Lesson 13.

The Fundamental
Trigonometric Identities

Capstone Project
Precalculus
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
 In this lesson, we will derive fundamental trigonometric
identities using the Pythagorean theorem, and use these in
simplifying trigonometric expressions and proving other
trigonometric identities.

2
 Learning Competencies
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Derive the fundamental trigonometric

identities
(STEM_PC11T-IIe-2).

● Simplify trigonometric expressions

(STEM_PC11T-IIf-2).

3
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Derive the fundamental trigonometric identities.

● Simplify trigonometric expressions using the

fundamental trigonometric identities.

● Prove trigonometric identities.

4
How do you derive the
fundamental trigonometric
identities?

5
 The Fundamental Trigonometric Identities

Recall that if 𝑃(𝑥, 𝑦) is a terminal point of an angle 𝜃 in the

unit circle, then we have the following values of the six
trigonometric functions of 𝜃.

1 𝑦
sin 𝜃 = 𝑦 csc 𝜃 = tan 𝜃 =
𝑦 𝑥
1 𝑥
cos 𝜃 = 𝑥 sec 𝜃 = cot 𝜃 =
𝑥 𝑦

6
 The Fundamental Trigonometric Identities

Based on these values, we have the following identities.

Reciprocal Identities
1 1
sin 𝜃 = csc 𝜃 =
csc 𝜃 sin 𝜃
1 1
cos 𝜃 = sec 𝜃 =
sec 𝜃 cos 𝜃
1 1
tan 𝜃 = cot 𝜃 =
cot 𝜃 tan 𝜃
7
 The Fundamental Trigonometric Identities

Based on these values, we have the following identities.

Quotient Identities
sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃
tan 𝜃 = cot 𝜃 =
cos 𝜃 sin 𝜃

8
 The Fundamental Trigonometric Identities

The sine, cosecant, tangent, and cotangent functions are

odd, while the cosine and secant functions are even. These
give us the odd-even identities.

Odd-Even Identities
sin(−𝜃) = − sin 𝜃 csc(−𝜃) = − csc 𝜃
cos(−𝜃) = cos 𝜃 sec(−𝜃) = sec 𝜃
tan(−𝜃) = − tan 𝜃 cot(−𝜃) = − cot 𝜃
9
 The Fundamental Trigonometric Identities

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can also derive the

Pythagorean identities.

Pythagorean Identities
sin2 𝜃 + cos 2 𝜃 = 1 1 + cot 2 𝜃 = csc 2 𝜃 tan2 𝜃 + 1 = sec 2 𝜃
sin2 𝜃 = 1 − cos 2 𝜃 cot 2 𝜃 = csc 2 𝜃 − 1 tan2 𝜃 = sec 2 𝜃 − 1
cos 2 𝜃 = 1 − sin2 𝜃 csc 2 𝜃 − csc 2 𝜃 = 1 sec 2 𝜃 − tan2 𝜃 = 1

10
 The Fundamental Trigonometric Identities

We also have the following addition identities rooted in

Pythagorean identities.

sin 𝜃 = ± 1 − cos 2 𝜃 cos 𝜃 = ± 1 − sin2 𝜃

cot 𝜃 = ± csc 2 𝜃 − 1 csc 𝜃 = ± 1 + cot 2 𝜃

tan 𝜃 = ± sec 2 𝜃 − 1 sec 𝜃 = ± tan2 𝜃 + 1

11
 Simplifying Trigonometric Expressions

The fundamental trigonometric identities can be used to

simplify trigonometric expressions or rewrite them in
terms of other trigonometric expressions.

12
Use any of the identities stated to simplify the following
trigonometric expressions.

𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝜽 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽
𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽
sin 𝜃
tan 𝜃 cos 𝜃 cos 𝜃 sin 𝜃
cos 𝜃
𝑎 = = =1
sin 𝜃 sin 𝜃 sin 𝜃

Solution:
𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽
𝒃
𝒄𝒐𝒕 𝜽 3
= 360° since 1 full rotation is 360°
2
cos
𝜃 cos 𝜃 sin 𝜃
𝑏 cot 𝜃 = cos 𝜃 = cos 𝜃 cos 𝜃
= 540° = sin 𝜃
Final answer: −𝟓𝟒𝟎° sincesin
it 𝜃
is clockwise
Use any of the identities stated to simplify the following
trigonometric expressions.

𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝜽 + 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝜽𝒕𝒂𝒏𝟐 𝜽

𝑐 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃 + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃𝑡𝑎𝑛2 𝜃 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃 1 + 𝑡𝑎𝑛2 𝜃 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃𝑠𝑒𝑐 2 𝜃
1
= 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃 =1
𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃
𝟏 + 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝟐 𝜽
𝒅
𝟏 + 𝒄𝒐𝒕𝟐 𝜽
Solution:
3
= 360° since 1 full rotation is 360°
2
= 540°
Final answer: −𝟓𝟒𝟎° since it is clockwise