P1 Chapter 10 :: Trigonometric

Identities & Equations

jfrost@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk
www.drfrostmaths.com
@DrFrostMaths

Last modified: 3rd May 2020

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Chapter Overview
 
Those who did IGCSE Further Maths or Additional Maths will be familiar with this
content. Exact trigonometric values for were in the GCSE syllabus.

  Know exact trig values

1::  2:: Use identities and
for and understand unit
circle.
 Show that can be written in the form

  Solve equations of the form

3::
and
4:: Solve equations which are
 Solve , for . quadratic in sin/cos/tan.
 Solve, for , the equation
 
sin/cos/tan of
 You will frequently encounter angles of in geometric problems. Why?
We see these angles in equilateral triangles and half squares.
?
Although you will always have a calculator, you need to know how to derive these.
All you need to remember:
! Draw half a unit square and half an equilateral triangle of side 2.

1
 
?
 
1
√?2 sin ( 45° ) = ?
 
?
1 ?

sin (30°)=
 ?
30
  ?°  
2?
45°
?   √?2  
√?3 ?

2
 
1? 60
 ? ° ?
 
1? ?
?
The Unit Circle and Trigonometry
  values of in the range ,
For   how do we get the rest of the graph for and
But
you know that and are when ?
lengths on a right-angled
triangle:   The point on a unit circle, such that
makes an angle with the positive -axis, has
coordinates .
has gradient .
 1  𝑦
𝐬𝐢𝐧
  ?𝜽
𝑃  ( cos𝜃 ,sin 𝜃 )
 𝜃 1
 
𝐜𝐨𝐬𝜽
  𝜃
   𝑥
? 𝑂
 
 
And what would be the
gradient of the bold line?
Angles are always measured anticlockwise.
(Further Mathematicians will encounter the same when they get to
But also: Complex Numbers)
?
  can consider the coordinate as increases
We
from 0 to …
 Mini-Exercise
Use
  the unit circle to determine each value in the table, using either “0”, “+ve”, “-ve”, “1”, “-1” or “undefined”.
Recall that the point on the unit circle has coordinate and has gradient .

-value -value
    Gradient of .
 
 cos 𝜃 sin 𝜃 tan 𝜃  sin 𝜃
 cos 𝜃  tan 𝜃
 𝜃 =0 𝜃=180°
 
 𝑦  𝑦
𝑃
   𝑥
1 0 0
𝑃
 
𝜃
 ? 𝑥
-1 ?0 0
 

 0<𝜃 <90 ° 1  80°<𝜃 <270 °

 𝑦 𝑃 +ve?  𝑦
1 𝜃  
+ve +ve 𝜃
-ve ?
-ve +ve
   𝑥   ?  𝑥
𝑃
 
 𝜃 =90 °  𝜃=270 °
 𝑦  𝑦
𝑃
  𝜃 
?  𝑥
0 1 ? Undefined
(vertical lines don’t have
𝜃
  ? 𝑥
0 ?-1 Undefined
a well-defined gradient)  
𝑃
 
90
  °<𝜃<180 ° 270
  °<𝜃<360 °
 𝑦 -ve +ve  𝑦 +ve
𝑃
  𝜃
?   𝑥 ? -ve 𝑃
  𝜃
  ?  𝑥
?-ve -ve
The Unit Circle and Trigonometry
 
The unit circles explains the behaviour of these trigonometric graphs beyond .
However, the easiest way to remember whether are positive or negative is to just do a very
quick sketch (preferably mentally!) of the corresponding graph.

 𝑦   positive
for

 
𝑦=sin ( 𝑥 )
 𝑥
90
  180
  270
  360
 

Note: The textbook uses

something called ‘CAST diagrams’.
I will not be using them in these
  negative slides, but you may wish to look at
for these technique as an alternative
approach to various problems in
the chapter.
A Few Trigonometric Angle Laws
The following are all easily derivable using a quick sketch of a trigonometric graph, and are
merely a convenience so you don’t always have to draw out a graph every time.
You are highly encouraged to memorise these so that you can do exam questions faster.

