Difference between revisions of "Pythagorean identities"

(Created page with "The Pythagorean identities state that <math>\sin^2x + \cos^2x = 1</math> <math>1 + \cot^2x = \csc^2x</math> <math>\tan^2x + 1 = \sec^2x</math> Using the unit circle definitio...")
 
m (See Also)
Line 9: Line 9:
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
[[Trigonometric Identities]]
+
* [[Trigonometric identities]]

Revision as of 20:17, 7 September 2023

The Pythagorean identities state that

$\sin^2x + \cos^2x = 1$ $1 + \cot^2x = \csc^2x$ $\tan^2x + 1 = \sec^2x$ Using the unit circle definition of trigonometry, because the point $(\cos (x), \sin (x))$ is defined to be on the unit circle, it is a distance one away from the origin. Then by the distance formula, $\sin^2x + \cos^2x = 1$. To derive the other two Pythagorean identities, divide by either $\sin^2 (x)$ or $\cos^2 (x)$ and substitute the respective trigonometry in place of the ratios to obtain the desired result.

This article is a stub. Help us out by expanding it.

See Also