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Ptolemy's theorem states that the sum of the products of the lengths of opposite sides is equal to the product of the lengths of the diagonals. When those side-lengths are expressed in terms of the sin and cos values shown in the figure above, this yields the angle sum trigonometric identity for sine: sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β.
The other four trigonometric functions (tan, cot, sec, csc) can be defined as quotients and reciprocals of sin and cos, except where zero occurs in the denominator. It can be proved, for real arguments, that these definitions coincide with elementary geometric definitions if the argument is regarded as an angle in radians. [ 5 ]
Similar right triangles illustrating the tangent and secant trigonometric functions Trigonometric functions and their reciprocals on the unit circle. The Pythagorean theorem applied to the blue triangle shows the identity 1 + cot 2 θ = csc 2 θ, and applied to the red triangle shows that 1 + tan 2 θ = sec 2 θ.
The red section on the right, d, is the difference between the lengths of the hypotenuse, H, and the adjacent side, A.As is shown, H and A are almost the same length, meaning cos θ is close to 1 and θ 2 / 2 helps trim the red away.
This geometric argument relies on definitions of arc length and area, which act as assumptions, so it is rather a condition imposed in construction of trigonometric functions than a provable property. [2] For the sine function, we can handle other values. If θ > π /2, then θ > 1. But sin θ ≤ 1 (because of the Pythagorean identity), so sin ...
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle.The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is opposite that angle to the length of the longest side of the triangle (the hypotenuse), and the cosine is the ratio of the length of the adjacent leg to that ...
m s −2 [L][T] −2: Spatial position Position of a point in space, not necessarily a point on the wave profile or any line of propagation d, r: m [L] Wave profile displacement Along propagation direction, distance travelled (path length) by one wave from the source point r 0 to any point in space d (for longitudinal or transverse waves) L, d, r
In contrast, by the Lindemann–Weierstrass theorem, the sine or cosine of any non-zero algebraic number is always transcendental. [4] The real part of any root of unity is a trigonometric number. By Niven's theorem, the only rational trigonometric numbers are 0, 1, −1, 1/2, and −1/2. [5]