Trigonometry · Intermediate · 9 min

A circle full of identities

The most familiar trig identity is just the Pythagorean theorem on a circle of radius one.

WHAT HAPPENS IF…Try angles in all four quadrants. Does the sum ever change?
Interactive exploration
Preparing your experiment…

Connect the picture to the ideacos⁡2θ+sin⁡2θ=1\cos^2\theta+\sin^2\theta=1

The coordinates of a unit-circle point satisfy x² + y² = 1. Substituting x = cos θ and y = sin θ proves the identity, including quadrants where a coordinate is negative.

A detail that matters

sin² θ means (sin θ)², not sin(θ²).

Keep the connection going

One idea leads to another.

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