Jasmine Draper

Pre-Calc

Ms. Strong

30 April 2018

The unit circle is a circle with the radius of one, that is

centered at the origin of a standard Cartesian coordinate system. The

purpose of the unit circle is to make math, trigonometry specifically, a lot easier. When using it,

you can find the sine, cosine, tangent, secant, cosecant and cotangent if it is equal to or less than

one. As the unit circle does represent a graph with x and y axes, the sine of an angle represents

the y-coordinate and the cosine represents the x-coordinate. The rest of the trig identities can be

found using the sine and cosine values. The cosine and sine values will be positive and/or

negative according to which quadrant the angle is located in. As sine (sin) and cosecant (csc),

cosine (cos) and secant (sec), and tangent (tan) and cotangent (cot) are all reciprocals, you can

simply flip over the value of cosine and sine to find secant or cosecant, or find the tangent by

dividing the sine by the cosine and finding its reciprocal. There are special angles learned and

memorized in both degree and radian form to help find these identities. One radian is a

measurement that has an arc with the same length of the radius (one). The special angles are: ​0,

π/6 (30 °), π/4 (45 °), π/3 (60 °), π/2 (90 °), 2π/3 (120 °), 5π/4 (135 °), 4π/3 ( 240 °) , 3π/2 (270

°), 5π/3 (​300 °), 7π/4 (315 °), and 11π/6 (330 °) . The cosines and sines ½ and √3
2
correspond with
π/6 and π/3 angles, while the cosines and sines of √2
2
correspond with all π/4 angles. The values

listed are the ones that will be used to find the rest of the trig identities.

An example of using it is evaluating all the different trig identities

using a given angle in the unit circle. If the angle 5π/3 is given, that is all

the information needed to find all six trig identities. First,

you need to identify which quadrant this angle is in. As shown in

the diagram to the right, 5π/3 is located in the fourth quadrant

which means the sine (y) will be negative and the cosine (x) will

be positive as it would be on a normal coordinate plane. Since the denominator is

three, the sine and cosine value will either be ½ and. In this case, the sine will be

the longer side in the triangle, while the cosine will be the shorter side. Therefor,

the sine will be −√3

2
and the cosine will be ½. Now that we have

found the sine and cosine, the harder part is finding the other four

identities. As said earlier, tangent is the sine divided by the cosine (

y −√3
x
). To find the tangent of this angle it would be 2
divided by ½

which is - √3. Since the reciprocal of sine is cosecant, the cosecant

−√3
will be the reciprocal of 2
which is the same fraction but flipped,

−2
being √3
. Secant being cosine’s reciprocal, the secant for 5π/3 is the reciprocal

2
of ½ which is 1
or 2. The last identity that needs to found is cotangent. With this
 identity being tangent’s reciprocal, it will be cosine divided by sine ( yx ) rather

than sine divided by cosine ( yx ). The cosine (½) divided by the sine ( −√3
2
) is 1
−√3

Learning about the unit circle, solving for special angles, and understanding secant,

cosecant, and cotangent specifically, was a great part of what I needed to know in order to

understand how to go about all the other trigonometry we covered in class this year. One

specific topic we have covered in class this year is proving trig identities. Understanding these 6

identities and what they mean is one of the things you absolutely need to know to prove trig

identities. A specific example of a problem like this is:

​cot (x) + tan (x) = sec (x) csc (x)

The point of solving these problems is obviously to prove that one side of the equation is

equivalent to the other. In order to do so, you need to be able to convert the different identities in

the equation to a common identity to prove they are equal. Therefore, knowing the relationships

between the identities is crucial in order to find common factors and solve it. In this specific

example you would first, change cotangent into cosine divided by sine.
cos (x)
sin (x)
+ tan (x)​ = ​sec (x) csc (x)

Next you would change tangent into sine divided by cosine.

cos (x) sin (x)
sin (x)
+ cos (x)
= ​sec (x) csc (x)

After that, you would change the other side into common factors as well. Secant, being cosine’s

reciprocal, would turn into one divided by cosine.

cos (x) sin (x)
sin (x)
+ cos (x)
= cos1(x) csc (x)
Cosecant being sine’s reciprocal, would turn into one divided by sine.
cos (x) sin (x)
sin (x)
+ cos (x)
= cos1(x) 1
sin (x)

The first steps of proving trig identities are solely using the skills learned when you learn about

evaluating trig expressions and special angles. The following steps to finish this problem are:

solving each side of the equation to the point where you can show they are both equal.
2 2
cos (x) sin (x) cos2 (x) sin (x) cos2 (x) + sin (x)
sin (x)
+ cos (x)
→ sin(x) cos(x)
+ sin(x) cos(x)
→ sin(x) cos(x)

cos2 + sin2 = 1
2
cos2 (x) + sin (x) 1
sin(x) cos(x)
→ sin(x) cos(x)

1 1 1
cos (x)
• sin (x)
= cos (x) sin (x)

1 1
cos (x) sin (x)
=​ cos (x) sin (x)

Being able to evaluate trig expressions using the unit circle can in fact be used in the real

world. It is used commonly in architecture and engineering. From building skyscrapers to

building a fence for your backyard. You can use the unit circle to find measurements of each

side of a certain triangle and then multiply the lengths so it is proportional to the size of what is

being built. When it comes to engineering, triangular supports are a huge part of how engineers

get things to work. Using this knowledge can help find exact measurements of any sized

triangular structures you need to know.