10.5: Graphs of the Trigonometric Functions
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In this section, we return to our discussion of the circular (trigonometric) functions as functions of real numbers and pick up where we left off in Sections 10.2.1 and 10.3.1. As usual, we begin our study with the functions
10.5.1 Graphs of the Cosine and Sine Functions
From Theorem 10.5 in Section 10.2.1, we know that the domain of
A function
We have already seen a family of periodic functions in Section 2.1: the constant functions. However, despite being periodic a constant function has no period. (We’ll leave that odd gem as an exercise for you.) Returning to the circular functions, we see that by Definition 10.3,
One last property of the functions
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In the chart above, we followed the convention established in Section 1.6 and used

A few things about the graph above are worth mentioning. First, this graph represents only part of the graph of

An accurately scaled graph of
We can plot the fundamental cycle of the graph of

As with the graph of

An accurately scaled graph
It is no accident that the graphs of
Recalling Section 1.7, we see from this formula that the graph of
Now that we know the basic shapes of the graphs of
Graph one cycle of the following functions. State the period of each.
Solution.
- We set the argument of the cosine,
, equal to each of the values: , , , , and solve for . We summarize the results below.Next, we substitute each of these
values into to determine the corresponding -values and connect the dots in a pleasing wavelike fashion.
One cycle is graphed on
so the period is the length of that interval which is . - Proceeding as above, we set the argument of the sine,
, equal to each of our quarter marks and solve for .We now find the corresponding
-values on the graph by substituting each of these -values into . Once again, we connect the dots in a wavelike fashion.
One cycle was graphed on the interval
so the period is .
The functions in Example 10.5.1 are examples of sinusoids. Roughly speaking, a sinusoid is the result of taking the basic graph of

The phase shift of the sinusoid is the horizontal shift experienced by the fundamental cycle. We have seen that a phase (horizontal) shift of
For
- have period
- have amplitude
- have phase shift
- have vertical shift
We note that in some scientific and engineering circles, the quantity
The proof of Theorem 10.23 is a direct application of Theorem 1.7 in Section 1.7 and is left to the reader. The parameter
so that
We find
Below is the graph of one complete cycle of a sinusoid

One cycle of
- Find a cosine function whose graph matches the graph of
. - Find a sine function whose graph matches the graph of
.
Solution.
- We fit the data to a function of the form
. Since one cycle is graphed over the interval , its period is . According to Theorem 10.23, , so that . Next, we see that the phase shift is , so we have , or . To find the amplitude, note that the range of the sinusoid is . As a result, the amplitude Finally, to determine the vertical shift, we average the endpoints of the range to find . Our final answer is . - Most of the work to fit the data to a function of the form
is done. The period, amplitude and vertical shift are the same as before with , and . The trickier part is finding the phase shift. To that end, we imagine extending the graph of the given sinusoid as in the figure below so that we can identify a cycle beginning at . Taking the phase shift to be , we get , or . Hence, our answer is .
Extending the graph of Note that each of the answers given in Example 10.5.2 is one choice out of many possible answers. For example, when fitting a sine function to the data, we could have chosen to start at
Consider the function
- in the form
for - in the form
for
Check your answers analytically using identities and graphically using a calculator.
Solution.
- The key to this problem is to use the expanded forms of the sinusoid formulas and match up corresponding coefficients. Equating
with the expanded form of , we getIt should be clear that we can take
and to getTo determine
and , a bit more work is involved. We get started by equating the coefficients of the trigonometric functions on either side of the equation. On the left hand side, the coefficient of is , while on the right hand side, it is . Since this equation is to hold for all real numbers, we must have8 that . Similarly, we find by equating the coefficients of that . What we have here is a system of nonlinear equations! We can temporarily eliminate the dependence on by using the Pythagorean Identity. We know , so multiplying this by gives . Since and , we get or . Choosing , we have and or, after some rearrangement, and . One such angle which satisfies this criteria is . Hence, one way to write as a sinusoid is . We can easily check our answer using the sum formula for cosine - Proceeding as before, we equate
with the expanded form of to getOnce again, we may take
and so thatWe equate9 the coefficients of
on either side and get and . Using as before, we get , and again we choose . This means , or , and , which means . One such angle which meets these criteria is . Hence, we have . Checking our work analytically, we have Graphing the three formulas for result in the identical curve, verifying our analytic work.
It is important to note that in order for the technique presented in Example 10.5.3 to fit a function into one of the forms in Theorem 10.23, the arguments of the cosine and sine function much match. That is, while
10.5.2. Graphs of the Secant and Cosecant Functions
We now turn our attention to graphing

The graph of
As one would expect, to graph

The 'fundamental cycle' of
Once again, our domain and range work in Section 10.3.1 is verified geometrically in the graph of

