

-2.5 -2.5

-5
-5

5 5

2.5 2.5

-10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 0 2.5 5 7.5 10 -10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 0 2.5 5 7.5 10

-2.5 -2.5

-5
-5

5 5

2.5 2.5

-10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 0 2.5 5 7.5 10 -10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 0 2.5 5 7.5 10

-2.5 -2.5

-5
-5

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