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Ptolemy's theorem states that the sum of the products of the lengths of opposite sides is equal to the product of the lengths of the diagonals. When those side-lengths are expressed in terms of the sin and cos values shown in the figure above, this yields the angle sum trigonometric identity for sine: sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β.
The angle opposite the leg of length 1 (this angle can be labeled φ = π/2 − θ) has cotangent equal to the length of the other leg, and cosecant equal to the length of the hypotenuse. In that way, this trigonometric identity involving the cotangent and the cosecant also follows from the Pythagorean theorem.
Sin(θ), Tan(θ), and 1 are the heights to the line starting from the x-axis, while Cos(θ), 1, and Cot(θ) are lengths along the x-axis starting from the origin. If the acute angle θ is given, then any right triangles that have an angle of θ are similar to each other. This means that the ratio of any two side lengths depends only on θ.
For the sine function, we can handle other values. If θ > π /2, then θ > 1. But sin θ ≤ 1 (because of the Pythagorean identity), so sin θ < θ. So we have < <. For negative values of θ we have, by the symmetry of the sine function
In trigonometry, the law of cotangents is a relationship among the lengths of the sides of a triangle and the cotangents of the halves of the three angles. [1] [2]Just as three quantities whose equality is expressed by the law of sines are equal to the diameter of the circumscribed circle of the triangle (or to its reciprocal, depending on how the law is expressed), so also the law of ...
[1] [10] Another precarious convention used by a small number of authors is to use an uppercase first letter, along with a “ −1 ” superscript: Sin −1 (x), Cos −1 (x), Tan −1 (x), etc. [11] Although it is intended to avoid confusion with the reciprocal, which should be represented by sin −1 (x), cos −1 (x), etc., or, better, by ...
The cosine, cotangent, and cosecant are so named because they are respectively the sine, tangent, and secant of the complementary angle abbreviated to "co-". [32] With these functions, one can answer virtually all questions about arbitrary triangles by using the law of sines and the law of cosines. [33]
For a small angle, H and A are almost the same length, and therefore cos θ is nearly 1. The segment d (in red to the right) is the difference between the lengths of the hypotenuse, H, and the adjacent side, A, and has length , which for small angles is approximately equal to /.