Your calculator dies in the middle of a quiz, and the question asks for the exact value of $\sin 75^\circ$. The angle $75^\circ$ isn't on the special-angle table, and it is tempting to write $\sin 45^\circ + \sin 30^\circ$. That is wrong. In this section you'll learn the correct formulas, and they let you build exact values for new angles out of the ones you already know.
The Sum Formulas
Suppose you turn through an angle $\alpha$ and then through an angle $\beta$. The total turn is $\alpha + \beta$. The formulas below tell you the sine, cosine, and tangent of that total turn using only the ratios of $\alpha$ and $\beta$ separately.
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Express $\cos(x + \frac{\pi}{2})$ in terms of the trigonometric ratios of the angle $x$ by expanding the corresponding sum formula and simplifying the result.
Express $\cos(x + \frac{\pi}{2})$ in terms of the trigonometric ratios of the angle $x$ by expanding the corresponding sum formula and simplifying the result.
Find the exact value of $\tan(75^\circ)$ by applying the formula for the tangent of a sum from the angles of $45^\circ$ and $30^\circ$. Rationalize the denominator if…
Find the exact value of $\tan(75^\circ)$ by applying the formula for the tangent of a sum from the angles of $45^\circ$ and $30^\circ$. Rationalize the denominator if necessary.
Calculate exactly the value of the expression $\sin(15^\circ)\cos(30^\circ) + \cos(15^\circ)\sin(30^\circ)$. Use this geometric result to find the exact area of a…
Calculate exactly the value of the expression $\sin(15^\circ)\cos(30^\circ) + \cos(15^\circ)\sin(30^\circ)$. Use this geometric result to find the exact area of a parallelogram whose adjacent sides measure $8$ in and $10$ in, knowing that the angle they form is precisely the sum of $15^\circ$ and $30^\circ$.
Many problems don't give you $\alpha$ or $\beta$, only some of their ratios. The sum formulas need all four values: $\sin\alpha$, $\cos\alpha$, $\sin\beta$, $\cos\beta$. So first find the missing ones with the Pythagorean identity $\sin^2\theta + \cos^2\theta = 1$, or with a right triangle, and pay attention to the quadrant.
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Knowing that $\sin \alpha = \frac{4}{5}$ and $\cos \beta = \frac{12}{13}$, and that both $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are acute angles (belonging to the first quadrant),…
Knowing that $\sin \alpha = \frac{4}{5}$ and $\cos \beta = \frac{12}{13}$, and that both $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are acute angles (belonging to the first quadrant), calculate the exact value of $\sin(\alpha + \beta)$.
Given the angles $\alpha$ and $\beta$ such that $\sin \alpha = \frac{3}{5}$ with $\alpha \in [\frac{\pi}{2}, \pi]$ and $\cos \beta = \frac{5}{13}$ with…
Given the angles $\alpha$ and $\beta$ such that $\sin \alpha = \frac{3}{5}$ with $\alpha \in [\frac{\pi}{2}, \pi]$ and $\cos \beta = \frac{5}{13}$ with $\beta \in [\frac{3\pi}{2}, 2\pi]$, calculate the exact value of $\cos(\alpha + \beta)$.
A surveyor observes the roof of a building with an angle of elevation $\alpha$, satisfying $\cos \alpha = \frac{4}{5}$. Behind this building, in the same line of sight,…
A surveyor observes the roof of a building with an angle of elevation $\alpha$, satisfying $\cos \alpha = \frac{4}{5}$. Behind this building, in the same line of sight, there is a telecommunications tower. The additional angle of elevation from the roof of the building to the top of the tower, measured from the previous line of sight, is $\beta$, with $\sin \beta = \frac{7}{25}$. Knowing that both angles are acute, calculate the exact value of the cosine of the total angle of elevation $\alpha + \beta$ to the top of the tower.
The sum formulas are also tools for algebra. To simplify an expression or prove an identity with a sum inside, expand the sum, substitute any exact values, then combine like terms.
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Prove the following trigonometric identity by expanding the numerator using the corresponding formula and simplifying the fraction:…
Prove the following trigonometric identity by expanding the numerator using the corresponding formula and simplifying the fraction:
Simplify the trigonometric expression $\cos(x + \frac{\pi}{3}) + \sin(x + \frac{\pi}{6})$ so that it is exclusively in terms of $\cos x$ and/or $\sin x$.
Simplify the trigonometric expression $\cos(x + \frac{\pi}{3}) + \sin(x + \frac{\pi}{6})$ so that it is exclusively in terms of $\cos x$ and/or $\sin x$.
