List of trigonometric identities

The following table shows the conversions and values for

some common angles:
Unless otherwise specied, all angles in this article are
assumed to be in radians, but angles ending in a degree
symbol () are in degrees. Per Nivens theorem multiples
of 30 are the only angles that are a rational multiple of
one degree and also have a rational sine or cosine, which
may account for their popularity in examples.[1]

1.2 Trigonometric functions

The primary trigonometric functions are the sine and
cosine of an angle. These are sometimes abbreviated
sin() and cos(), respectively, where is the angle, but
the parentheses around the angle are often omitted, e.g.,
sin and cos .
The sine of an angle is dened in the context of a right
Cosines and sines around the unit circle triangle, as the ratio of the length of the side that is oppo-
site to the angle divided by the length of the longest side
In mathematics, trigonometric identities are equalities of the triangle (the hypotenuse).
that involve trigonometric functions and are true for ev-
ery single value of the occurring variables where both The cosine of an angle is also dened in the context of a
sides of the equality are dened. Geometrically, these right triangle, as the ratio of the length of the side that is
are identities involving certain functions of one or more adjacent to the angle divided by the length of the longest
angles. They are distinct from triangle identities, which side of the triangle (the hypotenuse).
are identities potentially involving angles but also involv- The tangent (tan) of an angle is the ratio of the sine to the
ing side lengths or other lengths of a triangle. Only the cosine:
former are covered in this article.
These identities are useful whenever expressions in- sin
volving trigonometric functions need to be simplied. tan = .
cos
An important application is the integration of non-
trigonometric functions: a common technique involves Finally, the reciprocal functions secant (sec), cosecant
rst using the substitution rule with a trigonometric func- (csc), and cotangent (cot) are the reciprocals of the co-
tion, and then simplifying the resulting integral with a sine, sine, and tangent:
trigonometric identity.
1 1 1 cos
sec = , csc = , cot = = .
cos sin tan sin
1 Notation
These denitions are sometimes referred to as ratio iden-
tities.
1.1 Angles
This article uses Greek letters such as alpha (), beta (), 2 Inverse functions
gamma (), and theta () to represent angles. Several dif-
ferent units of angle measure are widely used, including
degrees, radians, and gradians (gons): Main article: Inverse trigonometric functions

1 full circle (turn) = 360 degrees = 2 radians The inverse trigonometric functions are partial inverse
= 400 gons. functions for the trigonometric functions. For example,

1
2 6 ANGLE SUM AND DIFFERENCE IDENTITIES

the inverse function for the sine, known as the inverse Fc

sine (sin1 ) or arcsine (arcsin or asin), satises excsc H ot
cvs A
G
csc tan
1

cr
sin(arcsin x) = x for |x| 1 sin

d
arc
and C
O cos versin D exsec E

arcsin(sin x) = x for |x| /2. sec

This article uses the notation below for inverse trigono-
metric functions: B

All of the trigonometric functions of an angle can be con-

3 Pythagorean identity structed geometrically in terms of a unit circle centered at O.
Many of these terms are no longer in common use.

Main article: Pythagorean trigonometric identity

5 Symmetry, shifts, and periodicity
In trigonometry, the basic relationship between the sine
and the cosine is known as the Pythagorean identity: By examining the unit circle, the following properties of
the trigonometric functions can be established.

sin2 + cos2 = 1
where cos2 means (cos())2 and sin2 means (sin())2 .
This can be viewed as a version of the Pythagorean the-
orem, and follows from the equation x2 + y2 = 1 for the
unit circle. This equation can be solved for either the sine
or the cosine:
sin = 1 cos2 , particular, if = , then + cos = 1 .
cos = 1 sin2 .
where the sign depends on the quadrant of .
3.1 Related identities
Dividing the Pythagorean identity by either cos2 or sin2
yields two other identities:
1 + tan2 = sec2 and 1 + cot2 = csc2 .
Using these identities together with the ratio identities, it
is possible to express any trigonometric function in terms
of any other (up to a plus or minus sign):
5.1 Symmetry
When the trigonometric functions are reected from cer-
tain angles, the result is often one of the other trigono-
metric functions. This leads to the following identities:
Note that the sign in front of the trig function does not
necessarily indicate the sign of the value. For example,
+ cos does not always mean that cos is positive. In
5.2 Shifts and periodicity
By shifting the function round by certain angles, it is often
possible to nd dierent trigonometric functions that ex-
press particular results more simply. Some examples of
this are shown by shifting functions round by /2, and
2 radians. Because the periods of these functions are
either or 2, there are cases where the new function is
exactly the same as the old function without the shift.
6 Angle sum and dierence identi-
ties
See also: Product-to-sum and sum-to-product identities

4 Historical shorthands These are also known as the addition and subtraction the-
orems or formulae. They were originally established by
The versine, coversine, haversine, and exsecant were used the 10th century Persian mathematician Ab al-Waf'
in navigation. For example the haversine formula was Bzjn. The identities can be derived by combining right
used to calculate the distance between two points on a triangles such as in the adjacent diagram or by consider-
sphere. They are rarely used today. ing the invariance of the length of a chord on a unit circle
6.1 Matrix form 3

gives the sin and cos . The cos line is the hypotenuse
cos( + ) sin sin of a right angle triangle with angle so it has sides sin
and cos both multiplied by cos . This is the same for
+ the sin line. The original line is also the hypotenuse of

cos sin
a right angle triangle with angle +, the opposite side is
the sin(+) line up from the origin and the adjacent side
is the cos(+) segment going horizontally from the top

sin
left.