𝑦=sin
  (𝑥 )
1   sin ( 𝑥 )=sin ( 180 ° − 𝑥 ) We saw this in the previous chapter
when covering the ‘ambiguous
case’ when using the sine rule.
e.g.
  30
  150
  180
 
𝑦=cos
  (𝑥 )

2   cos ( 𝑥 )=cos (360 ° − 𝑥 ) 30

  330
  360
 
e.g.
 

  and 𝑦=sin
  (𝑥 )
3 repeat every
but every 30
  360
  390
  720
 
e.g.
 

Remember from the previous chapter that “cosine” by

4   definition is the sine of the “complementary” angle.
This was/is never covered in the textbook but caught
e.g.
  everyone by surprise when it came up in a C3 exam.
Examples
Without a calculator, work out the value of each below.

repeats every so can

 subtract
Use
  the ‘laws’ where you can,
  ? but otherwise just draw out a
quick sketch of the graph.
? For we can subtract
 from .
?
For we can subtract
• repeat every but every
 from .
?
? We have to resort to a sketch for this one.
𝑦=sin ( 𝑥 ) Froflections:
1    graph that in It’s not hard to see from the
general, .
cos
 everyrepeats  √2
? .
−  45 45  𝑥
Even more generally, a function is known as
an ‘odd function’ if .
1 
is similarly ‘odd’ as .
−
  √2
? A function is even if . Examples are and as
and . You do not need to know this for the
exam.
Again, let’s just use a graph.
𝑦=cos
  (𝑥 )
1
 2 The graph is rotationally symmetric
 
6090120  𝑥
about . Since is above , we get the
     180
  same value for , except negative.
Test Your Understanding
Without a calculator, work out the value of each below.

   
?
• repeat every but every

?
?
?
?
Exercise 10A/B
Pearson Pure Mathematics Year 1/AS
Page 207, 209
 Trigonometric Identities
Returning to our point on the
unit circle…
 
𝑃
 
1  
sin 𝜃 ?

𝜃  

𝑂 cos
 

? 𝜃
 

 
1 Then ?

𝟐 𝟐
2 Pythagoras gives
 
𝒔𝒊 𝒏 𝜽+𝒄𝒐 𝒔 𝜽=𝟏
 is a shorthand for . It does ?
NOT mean the sin is being
you... squared – this does not make sense as sin is a function,
You are really uncool if and not a quantity that we can square!
you get this reference.
Application of identities #1: Proofs
 Prove that

Fro Tip #1: Turn any tan’s  

  into sin’s and cos’s.
?

Recall
  that means ‘equivalent to’,
? and just means the LHS is always
equal to the RHS for all values of .
From Chapter 7 (‘Proofs’) we saw
? that usually the best method is to
manipulate one side (e.g. LHS)
? until we get to the other (RHS).
More Examples
Edexcel C2 June 2012 Paper 1 Q16
 Prove that  Simplify

  2
 
? ≡5 ( 1 −sin? 𝜃 )

Fro
  Tip #3: Look out for and .
? Students often don’t spot that these can be
simplified.

Fro Tip #2: In any addition/subtraction

involving at least one fraction (with trig
functions), always combine algebraically
into one.
Test Your Understanding
 Prove that  Prove that

sin 𝑥   2 2 2 2
 
𝐿𝐻𝑆 ≡
cos 𝑥
cos 𝑥
? ≡
sin 𝑥
≡1 ( cos 𝜃+sin? 𝜃 )( cos 𝜃−sin 𝜃 )
√sin 2
𝑥 sin 𝑥
𝐿𝐻𝑆≡ 2
cos 𝜃
AQA IGCSE Further Maths Worksheet
 Prove that

?
Exercise 10C
Pearson Pure Mathematics Year 1/AS
Page 211-212
Extension:
[MAT 2008 1C] The simultaneous
equations in ,
are solvable:
A) for all values of in range
B) except for one value of in range
C) except for two values of in range
D) except for three values of in
range
  convenience let and . As we’d usually do
For
for simultaneous equations, we could make
coefficients of terms the same:
Then subtracting:
Similarly making terms the same, we yield
are defined for every value of , so the answer
? not been (A)?
is (A). Why might it have
Suppose . This would not be defined
whenever .
Solving Trigonometric Equations
Remember those trigonometric angle laws (on the Reminder
  of ‘trig laws’:
right) earlier this chapter? They’re about to become
super freakin’ useful!
• repeat every but every

 Solve in the interval .