The graph of
Note that, on the intervals between the vertical asymptotes, both
- The function
- has domain
- has range
- is continuous and smooth on its domain
- is even
- has period
- has domain
- The function
- has domain
- has range
- is continuous and smooth on its domain
- is odd
- has period
- has domain
In the next example, we discuss graphing more general secant and cosecant curves.
Graph one cycle of the following functions. State the period of each.
Solution.
- To graph
, we follow the same procedure as in Example 10.5.1. First, we set the argument of secant, , equal to the ‘quarter marks’ , , , and and solve for .Next, we substitute these
values into . If exists, we have a point on the graph; otherwise, we have found a vertical asymptote. In addition to these points and asymptotes, we have graphed the associated cosine curve – in this case – dotted in the picture below. Since one cycle is graphed over the interval , the period is .
- Proceeding as before, we set the argument of cosecant in
equal to the quarter marks and solve for .Substituting these
-values into , we generate the graph below and find the period to be . The associated sine curve, , is dotted in as a reference.
Before moving on, we note that it is possible to speak of the period, phase shift and vertical shift of secant and cosecant graphs and use even/odd identities to put them in a form similar to the sinusoid forms mentioned in Theorem 10.23. Since these quantities match those of the corresponding cosine and sine curves, we do not spell this out explicitly. Finally, since the ranges of secant and cosecant are unbounded, there is no amplitude associated with these curves.
10.5.3. Graphs of the Tangent and Cotangent Functions
Finally, we turn our attention to the graphs of the tangent and cotangent functions. When constructing a table of values for the tangent function, we see that

From the graph, it appears as if the tangent function is periodic with period
which tells us the period of
It should be no surprise that

From these data, it clearly appears as if the period of

The graph of
The properties of the tangent and cotangent functions are summarized below. As with Theorem 10.24, each of the results below can be traced back to properties of the cosine and sine functions and the definition of the tangent and cotangent functions as quotients thereof.
- The function
- has domain
- has range
- is continuous and smooth on its domain
- is odd
- has period
- has domain
- The function
- has domain
- has range
- is continuous and smooth on its domain
- is odd
- has period
- has domain
Graph one cycle of the following functions. Find the period.
. .
Solution.
- We proceed as we have in all of the previous graphing examples by setting the argument of tangent in
, namely , equal to each of the ‘quarter marks’ , , , and , and solving for .Substituting these
-values into , we find points on the graph and the vertical asymptotes.
We see that the period is
. - The ‘quarter marks’ for the fundamental cycle of the cotangent curve are
, , , and . To graph , we begin by setting equal to each quarter mark and solving for .We now use these
-values to generate our graph.
As with the secant and cosecant functions, it is possible to extend the notion of period, phase shift and vertical shift to the tangent and cotangent functions as we did for the cosine and sine functions in Theorem 10.23. Since the number of classical applications involving sinusoids far outnumber those involving tangent and cotangent functions, we omit this. The ambitious reader is invited to formulate such a theorem, however.
10.5.4 Exercises
In Exercises 1 - 24, graph one cycle of the given function. State the period, amplitude, phase shift and vertical shift of the function.
In Exercises 13 - 24, graph one cycle of the given function. State the period of the function.
In Exercises 25 - 34, use Example 10.5.3 as a guide to show that the function is a sinusoid by rewriting it in the forms
- In Exercises 25 - 34, you should have noticed a relationship between the phases
for the and . Show that if , then where . - Let
be an angle measured in radians and let be a point on the terminal side of when it is drawn in standard position. Use Theorem 10.3 and the sum identity for sine in Theorem 10.15 to show that (with ) can be rewritten as . - With the help of your classmates, express the domains of the functions in Examples 10.5.4 and 10.5.5 using extended interval notation. (We will revisit this in Section 10.7.)
In Exercises 38 - 43, verify the identity by graphing the right and left hand sides on a calculator.
In Exercises 44 - 50, graph the function with the help of your calculator and discuss the given questions with your classmates.
. Is this function periodic? If so, what is the period? . What appears to be the horizontal asymptote of the graph? . Graph on the same set of axes and describe the behavior of . . What’s happening as ? . Graph on the same set of axes and describe the behavior of . . Graph on the same set of axes and describe the behavior of . . Graph on the same set of axes and describe the behavior of .- Show that a constant function
is periodic by showing that for all real numbers . Then show that has no period by showing that you cannot find a smallest number such that for all real numbers . Said another way, show that for all real numbers for ALL values of , so no smallest value exists to satisfy the definition of ‘period’.
10.5.5. Answers
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift: 4
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift: (You need to use
to find this.)15
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift: (You need to use
to find this.)16
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift:
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
Amplitude:
Phase Shift: (You need to use
to find this.)17
Vertical Shift:
-
Period:
-
Period:
-
is equivalent to
via the Even / Odd identity for tangent.
Period:
-
Start with
Period:
-
Start with
Period:
-
Start with
Period:
-
Start with
Period:
-
Start with
Period:
-
Start with
Period:
-
Period:
-
Period:
-
Period:
Reference
1 See section 1.6 for a review of these concepts.
2 Alternatively, we can use the Cofunction Identities in Theorem 10.14 to show that
3 Technically, we should study the interval
4 In some advanced texts, the interval of choice is
5 The use of
6 We have already seen how the Even/Odd and Cofunction Identities can be used to rewrite
7 Try using the formulas in Theorem 10.23 applied to
8 This should remind you of equation coefficients of like powers of
9 Be careful here!
10 This graph does, however, exhibit sinusoid-like characteristics! Check it out!
11 Provided
12 In Section 10.3.1, we argued the range of
13 Just like the rational functions in Chapter 4 are continuous and smooth on their domains because polynomials are continuous and smooth everywhere, the secant and cosecant functions are continuous and smooth on their domains since the cosine and sine functions are continuous and smooth everywhere.
14 Certainly, mimicking the proof that the period of
15 Two cycles of the graph are shown to illustrate the discrepancy discussed on page 796.
16 Again, we graph two cycles to illustrate the discrepancy discussed on page 796.
17 This will be the last time we graph two cycles to illustrate the discrepancy discussed on page 796.