1

sin( + )

Overall the diagram can be used to show the sine and co-
sine of sum identities

sin( + ) = sin cos + cos sin

sin cos

cos cos( + ) = cos cos sin sin
because the opposite sides of the rectangle are equal.

6.1 Matrix form
cos cos
See also: matrix multiplication
Illustration of angle addition formulae for the sine and cosine.
Emphasized segment is of unit length.
The sum and dierence formulae for sine and cosine can
be written in matrix form as:
1 - tan tan tan tan
( )( )
cos sin cos sin
+ sin cos sin cos
tan
tan

( )
cos cos sin sin cos sin sin cos
=
/

sin cos + cos sin sin sin + cos cos

tan + tan

co

( )
s

cos( + ) sin( + )
= .
sin( + ) cos( + )

This shows that these matrices form a representation of

the rotation group in the plane (technically, the special or-
os thogonal group SO(2)), since the composition law is ful-
1/c
tan

lled: subsequent multiplications of a vector with these

two matrices yields the same result as the rotation by the

1
sum of the angles.

6.2 Sines and cosines of sums of innitely
many terms
Illustration of the angle addition formula for the tangent. Em- ( )
phasized segments are of unit length.
sin i = (1)(k1)/2 sin i cos i
i=1 odd k1 A{ 1,2,3,... } iA iA
|A|=k
given a particular central angle. Further, it is even possi-
( )
ble to derive the identities using Eulers Identity although

this would be a more obscure approach given that com- cos i = (1)k/2 sin i cos i
plex numbers are used. i=1 even k0 A{ 1,2,3,... } iA iA
|A|=k
For the angle addition diagram for the sine and cosine,
the line in bold with the 1 on it is of length 1. It is the In these two identities an asymmetry appears that is not
hypotenuse of a right angle triangle with angle which seen in the case of sums of nitely many terms: in each
4 7 MULTIPLE-ANGLE FORMULAE

product, there are only nitely many sine factors and 6.4 Secants and cosecants of sums
conitely many cosine factors. ( )

If only nitely many of the terms i are nonzero, then only sec i sec i
i =
nitely many of the terms on the right side will be nonzero i
e 0 e2 + e4

because sine factors will vanish, and in each term, all but ( )

nitely many of the cosine factors will be unity. i sec i
csc i =
i
e1 e3 + e5

6.3 Tangents of sums where ek is the kth-degree elementary symmetric poly-

nomial in the n variables xi = tan i, i = 1, ..., n, and
the number of terms in the denominator and the number
Let ek (for k = 0, 1, 2, 3, ...) be the kth-degree elementary
of factors in the product in the numerator depend on the
symmetric polynomial in the variables
number of terms in the sum on the left. The case of only
nitely many terms can be proved by mathematical in-
duction on the number of such terms. The convergence
xi = tan i of the series in the denominators can be shown by writing
the secant identity in the form
for i = 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., i.e.,

sec i
i
e0 e2 + e4 =
e0 = 1 sec ( i i )
and then observing that the left side converges if the right
e1 = xi = tan i
i i
side converges, and similarly for the cosecant identity.
For example,
e2 = xi xj = tan i tan j
i<j i<j
sec sec sec
e3 = xi xj xk = tan i tan j tan k sec( + + ) =
1 tan tan tan tan tan tan
i<j<k i<j<k
.. .. sec sec sec
. . csc( + + ) = .
tan + tan + tan tan tan tan
Then
7 Multiple-angle formulae
( )
e1 e3 + e5
tan i = . 7.1 Double-angle, triple-angle, and half-
i
e0 e2 + e4 angle formulae
The number of terms on the right side depends on the 7.1.1 Double-angle formulae
number of terms on the left side.
2 tan
For example: sin(2) = 2 cos sin =
1 + tan2
1 tan2
cos(2) = cos2 sin2 = 2 cos2 1 = 12 sin2 =
e1 x1 + x2 tan 1 + tan 2 1 + tan2
tan(1 + 2 ) = = = ,
e0 e2 1 x1 x2 1 tan 1 tan 22 tan
tan(2) =
1 tan2
e1 e3 (x1 + x2 + x3 ) (x1 x2 x3 ) 2
tan(1 + 2 + 3 ) = = ,cot 1
e0 e2 1 (x1 x2 + x1 xcot(2)
3 + x2 x=
3)
2 cot
e1 e3
tan(1 + 2 + 3 + 4 ) =
e0 e2 + e4 7.1.2 Triple-angle formulae
(x1 + x2 + x3 + x4 ) (x1 x 2 x3 + =
sin(3) x1 x x4 3+ x+1 x
2sin x42+ sin
3 3cos x2 x3 x
=4 )4, sin3 + 3 sin
=
1 (x1 x2 + x1 x3 + x1 x4 + x2 x3 + x2 x4 3+ x3 x4 ) + (x 1 2 3 x4 )
x x
cos(3) = cos 3 sin2 cos = 4 cos3 3 cos
and so on. The case of only nitely many terms can be 3 tan tan3
proved by mathematical induction.[15] tan(3) =
1 3 tan2
7.2 Sine, cosine, and tangent of multiple angles 5

