Demonstrating Inverse

Functions using Graphs

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the school director Mrs. Sudha Goyal
ma’am and my Mathematics Teacher Mr. Pawan Mittal sir for
guiding me throughout the process of completing this
project. I would also like to thank my parents and my sister
for helping me complete this project on time.

This project helped me understand the topic with more

clarity and changed my perception of the subject itself.
Contents
Title Pg.
Statement of Task 1
What are inverse functions? 2
Sine Function 3
Cosine function 6

Statement of Task
The aim of this project is to demonstrate the inversibility of
functions using mathematical graphs. I have chosen the
trigonometric functions of sine and cosine to demonstrate the
above. I aim to develop logical, critical and creative thinking
regarding the topic I have chosen.
What are Inverse Functions?
In mathematics, an inverse function (or anti-function) is
a function that "reverses" another function: if the
function f applied to an input x gives a result of y, then
applying its inverse function g to y gives the result x, and
vice versa, i.e., f(x) = y if and only if g(y) = x.

As an example, consider the real-valued function of a real

variable given by f(x) = 5x − 7. Thinking of this as a step-by-
step procedure (namely, take a number x, multiply it by 5,
then subtract 7 from the result), to reverse this and get x
back from some output value, say y, we should undo each
step in reverse order. In this case that means that we should
add 7 to y and then divide the result by 5. In functional
notation this inverse function would be given by,
𝑦+7
g(y)= 5

With y = 5x − 7 we have that f(x) = y and g(y) = x.

Not all functions have inverse functions. Those that do are

called invertible. For a function f: X → Y to have an inverse, it
must have the property that for every y in Y there is one, and
only one x in X so that f(x) = y. This property ensures that a
function g: Y → X exists with the necessary relationship with
f.
Sine Function
Since the domain of sine function is the set of all real
numbers and range is the closed interval [–1, 1]. If we restrict
𝜋 𝜋
its domain to [- , ] then it becomes one-one and onto with
2 2
range [– 1, 1]. Actually, sine function restricted to any of the
3𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 3𝜋
intervals [- , − ] , [- , ], [ , ] etc., is one-one and its
2 2 2 2 2 2
range is [–1, 1]. We can, therefore, define the inverse of sine
function in each of these intervals. We denote the inverse of
sine function by sin−1 (arc sine function). Thus, sin−1 is a
function whose domain is [– 1, 1] and range could be any of
3𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 3𝜋
the intervals [− , − ] , [- , ], [ , ] , and so on.
2 2 2 2 2 2
Corresponding to each such interval, we get a branch of the
𝜋 𝜋
function sin−1 . The branch with range, [- , ] is called the
2 2
principal value branch, whereas other intervals as range
give different branches of sin−1 . When we refer to the
function sin−1 , we take it as the function whose domain is [–1,
1] and range is,
𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 𝜋
[- , ] . We write sin−1 : [–1, 1] →[- , ] , From the
2 2 2 2
definition of the inverse functions, it follows that sin (sin−1 x)
−𝜋 𝜋
= x if – 1 ≤ x ≤ 1 and sin−1 (sin x) = x if ≤x≤ . In other
2 2
words, if y = sin−1 x, then sin y = x.

If y = f(x) is an invertible function, then x = f –1 (y). Thus, the

graph of sin–1 function can be obtained from the graph of
original function by interchanging x and y axes, i.e., if (a, b)
is a point on the graph of sine function, then (b, a) becomes
the corresponding point on the graph of inverse of sine
function. Thus, the graph of the function y = sin–1 x can be
obtained from the graph of y = sin x by interchanging x and
y axes. The graphs of y = sin x and y = sin−1 x is as given in
the figures below. The dark portion of the graph of y = sin−1
x represents the principal value branch.
Cosine Function
Like sine function, the cosine function is a function whose
domain is the set of all real numbers and range is the set [–1,
1]. If we restrict the domain of cosine function to [0, 𝜋], then it
becomes one-one and onto with range [–1, 1]. Cosine
function restricted to any of the intervals [– 𝜋, 0], [0, 𝜋], [𝜋,
2 𝜋] etc., is bijective with range as [–1, 1]. We can, therefore,
define the inverse of cosine function in each of these
intervals. We denote the inverse of the cosine function by
cos−1 (arc cosine function). Thus, cos −1 is a function whose
domain is [–1, 1] and range could be any of the intervals [–𝜋,
0], [0, 𝜋], [𝜋, 2 𝜋] etc. Corresponding to each such interval,
we get a branch of the function cos−1 . The branch with range
[0, 𝜋] is called the principal value branch of the function
cos−1 .We write,

𝐜𝐨𝐬 −𝟏 : [–1, 1] → [0, 𝝅]

The graph of the function given by y = cos−1 x can be drawn

in the same way as discussed about the graph of y = sin−1 x.
The graphs of y = cos x and y = cos−1 x is given in the
following figures.
Bibliography
1. Ncert.books.net
2. Wikipedia.com
3. Cisce.org
4. Khanacademy.org
5. Mesacc.edu
6. Mathinsight.org