Skip to main content
Mathematics LibreTexts

4: Trigonometric Functions

  • Page ID
    134178
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    The trigonometric functions are functions of an angle. and relate the angles of a triangle to the lengths of its sides. They are important in the study of triangles and modeling periodic phenomena, among many other applications.

    • 4.1: Prelude to Trigonometric Functions
      A function that repeats its values in regular intervals is known as a periodic function. The graphs of such functions show a general shape reflective of a pattern that keeps repeating. This means the graph of the function has the same output at exactly the same place in every cycle. And this translates to all the cycles of the function having exactly the same length.
    • 4.2: Angles
      An angle is formed from the union of two rays, by keeping the initial side fixed and rotating the terminal side. The amount of rotation determines the measure of the angle. An angle is in standard position if its vertex is at the origin and its initial side lies along the positive x-axis. A positive angle is measured counterclockwise from the initial side and a negative angle is measured clockwise.
    • 4.3: Unit Circle - Sine and Cosine Functions
      In this section, we will examine this type of revolving motion around a circle. To do so, we need to define the type of circle first, and then place that circle on a coordinate system. Then we can discuss circular motion in terms of the coordinate pairs.
    • 4.4: The Other Trigonometric Functions
      Trigonometric functions allow us to specify the shapes and proportions of objects independent of exact dimensions. We have already defined the sine and cosine functions of an angle. Though sine and cosine are the trigonometric functions most often used, there are four others. Together they make up the set of six trigonometric functions. In this section, we will investigate the remaining functions.
    • 4.5: Graphs of the Sine and Cosine Functions
      In the chapter on Trigonometric Functions, we examined trigonometric functions such as the sine function. In this section, we will interpret and create graphs of sine and cosine functions
    • 4.6: Graphs of the Other Trigonometric Functions
      This section addresses the graphing of the Tangent, Cosecant, Secant, and Cotangent curves.
    • 4.7: Inverse Trigonometric Functions
      In this section, we will explore the inverse trigonometric functions. Inverse trigonometric functions “undoes” what the original trigonometric function “does,” as is the case with any other function and its inverse. In other words, the domain of the inverse function is the range of the original function, and vice versa.
    • 4.8: Periodic Functions (Review)
    • 4.9: Supplemental Activities - The Tangent Function
    • 4.10: Supplemental Activities - Inverses of trigonometric functions
      While the original trigonometric functions f(t)=sin(t), g(t)=cos(t), and h(t)=tan(t) do not have inverse functions, it turns out that we can consider restricted versions of them that do have corresponding inverse functions. We thus investigate how we can think differently about the trigonometric functions so that we can discuss inverses in a meaningful way.
    • 4.E: Periodic Functions (Exercises)
    • 4.E: Trigonometric Functions (Exercises)
    • 4.R: Trigonometric Functions (Review)
      We have previously defined the sine and cosine of an angle in terms of the coordinates of a point on the unit circle intersected by the terminal side of the angle. In this section, we will see another way to define trigonometric functions using properties of right triangles.


    This page titled 4: Trigonometric Functions is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.