3 cot cot3 of solving a cubic equation, which allows one to prove that
cot(3) =
1 3 cot2 trisection is in general impossible using the given tools, by
[16][18] eld theory.
A formula for computing the trigonometric identities for
the one-third angle exists, but it requires nding the ze-
7.1.3 Half-angle formulae
roes of the cubic equation x3 3x+d4 = 0 , where x is the
( ) value of the cosine function at the one-third angle and d
1cos is the known value of the cosine function at the full angle.
sin = sgn 2 + 4
2 4 2 However, the discriminant of this equation is positive, so
( )
this equation has three real roots (of which only one is the
= sgn 2 + 4 hav
4 solution for the cosine of the one-third angle). None of
these solutions is reducible to a real algebraic expression,
1 cos
sin2 = = hav as they use intermediate complex numbers under the cube
2 2 roots.
( )
1 + cos
cos = sgn + + 4
2 4 2
( ) 7.2 Sine, cosine, and tangent of multiple

= sgn + + 4 hvc angles
4
1 + cos For specic multiples, these follow from the angle ad-
cos2 = = hvc
2 2 dition formulas, while the general formula was given by
16th
1 cos sin 1 century
cos French mathematician Vieta.
tan = csc cot = = =
2 1 + cos 1 + cos sin

ver sin n ( )
ver ( )
= = = n 1
vcs vcs sin(n)sin
= k
cos sin nk
sin (n k)
k 2
k=0
1 1 + tan2 tan
tan = = n ( )
( )
2 tan 1 + sec n 1
cos(n) = k
cos sin nk
cos (n k)
1 + cos sin 1 + cos k=0 k 2
cot = csc + cot = = =
2 1 cos 1 cos sin of these two equations, the rst parenthesized
In each

vcs sin a binomial
term isvcs coecient, and the nal trigonometric
= = = equals one or minus one or zero so that half the
function
ver ver sin
[19][20]
entries in each of the sums are removed. tan n can be
written in terms of tan using the recurrence relation:
Also

tan(n) + tan
tan ((n+1)) = .
+ sin + sin 1 tan(n) tan
tan =
2 cos + cos
cot (n) can be written in terms of cot using the recur-
( )
rence relation:
tan + = sec + tan
2 4

cvs 1 sin 1 tan(/2) cot(n) cot 1
= = cot ((n+1)) = .
cvc 1 + sin 1 + tan(/2) cot(n) + cot

7.1.4 Table 7.3 Chebyshev method

See also: Tangent half-angle formula The Chebyshev method is a recursive algorithm for nd-
ing the nth multiple angle formula knowing the (n 1)th
th [25]
These can be shown by using either the sum and dier- and (n 2) formulae.
ence identities or the multiple-angle formulae. The cosine for nx can be computed from the cosine of (n
The fact that the triple-angle formula for sine and cosine 1)x and (n 2)x as follows:
only involves powers of a single function allows one to re-
late the geometric problem of a compass and straightedge
construction of angle trisection to the algebraic problem cos(nx) = 2 cos x cos((n 1)x) cos((n 2)x)
6 9 PRODUCT-TO-SUM AND SUM-TO-PRODUCT IDENTITIES

Similarly sin(nx) can be computed from the sines of (n (Triple tangent identity) Ifx + y + z =
1)x and (n 2)x = circle, half

sin(nx) = 2 cos x sin((n 1)x) sin((n 2)x)

then tan x + tan y + tan z = tan x tan y tan z.
For the tangent, we have:
In particular, the formula
holds when x, y, and z are
H + K tan x the three angles of any tri-
tan(nx) =
K H tan x angle.
where H/K = tan(n 1)x.
(If any of x, y, z is a right
angle, one should take
7.4 Tangent of an average both sides to be . This
( ) is neither + nor ; for
+ sin + sin cos cos present purposes it makes
tan = =
2 cos + cos sin sin sense to add just one point
Setting either or to 0 gives the usual tangent half-angle at innity to the real line,
formul. that is approached by tan
as tan either increases
through positive values or
7.5 Vites innite product decreases through nega-
tive values. This is a one-
point compactication of
sin
cos cos cos = cos n = = sinc . the real line.)
2 4 8 n=1
2
(Refer to sinc function.) (Triple cotangent identity) Ifx + y +
z = 2 = circle), (quarter angle right