In any non-right triangle $ABC$, knowing that the sum of its interior angles is $A+B+C = 180^\circ$, prove mathematically the following fundamental relationship:…
In any non-right triangle $ABC$, knowing that the sum of its interior angles is $A+B+C = 180^\circ$, prove mathematically the following fundamental relationship:
Sometimes all you know are the tangents, such as the slopes of two ramps or the two tangents of a pair of deviations. Then the tangent formula is the best tool. Notice the minus in the denominator, and that tangent works with slopes, so no square roots are needed.
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Given two angles $\alpha$ and $\beta$ such that $\tan \alpha = 3$ and $\tan \beta = 2$, determine the exact value of $\tan(\alpha + \beta)$.
Given two angles $\alpha$ and $\beta$ such that $\tan \alpha = 3$ and $\tan \beta = 2$, determine the exact value of $\tan(\alpha + \beta)$.
In a solar engineering project, a photovoltaic panel has an initial inclination $\alpha$ such that $\tan \alpha = \frac{3}{4}$. To optimize capture in winter, a…
In a solar engineering project, a photovoltaic panel has an initial inclination $\alpha$ such that $\tan \alpha = \frac{3}{4}$. To optimize capture in winter, a mechanism increases the inclination by an additional angle of $15^\circ$. Calculate the exact value of $\tan(\alpha + 15^\circ)$ without using decimal approximations, knowing that $\tan(15^\circ) = 2 - \sqrt{3}$.
In an optics experiment, a light beam passes through two consecutive prisms that deviate its path in the same plane. The first prism produces a deviation $\alpha$ such…
In an optics experiment, a light beam passes through two consecutive prisms that deviate its path in the same plane. The first prism produces a deviation $\alpha$ such that $\tan \alpha = \frac{1}{3}$, and the second an additional deviation $\beta$ such that $\tan \beta = \frac{1}{2}$. Show that the total deviation $\alpha + \beta$ is exactly $45^\circ$ by calculating the tangent of the sum angle.
What if you know the sum and one of the angles, and need the other? Put the known numbers into the tangent formula, and you get an equation in $\tan\beta$. Solve that equation as you would any linear equation.
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Knowing that $\tan \alpha = \frac{1}{2}$ and that the tangent of the sum angle is $\tan(\alpha + \beta) = 3$, determine the exact value of $\tan \beta$ by setting up the…
Knowing that $\tan \alpha = \frac{1}{2}$ and that the tangent of the sum angle is $\tan(\alpha + \beta) = 3$, determine the exact value of $\tan \beta$ by setting up the corresponding equation from the addition formula.
A planar robotic arm consists of two links. The first link forms an angle $\alpha$ with the horizontal, where $\sin \alpha = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$ (being in the first…
A planar robotic arm consists of two links. The first link forms an angle $\alpha$ with the horizontal, where $\sin \alpha = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$ (being in the first quadrant). The second link forms an angle $\beta$ of relative rotation with respect to the extension of the first link. If to reach a critical part it is required that the total inclination of the second link with respect to the horizontal is such that $\tan(\alpha + \beta) = 2$, calculate the exact value of $\tan \beta$.
A reconnaissance plane initially flies on a heading that forms an angle $\alpha$ north of east, verifying that $\tan \alpha = \frac{3}{4}$. A strong crosswind deviates…
A reconnaissance plane initially flies on a heading that forms an angle $\alpha$ north of east, verifying that $\tan \alpha = \frac{3}{4}$. A strong crosswind deviates its path by an additional angle $\beta$ to the north, so that the effective heading over the ground forms an angle $\alpha + \beta$ with the east. If the control tower measures that the tangent of the effective heading is $\frac{12}{5}$, find the exact values of $\sin \beta$ and $\cos \beta$ without resorting to calculating the angles with a calculator.
When the unknown angle appears inside a sum, expand it. The equation then involves $\sin x$ and $\cos x$ alone, and you can usually reduce it to a single tangent.
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Solve the trigonometric equation $\sin(x + 30^\circ) = 2\cos x$ for the interval $x \in [0^\circ, 360^\circ)$. Express the solutions exactly in degrees.
Solve the trigonometric equation $\sin(x + 30^\circ) = 2\cos x$ for the interval $x \in [0^\circ, 360^\circ)$. Express the solutions exactly in degrees.
Solve the following system of trigonometric equations for $x, y \in [0, \frac{\pi}{2}]$ and give the exact values of $x$ and $y$ in radians: $\sin(x+y) = 1$…
Solve the following system of trigonometric equations for $x, y \in [0, \frac{\pi}{2}]$ and give the exact values of $x$ and $y$ in radians:
Back to the start: to find $\sin 75^\circ$ exactly, write $75^\circ = 45^\circ + 30^\circ$ and apply $\sin(\alpha+\beta) = \sin\alpha\cos\beta + \cos\alpha\sin\beta$. The result is $\dfrac{\sqrt6+\sqrt2}{4}$, not $\sin 45^\circ + \sin 30^\circ$.
Summary
Let's practice! 8 medium exercises in this section