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The proofs given in this article use these definitions, and thus apply to non-negative angles not greater than a right angle. For greater and negative angles , see Trigonometric functions . Other definitions, and therefore other proofs are based on the Taylor series of sine and cosine , or on the differential equation f ″ + f = 0 ...
A formula for computing the trigonometric identities for the one-third angle exists, but it requires finding the zeroes of the cubic equation 4x 3 − 3x + d = 0, where is the value of the cosine function at the one-third angle and d is the known value of the cosine function at the full angle.
There are a number of ways to demonstrate the validity of the small-angle approximations. The most direct method is to truncate the Maclaurin series for each of the trigonometric functions. Depending on the order of the approximation , cos θ {\displaystyle \textstyle \cos \theta } is approximated as either 1 {\displaystyle 1} or as 1 − 1 ...
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.
Fermat's Last Theorem states that no three positive integers (a, b, c) can satisfy the equation a n + b n = c n for any integer value of n greater than 2. (For n equal to 1, the equation is a linear equation and has a solution for every possible a and b. For n equal to 2, the equation has infinitely many solutions, the Pythagorean triples.)
We conclude that for 0 < θ < 1 / 2 π, the quantity sin(θ)/θ is always less than 1 and always greater than cos(θ). Thus, as θ gets closer to 0, sin(θ)/θ is "squeezed" between a ceiling at height 1 and a floor at height cos θ, which rises towards 1; hence sin(θ)/θ must tend to 1 as θ tends to 0 from the positive side:
To prove the law of tangents one can start with the law of sines: a sin α = b sin β = d , {\displaystyle {\frac {a}{\sin \alpha }}={\frac {b}{\sin \beta }}=d,} where d {\displaystyle d} is the diameter of the circumcircle , so that a = d sin α {\displaystyle a=d\sin \alpha } and b = d sin β {\displaystyle ...
In mathematics, a proof by infinite descent, also known as Fermat's method of descent, is a particular kind of proof by contradiction [1] used to show that a statement cannot possibly hold for any number, by showing that if the statement were to hold for a number, then the same would be true for a smaller number, leading to an infinite descent and ultimately a contradiction. [2]