8 Power-reduction formula
Obtained by solving the second and third versions of the then cot x + cot y + cot z = cot x cot y cot z.
cosine double-angle formula.
and in general terms of powers of sin or cos the fol- 9.2 Hermites cotangent identity
lowing is true, and can be deduced using De Moivres for-
mula, Eulers formula and binomial theorem . Main article: Hermites cotangent identity

Charles Hermite demonstrated the following identity.[28]

9 Product-to-sum and sum-to- Suppose a1 , ..., an are complex numbers, no two of which
product identities dier by an integer multiple of . Let

The product-to-sum identities or prosthaphaeresis formu-

las can be proven by expanding their right-hand sides us- An,k = cot(ak aj )
1jn
ing the angle addition theorems. See amplitude modu- j=k
lation for an application of the product-to-sum formul,
and beat (acoustics) and phase detector for applications (in particular, A,, being an empty product, is 1). Then
of the sum-to-product formul.

n
n

9.1 Other related identities cot(za1 ) cot(zan ) = cos + An,k cot(zak ).

2
k=1
If x + y + z = (half circle), then The simplest non-trivial example is the case n = 2:

sin(2x) + sin(2y) + sin(2z) = 4 sin x sin y sin z. cot(za1 ) cot(za2 ) = 1+cot(a1 a2 ) cot(za1 )+cot(a2 a1 ) cot(z
10.3 More than two sinusoids 7

9.3 Ptolemys theorem where

Main article: Ptolemys theorem

c= a2 + b2 + 2ab cos ,
Ptolemys theorem can be expressed in the language of and
modern trigonometry as:

Ifw + x + y + z = = then: circle, half = atan2 (b sin , a + b cos ) .

sin(w + x) sin(x + y) = sin(x + y) sin(y + z) (trivial)

= sin(y + z) sin(z + w) 10.3
(trivial) More than two sinusoids
= sin(z + w) sin(w + x) (trivial)
The general case reads
= sin w sin y + sin x sin z. (signicant)

(The rst three equalities are trivial rearrangements; the ai sin(x + i ) = a sin(x + ),
fourth is the substance of this identity.) i

where

10 Linear combinations
a2 = ai aj cos(i j )
For some purposes it is important to know that any lin- i,j

ear combination of sine waves of the same period or fre- and

quency but dierent phase shifts is also a sine wave with
the same period or frequency, but a dierent phase shift.
This is useful in sinusoid data tting, because the mea- ai sin i
tan = i .
sured or observed data are linearly related to the a and i i cos i
a
b unknowns of the in-phase and quadrature components
See also Phasor addition.
basis below, resulting in a simpler Jacobian, compared to
that of c and .

11 Lagranges trigonometric iden-

10.1 Sine and cosine tities
In the case of a non-zero linear combination of a sine and
cosine wave[29] (which is just a sine wave with a phase These identities, named after Joseph Louis Lagrange,
shift of /2), we have are:[30][31]

N
1 cos((N + 12 ))
a sin x + b cos x = c sin(x + ) sin(n) = cot
n=1
2 2 2 sin( 12 )
where

N
1 sin((N + 21 ))
cos(n) = +
2 2 sin( 12 )
n=1
c= a2 + b2 , A related function is the following function of x, called
and (using the atan2 function) the Dirichlet kernel.

(( ) )
sin n + 12 x
= atan2 (b, a) . 1+2 cos x+2 cos(2x)+2 cos(3x)+ +2 cos(nx) = .
sin(x/2)

10.2 Arbitrary phase shift 12 Other sums of trigonometric

More generally, for an arbitrary phase shift, we have functions
Sum of sines and cosines with arguments in arithmetic
a sin x + b sin(x + ) = c sin(x + ) progression:[32] if = 0 , then
8 17 IDENTITIES WITHOUT VARIABLES

14 Inverse trigonometric functions

sin + sin( + ) + sin( + 2) +
arcsin x + arccos x = /2
sin (n+1) sin( + n
2 )arctan x
+ sin( + n) = 2
and + arccot x = /2.
sin 2 {
1 /2, if x > 0
arctan x + arctan =
x /2, if x < 0
cos + cos( + ) + cos( + 2) +

sin (n+1) cos( + n

2 )14.1 Compositions of trig and inverse trig
+ cos( + n) = 2
.
sin 2 functions
For any a and b:
15 Relation to the complex expo-

a cos x + b sin x = a2 + b2 cos(x atan2 (b, a)) nential function
where atan2(y, x) is the generalization of arctan(y/x) that [33]
eix = cos x + i sin x (Eulers formula),
covers the entire circular range.

