Difference between revisions of "User:Temperal/The Problem Solver's Resource1"
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<math>\frac 12ab\sin C</math> | <math>\frac 12ab\sin C</math> | ||
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+ | This can be easily proven by the well-known formula <math>\frac{1}{2}ah_a</math> - considering one of the triangles which altitude <math>h_a</math> divides <math>\triangle ABC</math> into, we see that <math>h_a=b\sin C</math> and hence <math>[ABC]=\frac 12ab\sin C</math> as desired. | ||
[[User:Temperal/The Problem Solver's Resource|Back to intro]] | [[User:Temperal/The Problem Solver's Resource2|Continue to page 2]] | [[User:Temperal/The Problem Solver's Resource|Back to intro]] | [[User:Temperal/The Problem Solver's Resource2|Continue to page 2]] |
Revision as of 21:05, 10 January 2009
Introduction | Other Tips and Tricks | Methods of Proof | You are currently viewing page 1. |
Trigonometric Formulas
Note that all measurements are in radians.
Basic Facts
The above can all be seen clearly by examining the graphs or plotting on a unit circle - the reader can figure that out themselves.
Terminology and Notation
, but $\cot A\ne\tan^{-1} A}$ (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg), the former being the reciprocal and the latter the inverse.
, but $\csc A\ne\sin^{-1} A}$ (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg).
, but $\sec A\ne\cos^{-1} A}$ (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg).
Speaking of inverses:
Sum of Angle Formulas
If we can prove this one, the other ones can be derived easily using the "Basic Facts" identities above. In fact, we can simply prove the addition case, for plugging into the addition case gives the subtraction case.
As it turns out, there's quite a nice geometric proof of the addition case, though other methods, such as de Moivre's Theorem, exist. The following proof is taken from the Art of Problem Solving, Vol. 2 and is due to Masakazu Nihei of Japan, who originally had it published in Mathematics & Informatics Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 2:
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Figure 1 |
We'll find in two different ways: and . We let . We have:
The following identities can be easily derived by plugging into the above:
or or
Pythagorean identities
for all .
These can be easily seen by going back to the unit circle and the definition of these trig functions.
Other Formulas
Law of Cosines
In a triangle with sides , , and opposite angles , , and , respectively,
and:
Law of Sines
where is the radius of the circumcircle of
Law of Tangents
For any and such that ,
Area of a Triangle
The area of a triangle can be found by
This can be easily proven by the well-known formula - considering one of the triangles which altitude divides into, we see that and hence as desired.