Derivatives of Trigonometric Functions

The basic trigonometric limit:

sin x x
Theorem: lim = 1 = lim (x in radians)
x→0 x x →0 sin x

Note: In calculus, unless otherwise noted, all angles are measured in

radians, and not in degrees.

This theorem is sometimes referred to as the small-angle approximation

because it really says that, for very small angles x, sin x ≈ x.

Note: Cosine behaves even better near 0, where lim cos x = 1 .

x →0

cos x − 1
ex. Show that lim =0
x →0 x

cos x − 1 cos x − 1 cos x + 1 cos 2 x − 1 − sin 2 x

lim = lim ⋅ = lim = lim
x →0 x x →0 x cos x + 1 x→0 x(cos x + 1) x→0 x(cos x + 1)

− sin x sin x sin x sin x  0 

= lim ⋅ lim = − lim ⋅ lim = − (1) = 0
x →0 cos x + 1 x x→0 cos x + 1
x→0 x x →0
1 +1
 sin 2 x
ex. Evaluate lim
x→0 5x

sin 2 x 1 sin 2 x 2 2 sin 2 x

lim = lim ⋅ = lim
x→0 5x 5 x →0 x 2 5 x →0 2 x

The idea above is to match the angle in the sine function with the
denominator. We’ll then apply the basic trigonometric limit. To do so, first
we substitute θ = 2x. Note that as x approaches 0, so does θ. Hence,

2 sin 2 x 2 sin θ 2 2
lim = lim = ⋅1 =
5 x →0 2 x 5 θ →0 θ 5 5

sin 4 x
ex. Evaluate lim
x→0 sin 3 x

sin 4 x sin 4 x x sin 4 x x sin 4 x x

lim = lim ⋅ = lim ⋅ = lim ⋅ lim
x→0 sin 3 x x→0 sin 3 x x x→0 x sin 3 x x→0 x x →0 sin 3 x

Repeat the same trick as in the previous example, let θ = 4x and λ = 3x.
Both θ and λ approach 0 when x does. Then apply the theorem twice.

sin 4 x 4 x 3 4 sin 4 x 3x
= lim ⋅ ⋅ lim ⋅ = lim ⋅ lim
x →0 x 4 x→0 sin 3 x 3 3 x→0 4 x x→0 sin 3 x

4 sin θ λ 4 4
= lim ⋅ lim = ⋅1⋅1 =
3 θ →0 θ λ →0 sin λ 3 3
In fact, after doing a few examples like those, we can see a (very nice)
pattern. To sum it up:

Suppose m and n are nonzero real numbers, then

sin mx m
lim =
x→0 nx n

mx m
lim =
x →0 sin nx n

sin mx m
lim =
x →0 sin nx n

(Trivially, we also have:

mx m
lim = .)
x →0 nx n
 tan 7 x
ex. Evaluate lim
x→0 2x

tan 7 x 1 sin 7 x 1 sin 7 x 1 1 sin 7 x 1

lim = lim ⋅ = lim ⋅ = lim ⋅ lim
x→0 2x x →0 2 x cos 7 x 2 x →0 x cos x 2 x→0 x x →0 cos x

1 7 1 7
= ⋅ ⋅ =
2 1 1 2

Recall that since cos x is continuous everywhere, the direct

substitution property applies, therefore,

1 1 1 1
lim = = = =1
x → 0 cos x lim cos x cos 0 1
x →0

Now, the main topic --

Derivatives of Trigonometric Functions

ex. What is the derivative of sin x?

Start with the limit definition of derivative:

d sin( x + h) − sin x [sin x cos h + sin h cos x] − sin x
sin x = lim = lim
dx h →0 h h →0 h

sin x cos h − sin x sin h cos x sin x(cos h − 1) sin h

= lim + lim = lim + lim ⋅ cos x
h →0 h h →0 h h →0 h h →0 h

cos h − 1 sin h
= lim sin x ⋅ lim + lim ⋅ lim cos x = sin x ⋅ (0) + (1) cos x = cos x
h →0 h →0 h h →0 h h→0

d
Therefore, sin x = cos x
dx
ex. Find the derivative of csc x.

d  d 
sin x 1 − 1 sin x 
d
csc x =
d 1
=  dx   dx  = sin x ⋅ 0 − 1 ⋅ cos x
2
dx dx sin x (sin x) sin 2 x

− cos x 1 cos x
= 2
=− ⋅ = − csc x cot x
sin x sin x sin x

d
Therefore, csc x = − csc x cot x
dx

The complete list of derivatives of trigonometric functions:

d
1. sin x = cos x
dx

d
2. cos x = − sin x
dx

d
3. tan x = sec 2 x
dx

d
4. sec x = sec x tan x
dx

d
5. cot x = − csc 2 x
dx

d
6. csc x = − csc x cot x
dx
ex. Differentiate f (x) = sec x + 5 csc x

f ′(x) = sec x tan x + 5( −csc x cot x) = sec x tan x − 5 csc x cot x

ex. Differentiate f (x) = x2 cos x − 2x sin x − 3 cos x

f ′(x) = [x2(−sin x) + (2x) cos x] − 2[x (cos x) + (1)sin x] − 3(−sin x)

= − x2 sin x + 2x cos x − 2x cos x − 2sin x + 3sin x

= − x2 sin x + sin x

sin t
ex. Differentiate s (t ) =
1 − cos t

(1 − cos t )(cos t ) − (sin t )(0 − (− sin t ))

s ′(t ) =
(1 − cos t ) 2

cos t − cos 2 t − sin 2 t cos t − (cos 2 t + sin 2 t )

= =
(1 − cos t ) 2 (1 − cos t ) 2

cos t − 1 − (1 − cos t ) −1 1
= = = =
(1 − cos t ) 2 (1 − cos t ) 2 1 − cos t cos t − 1
ex. Simple Harmonic Motion Suppose the oscillating motion (in meters)
of a weight attached to a spring is described by the displacement function

s(t) = 2 cos t + sin t

Find its velocity and acceleration functions, and its speed and acceleration at
t = π/2 sec.

Velocity: v(t) = s′(t) = −2 sin t + cos t

Acceleration: a(t) = v′(t) = −2 cos t − sin t

Its speed when t = π/2 is

│v(π/2)│ = │−2 sin (π/2) + cos (π/2) │ = │−2 + 0│ = 2 (m/sec)

Its acceleration at the same time is

a(π/2) = −2 cos (π/2) − sin (π/2) = 0 − 1 = −1 (m/sec2)