( eix = cos(x) + i sin(x) = cos x i sin x

x)
sec x tan x = tan .
4 2 ei = 1 (Eulers identity),
The above identity is sometimes convenient to know
when thinking about the Gudermannian function, which e2i = 1
relates the circular and hyperbolic trigonometric func-
ix
tions without resorting to complex numbers. ix
cos x = e +e [34]
2
If x, y, and z are the three angles of any triangle, i.e. if x
+ y + z = , then eix eix [35]
sin x = 2i

and hence the corollary:

cot x cot y + cot y cot z + cot z cot x = 1.

sin x eix eix

13 Certain linear fractional trans- tan x =
cos x
=
i(eix + eix )
formations
where i2 = 1 .
If (x) is given by the linear fractional transformation
16 Innite product formulae
(cos )x sin
f (x) = ,
(sin )x + cos For applications to special functions, the following
and similarly innite product formulae for trigonometric functions are
useful:[36][37]

(cos )x sin
g(x) = ,
(sin )x + cos 17 Identities without variables
then
The curious identity known as Morries law
(cos( + ))x sin( + )
f (g(x)) = g(f (x)) = .
(sin( + ))x + cos( + )
1
More tersely stated, if for all we let be what we called cos 20 cos 40 cos 80 = 8
above, then
is a special case of an identity that contains one variable:

f f = f+ .

k1
sin(2k x)
If x is the slope of a line, then (x) is the slope of its cos(2j x) = .
rotation through an angle of . j=0
2k sin x
 9

The same cosine identity in radians is Degree measure ceases to be more felicitous than radian
measure when we consider this identity with 21 in the
denominators:
2 4 1
cos cos cos = .
9 9 9 8 ( ) ( )
2 2 2
Similarly: cos + cos 2 + cos 4
21 21 21
( ) ( ) ( )
2 2 2 1
3 + cos 5 + cos 8 + cos 10 = .
sin 20 sin 40 sin 80 = 21 21 21 2
8
The factors 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10 may start to make the pat-
is a special case of an identity with the case x = 20:
tern clear: they are those integers less than 21/2 that are
relatively prime to (or have no prime factors in common
sin 3x with) 21. The last several examples are corollaries of a
sin x sin(60 x) sin(60 + x) = . basic fact about the irreducible cyclotomic polynomials:
4
the cosines are the real parts of the zeroes of those poly-
Similarly the case x = 15: nomials; the sum of the zeroes is the Mbius function
evaluated at (in the very last case above) 21; only half of
the zeroes are present above. The two identities preced-
2 ing this last one arise in the same fashion with 21 replaced
sin 15 sin 45 sin 75 = , by 10 and 15, respectively.
8
1 Other cosine identities include:[38]

sin 15 sin 75 = .
4
Similarly the case x = 10:
2 cos = 1,
3
2
sin 10 sin 50 sin 70 =
1
. 2 cos 2 cos = 1,
8 5 5
2 3
The same cosine identity is 2 cos 2 cos 2 cos = 1,
7 7 7
and so forth for all odd numbers, and hence
cos 3x
cos x cos(60 x) cos(60 + x) = .
4 2 2 3
cos +cos cos +cos cos cos + = 1.
Similary: 3 5 5 7 7 7
Many of those curious identities stem from more general
facts like the following:[39]
3
cos 10 cos 50 cos 70 = .
8

n1
k n
2 sin = n1
cos 15 cos 45 cos 75 = , k=1
n 2
8
1 and
cos 15 cos 75 = .
4
Similarly:

n1
k sin(n/2)
cos =
n 2n1
k=1
tan 50 tan 60 tan 70 = tan 80 .
Combining these gives us

tan 40 tan 30 tan 20 = tan 10 .
The following is perhaps not as readily generalized to an
n1
k n
identity containing variables (but see explanation below): tan =
n sin(n/2)
k=1

1 If n is an odd number (n = 2m + 1) we can make use of

cos 24 + cos 48 + cos 96 + cos 168 = . the symmetries to get
2
10 19 CALCULUS

m
k = cos 36 = 14 ( 5 + 1) = 12
cos
tan = 2m + 1 5
2m + 1
k=1

sin = sin 18 = 14 ( 5 1) = 21 1
The transfer function of the Butterworth low pass lter 10
can be expressed in terms of polynomial and poles. By Also see exact trigonometric constants.
setting the frequency as the cuto frequency, the follow-
ing identity can be proved:
17.4 An identity of Euclid

n
(2k 1)
n
(2k 1) 2 Euclid showed in Book XIII, Proposition 10 of his
sin = cos = n Elements that the area of the square on the side of a regu-
4n 4n 2
k=1 k=1 lar pentagon inscribed in a circle is equal to the sum of the
areas of the squares on the sides of the regular hexagon
17.1 Computing and the regular decagon inscribed in the same circle. In
the language of modern trigonometry, this says:
An ecient way to compute is based on the following
identity without variables, due to Machin:
sin2 18 + sin2 30 = sin2 36 .

