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The half-angle formula for sine can be obtained by replacing with / and taking the square-root of both sides: (/) = () /. Note that this figure also illustrates, in the vertical line segment E B ¯ {\displaystyle {\overline {EB}}} , that sin 2 θ = 2 sin θ cos θ {\displaystyle \sin 2\theta =2\sin \theta \cos \theta } .
For example, the derivative of the sine function is written sin ′ (a) = cos(a), meaning that the rate of change of sin(x) at a particular angle x = a is given by the cosine of that angle. All derivatives of circular trigonometric functions can be found from those of sin( x ) and cos( x ) by means of the quotient rule applied to functions such ...
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.
The sign of the square root needs to be chosen properly—note that if 2 π is added to θ, the quantities inside the square roots are unchanged, but the left-hand-sides of the equations change sign. Therefore, the correct sign to use depends on the value of θ.
The sine and the cosine functions, for example, are used to describe simple harmonic motion, which models many natural phenomena, such as the movement of a mass attached to a spring and, for small angles, the pendular motion of a mass hanging by a string. The sine and cosine functions are one-dimensional projections of uniform circular motion.
A trigonometric number is a number that can be expressed as the sine or cosine of a rational multiple of π radians. [2] Since sin ( x ) = cos ( x − π / 2 ) , {\displaystyle \sin(x)=\cos(x-\pi /2),} the case of a sine can be omitted from this definition.
The cosine, cotangent, and cosecant are so named because they are respectively the sine, tangent, and secant of the complementary angle abbreviated to "co-". [ 32 ] With these functions, one can answer virtually all questions about arbitrary triangles by using the law of sines and the law of cosines . [ 33 ]
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.