  Froculator
  Note:
When you do , and on a
or ? calculator, it gives you only one
value, known as the principal
value.

 Solve in the interval

  Fro
  Tip: Look out for the solution
range required. is a particularly
or
? common one.

 repeats every , so can

add/subtract as we please.
Slightly Harder Ones…

 Solve in the interval .

  This
  is not in range. In general you should have
2 solutions per (except when at a peak or
or trough of the trig graph)
or ?
Note
  that we’ve had to use a second law, i.e.
that repeats every .

 Solve in the interval .

 
Hint: The problem here is that we have
two different trig functions. Is there
? anything we can divide both sides by so
we only have one trig function?
or
Test Your Understanding

 Solve in the interval .

or
?

 Solve in the interval .

 
or

?
Exercise 10D
Pearson Pure Mathematics Year 1/AS
Page 215-216
Harder Equations
 Harder questions replace the angle with a linear expression.

 Solve in the interval .

0≤3𝑥<1080°
   STEP 1: Adjust the range of
values for to match the
expression inside the cos.
?
STEP 2: Immediately after
applying an inverse trig
function (and BEFORE dividing
by 3!), find all solutions up to
 Froflections: As mentioned before, in general you the end of the interval.
tend to get a pair of values per (for any of
sin/cos/tan), except for or :
STEP 3: Then do final
 𝑦 𝑦=cos
  (𝑥 ) manipulation to each value.
𝑥
90   270
  180   360
   

Thus once getting your first pair of values (e.g. using

or to get the second value), keep adding to generate
new pairs.
Further Examples
 Solve in the interval .

30°≤2𝑥+30°≤750°
    get from to we double
To
and add . So do the same to
the upper and lower bound!
?

 Solve in the interval

 
tan 𝑥 = 2   dividing both sides by , the
By
becomes and the disappears,
? leaving a trig equation helpfully
only in terms of one trig function.
Test Your Understanding
Edexcel C2 Jan 2013 Q4

?
Exercise 10E
Pearson Pure Mathematics Year 1/AS
Page 218-219
Quadratics in sin/cos/tan
  saw that an equation can be ‘quadratic in’ something, e.g. is ‘quadratic in ’,
We
meaning that could be replaced with another variable, say , to produce a
quadratic equation .

 Solve in the interval .

 Method 1: Use a substitution.  Method 2: Factorise without substitution.

Let This is the same, but we ‘imagine’ as a

Then single variable and hence factorise
immediately.

? ?

Fropinion: I’d definitely advocate Method 2 provided you feel

confident with it. Method 1 feels clunky.
More Examples
 Solve in the interval .

Missing the negative case would result

tan𝜃=2𝑜𝑟 tan𝜃=−2
in the loss of multiple marks. Beware!
 
 was outside the range so we had
? to add twice.

 Solve in the interval .

   
Tip: We have an
identity involving and ,
so it makes sense to
? change the squared
one that would match
all the others.
Test Your Understanding
Edexcel C2 Jan 2010 Q2

?
Exercise 10F
Pearson Pure Mathematics Year 1/AS
Page 221-222

Extension

1  [MAT 2010 1C] In the range , the equation 2 [MAT

  2014 1E] As varies over the
real numbers, the largest value taken
Has how many solutions? by the function
equals what?
There are multiple ways to do this,
including factorising LHS to
, but dividing by gives:
We can make , thus giving a
tan always gives a pair of solutions per , maximum value of .
?
so there are 4 solutions.
?