1 1 Ptolemy used this proposition to compute some angles in

= 4 arctan arctan his table of chords.
4 5 239
or, alternatively, by using an identity of Leonhard Euler:
18 Composition of trigonometric
1
= 5 arctan + 2 arctan
3 functions
4 7 79
or by using Pythagorean Triples: This identity involves a trigonometric function of a
trigonometric function:[40]

4 5 16 3 12 63
= arccos +arccos +arccos = arcsin +arcsin +arcsin .
5 13 65 5 13
cos(t sin x)65= J0 (t) + 2 J2k (t) cos(2kx)
k=1

17.2 A useful mnemonic for certain values

of sines and cosines sin(t sin x) = 2 J2k+1 (t) sin((2k + 1)x)
k=0
For certain simple angles, the sines and cosines take the

form n/2 for 0 n 4, which makes them easy to re- cos(t cos x) = J0 (t) + 2 (1)k J2k (t) cos(2kx)
member. k=1


sin(t cos x) = 2 (1)k J2k+1 (t) cos((2k + 1)x)

sin 0 = sin 0 = 0/2 = cos 90 = cos 2 k=0

where J are Bessel functions.

sin 6 = sin 30 = 1/2 = cos 60 = cos 3

sin 4 = sin 45 = 2/2 = cos 45 = cos 4
19 Calculus


sin 3 = sin 60 = 3/2 = cos 30 = cos 6
In calculus the relations stated below require angles to be


sin
2 = sin 90 = 4/2 = cos 0 = cos 0measured in radians; the relations would become more
complicated if angles were measured in another unit such
as degrees. If the trigonometric functions are dened in
17.3 Miscellany terms of geometry, along with the denitions of arc length
and area, their derivatives can be found by verifying two
With the golden ratio : limits. The rst is:
19.1 Implications 11

19.1 Implications
sin x
lim = 1, The fact that the dierentiation of trigonometric func-
x0 x
tions (sine and cosine) results in linear combinations of
veried using the unit circle and squeeze theorem. The the same two functions is of fundamental importance to
second limit is: many elds of mathematics, including dierential equa-
tions and Fourier transforms.
1 cos x
lim = 0,
x0 x 19.2 Some dierential equations satised
veried using the identity tan(x/2) = (1 cos x)/sin x. by the sine function
Having established these two limits, one can use the limit
denition of the derivative and the addition theorems to Let i = 1 be the imaginary unit and let denote compo-
show that (sin x) = cos x and (cos x) = sin x. If the sine sition of dierential operators. Then for every odd posi-
and cosine functions are dened by their Taylor series, tive integer n,
then the derivatives can be found by dierentiating the
power series term-by-term.
n ( )( ) ( ) (
n d d d
sin x sin x + i sin x + (k 1)i
k dx dx dx
d k=0
sin x = cos x
dx
(When k = 0, then the number of dierential operators
The rest of the trigonometric functions can be dif- being composed is 0, so the corresponding term in the
ferentiated using the above identities and the rules of sum above is just (sin x)n .) This identity was discovered
dierentiation:[41][42][43] as a by-product of research in medical imaging.[44]

d d 1
sin x = cos x, arcsin x = 20 Exponential denitions
dx dx 1 x2

d
cos x = sin x,
d
arccos x =
1 21 Miscellaneous
dx dx 1 x2
21.1 Dirichlet kernel
d d 1
tan x = sec2 x, arctan x = The Dirichlet kernel Dn(x) is the function occurring on
dx dx 1 + x2
both sides of the next identity:
d d 1
cot x = csc2 x, arccot x = [( ) ]
dx dx 1 + x2
sin n + 21 x
1+2 cos x+2 cos(2x)+2 cos(3x)+ +2 cos(nx) = ( ) .
sin x2
d d 1
sec x = tan x sec x, arcsec x =
dx dx |x| x2 1 The convolution of any integrable function of period 2
with the Dirichlet kernel coincides with the functions nth-
degree Fourier approximation. The same holds for any
d d 1
csc x = csc x cot x, arccsc x = measure or generalized function.
dx dx |x| x2 1
The integral identities can be found in "list of integrals of
trigonometric functions". Some generic forms are listed 21.2 Tangent half-angle substitution
below.
Main article: Tangent half-angle substitution
(u)
du
= sin1 +C If we set
a2 u 2 a
( )
du 1 1 u
= tan +C x
a2 + u2 a a t = tan ,
u 2
du 1  
= sec1   + C then[46]
u u 2 a2 a a
12 23 NOTES

[2] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 73, 4.3.45

2t 1 t2 1 + it [3] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 78, 4.3.147

sin x = and cos x = and eix =
1+t 2 1 + t2 1 it
[4] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.1315
where eix = cos x + i sin x, sometimes abbreviated to cis
x. [5] The Elementary Identities

When this substitution of t for tan(x/2) is used in calculus,
it follows that sin x is replaced by 2t/(1 + t 2 ), cos x is re-
placed by (1 t 2 )/(1 + t 2 ) and the dierential dx is re-
placed by (2 dt)/(1 + t 2 ). Thereby one converts rational
functions of sin x and cos x to rational functions of t in
order to nd their antiderivatives.
[6] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.9
[7] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.78
[8] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.16
[9] Weisstein, Eric W., Trigonometric Addition Formulas,
MathWorld.

[10] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.17

22 See also
[11] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.18
Derivatives of trigonometric functions
[12] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 80, 4.4.42
Exact trigonometric constants (values of sine and co-
[13] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 80, 4.4.33
sine expressed in surds)
[14] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 80, 4.4.36
Exsecant
[15] Bronstein, Manuel (1989). Simplication of real ele-
Half-side formula
mentary functions. In G. H. Gonnet (ed.). Proceed-
Hyperbolic function ings of the ACM-SIGSAM 1989 International Symposium
on Symbolic and Algebraic Computation. ISSAC'89 (Port-
Laws for solution of triangles: land US-OR, 1989-07). New York: ACM. pp. 207211.
doi:10.1145/74540.74566. ISBN 0-89791-325-6.
Law of cosines
[16] Weisstein, Eric W., Multiple-Angle Formulas,
Spherical law of cosines MathWorld.
Law of sines
[17] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 74, 4.3.48
Law of tangents
Law of cotangents [18] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.2728

Mollweides formula [19] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.2022

List of integrals of trigonometric functions [20] Weisstein, Eric W., Half-Angle Formulas, MathWorld.

Proofs of trigonometric identities [21] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.2426

Prosthaphaeresis [22] Weisstein, Eric W., Double-Angle Formulas,

MathWorld.
Pythagorean theorem
[23] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.2728
Tangent half-angle formula
[24] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.2022
Trigonometry
[25] Ken Wards Mathematics Pages, http://www.trans4mind.
Uses of trigonometry com/personal_development/mathematics/trigonometry/
multipleAnglesRecursiveFormula.htm
Versine and haversine
[26] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.3133

23 Notes [27] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.3439

[28] Warren P. Johnson, Trigonometric Identities la Her-

[1] Schaumberger, N. A Classroom Theorem on Trigono-
metric Irrationalities. Two-Year College Math. J. 5, 73-
76, 1974. also see Weisstein, Eric W. Nivens The-
orem. From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource.
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/NivensTheorem.html
mite, American Mathematical Monthly, volume 117,
number 4, April 2010, pages 311327
[29] Cazelais, Gilles (18 February 2007). Linear Combina-
tion of Sine and Cosine (PDF).
 13

[30] Eddie Ortiz Muiz (February 1953). A Method for

Deriving Various Formulas in Electrostatics and Elec-
tromagnetism Using Lagranges Trigonometric Identi-
ties. American Journal of Physics 21 (2): 140.
doi:10.1119/1.1933371.
[31] Alan Jerey and Hui-hui Dai (2008). Section 2.4.1.6.
Handbook of Mathematical Formulas and Integrals (4th
ed.). Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-374288-9.
[32] Michael P. Knapp, Sines and Cosines of Angles in Arith-
metic Progression
[33] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 74, 4.3.47
[34] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 71, 4.3.2
[35] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 71, 4.3.1
[36] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 75, 4.3.8990
[37] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 85, 4.5.6869
[38] Humble, Steve, Grandmas identity, Mathematical
Gazette 88, November 2004, 524525.
[39] Weisstein, Eric W., "Sine" from MathWorld
[40] Milton Abramowitz and Irene Stegun, Handbook of Math-
ematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathe-
matical Tables, Dover Publications, New York, 1972, for-
mulae 9.1.42-9.1.45
[41] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 77, 4.3.105110
[42] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 82, 4.4.5257
[43] Finney, Ross (2003). Calculus : Graphical, Numerical,
Algebraic. Glenview, Illinois: Prentice Hall. pp. 159
161. ISBN 0-13-063131-0.
[44] Peter Kuchment and Sergey Lvin, Identities for sin x that
Came from Medical Imaging, American Mathematical
Monthly, volume 120, AugustSeptember, 2013, pages
609621.
[45] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 80, 4.4.2631
[46] Abramowitz and Stegun, p. 72, 4.3.23

24 References
Abramowitz, Milton; Stegun, Irene A., eds. (1972).
Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formu-
las, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables. New York:
Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-61272-0.

25 External links
Construction Proof for Sine and Cosine of the Sum
of Two Angles
Values of Sin and Cos, expressed in surds, for inte-
ger multiples of 3 and of 5 5 8 , and for the same
angles Csc and Sec and Tan
14 26 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

26 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

26.1 Text
List of trigonometric identities Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trigonometric_identities?oldid=705078657 Contributors:
Damian Yerrick, AxelBoldt, Zundark, The Anome, Taral, Ap, Bdesham, Patrick, Michael Hardy, JakeVortex, Kku, Gabbe, SGBailey,
Meekohi, Komap, Dcljr, TakuyaMurata, Ejrh, Ahoerstemeier, Cyp, DavidWBrooks, Humanoid, Darkwind, Whkoh, AugPi, Hashar,
Revolver, Artoo~enwiki, Charles Matthews, Timwi, Dysprosia, Hydnjo, Markhurd, Saltine, Populus, Donarreiskoer, Robbot, Naddy,
Sverdrup, AceMyth, Wereon, Jleedev, Tobias Bergemann, Connelly, Giftlite, Luis Dantas, BenFrantzDale, Tom harrison, Herbee, Frop-
u, Wwoods, Physman, Alexf, Fangz, MarkSweep, Anythingyouwant, Icairns, Sam Hocevar, Bjacob, Karl Dickman, TheObtuseAn-
gleOfDoom, Xrchz, Dissipate, Klaas van Aarsen, Rich Farmbrough, Avriette, Gadykozma, Bender235, Gauge, Pmetzger, Pt, Shanes,
RoyBoy, Triona, Bobo192, Army1987, Longhair, Kappa, MPerel, DATR, Landroni, NickCatal, Mrzaius, PAR, Hu, Velella, Dynotec,
H2g2bob, Algocu, Kenyon, Falcorian, Oleg Alexandrov, Tournesol, Hello5959us, Justinlebar, Guardian of Light, The Wordsmith, Isnow,
Jonathan48, Mandarax, Graham87, Kbdank71, Rjwilmsi, OneWeirdDude, MarSch, Yamamoto Ichiro, Alejo2083, FlaBot, Dhanakorn,
Mathbot, Greg321, Nivix, Nimur, OrbitOne, Sodin, Glenn L, CiaPan, Chobot, Elpaw, Manscher, YurikBot, Wavelength, Klingoncow-
boy4, Fabartus, Rsrikanth05, NawlinWiki, MathMan64, JocK, Amakuha, Arthur Rubin, Reyk, LeonardoRob0t, JLaTondre, Gesslein,
Bo Jacoby, SmackBot, RDBury, Nkrupans, Hal Canary, InverseHypercube, Lantianer, Delldot, BiT, Gilliam, Jcarroll, ERcheck, Blue-
bot, Kurykh, JCSantos, Gaiacarra, PrimeHunter, Papa November, Octahedron80, Nbarth, Sciyoshi~enwiki, DHN-bot~enwiki, Philc 0780,
Derekt75, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Tochjo, Mhym, Ctifumdope, Mwtoews, TriTertButoxy, Lambiam, Cronholm144, Jim.belk, Gene-
dial, Kirbytime, Jamie King, Whitehat, AdultSwim, Inquisitus, JDAWiseman, Igoldste, A. Pichler, Pfeldman, Daniel5127, Conrad.Irwin,
CBM, Walling, GHe, Dgw, NickW557, Doctormatt, Cario24, ZHENG Jiajun, Leobh, Goldencako, Chluk2425, Verdy p, Christian75,
TertX, Thijs!bot, Epbr123, ChronoPilot, Braveorca, King Bee, Hazmat2, Mungomba, Marek69, ThreePointOneFour, Escarbot, CZeke,
Konman72, Luna Santin, Chajadan, Fusionshrimp, Res2216restar, Sejomagno, MagiMaster, Asmeurer, TV4Fun, Coolhandscot, Matt O.,
JamesBWatson, Pezeta, Email4mobile, Balloonguy, Sriramoman, BrianGV, Noodle snacks, David Eppstein, Bobby H. Heey, Lionsh0,
PappyK, Vining, RaitisMath, Valvwen, MartinBot, Mythealias, R'n'B, Pbroks13, Qrystal, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Extransit, Shadowaltar,
AntiSpamBot, WotamRobin, Bobianite, Fylwind, Vanished user 39948282, The Geography Elite, Funandtrvl, Davidp314, Celtic Minstrel,
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Winchelsea, Soler97, MathDawg024, KnowledgeHegemony, Cole SWE, Flyer22 Reborn, Tigger10, Aly89, Oxymoron83, Iameukarya,
Sean.hoyland, Wahrmund, Loren.wilton, ClueBot, LAX, HairyFotr, Jon314, Rhubbarb, Fireballwater, Excirial, Alexbot, Brews ohare,
Mikaey, Franklin.vp, Acabashi, Rphlypo, 7, Plasmic Physics, SoxBot III, Crowsnest, DumZiBoT, Kiensvay, Jed 20012, HexaChord,
Addbot, Some jerk on the Internet, Fgnievinski, AkhtaBot, Fieldday-sunday, Driscoll42, MrOllie, Download, Debresser, LinkFA-Bot,
Ozob, Barak Sh, Tide rolls, Cattile, MaBoehm, SPat, Balabiot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Jamacfarlane, Fraggle81, Legobot II, Estudiarme,
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coBot, Mitizhi, Intel31337, Nixphoeni, Barsamin, Citation bot 1, Darij, 00Ragora00, DrilBot, I dream of horses, Adlerbot, Calmer Waters,
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Dommy1992, Sgr ganesh, Daniel Dey, John smiss and Anonymous: 744

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