Trigonometry

Trigonometry Formulas & Identities Cheat Sheet

Basic Trig Ratios

FunctionDefinitionMnemonic
sinθ\sin\thetaOppositeHypotenuse\dfrac{\text{Opposite}}{\text{Hypotenuse}}SOH
cosθ\cos\thetaAdjacentHypotenuse\dfrac{\text{Adjacent}}{\text{Hypotenuse}}CAH
tanθ\tan\thetaOppositeAdjacent\dfrac{\text{Opposite}}{\text{Adjacent}}TOA
cscθ\csc\thetaHypotenuseOpposite=1sinθ\dfrac{\text{Hypotenuse}}{\text{Opposite}} = \dfrac{1}{\sin\theta}Reciprocal of sin
secθ\sec\thetaHypotenuseAdjacent=1cosθ\dfrac{\text{Hypotenuse}}{\text{Adjacent}} = \dfrac{1}{\cos\theta}Reciprocal of cos
cotθ\cot\thetaAdjacentOpposite=1tanθ\dfrac{\text{Adjacent}}{\text{Opposite}} = \dfrac{1}{\tan\theta}Reciprocal of tan

Pythagorean Identities

IdentityDerived FormDerived Form
sin2θ+cos2θ=1\sin^2\theta + \cos^2\theta = 1sin2θ=1cos2θ\sin^2\theta = 1 - \cos^2\thetacos2θ=1sin2θ\cos^2\theta = 1 - \sin^2\theta
tan2θ+1=sec2θ\tan^2\theta + 1 = \sec^2\thetatan2θ=sec2θ1\tan^2\theta = \sec^2\theta - 1sec2θtan2θ=1\sec^2\theta - \tan^2\theta = 1
1+cot2θ=csc2θ1 + \cot^2\theta = \csc^2\thetacot2θ=csc2θ1\cot^2\theta = \csc^2\theta - 1csc2θcot2θ=1\csc^2\theta - \cot^2\theta = 1

Reciprocal Identities

IdentityEquivalent
cscθ=1sinθ\csc\theta = \dfrac{1}{\sin\theta}sinθ=1cscθ\sin\theta = \dfrac{1}{\csc\theta}
secθ=1cosθ\sec\theta = \dfrac{1}{\cos\theta}cosθ=1secθ\cos\theta = \dfrac{1}{\sec\theta}
cotθ=1tanθ\cot\theta = \dfrac{1}{\tan\theta}tanθ=1cotθ\tan\theta = \dfrac{1}{\cot\theta}

Quotient Identities

Identity
tanθ=sinθcosθ\tan\theta = \dfrac{\sin\theta}{\cos\theta}
cotθ=cosθsinθ\cot\theta = \dfrac{\cos\theta}{\sin\theta}

Co-function Identities

IdentityIdentity
sinθ=cos(90°θ)\sin\theta = \cos(90° - \theta)cosθ=sin(90°θ)\cos\theta = \sin(90° - \theta)
tanθ=cot(90°θ)\tan\theta = \cot(90° - \theta)cotθ=tan(90°θ)\cot\theta = \tan(90° - \theta)
secθ=csc(90°θ)\sec\theta = \csc(90° - \theta)cscθ=sec(90°θ)\csc\theta = \sec(90° - \theta)

Even/Odd Identities

FunctionIdentityType
sin(θ)\sin(-\theta)=sinθ= -\sin\thetaOdd
cos(θ)\cos(-\theta)=cosθ= \cos\thetaEven
tan(θ)\tan(-\theta)=tanθ= -\tan\thetaOdd
csc(θ)\csc(-\theta)=cscθ= -\csc\thetaOdd
sec(θ)\sec(-\theta)=secθ= \sec\thetaEven
cot(θ)\cot(-\theta)=cotθ= -\cot\thetaOdd

Sum and Difference Formulas

Formula
sin(A+B)=sinAcosB+cosAsinB\sin(A + B) = \sin A\cos B + \cos A\sin B
sin(AB)=sinAcosBcosAsinB\sin(A - B) = \sin A\cos B - \cos A\sin B
cos(A+B)=cosAcosBsinAsinB\cos(A + B) = \cos A\cos B - \sin A\sin B
cos(AB)=cosAcosB+sinAsinB\cos(A - B) = \cos A\cos B + \sin A\sin B
tan(A+B)=tanA+tanB1tanAtanB\tan(A + B) = \dfrac{\tan A + \tan B}{1 - \tan A\tan B}
tan(AB)=tanAtanB1+tanAtanB\tan(A - B) = \dfrac{\tan A - \tan B}{1 + \tan A\tan B}

Double-Angle Formulas

FormulaAlternate Forms
sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\theta) = 2\sin\theta\cos\theta
cos(2θ)=cos2θsin2θ\cos(2\theta) = \cos^2\theta - \sin^2\theta=2cos2θ1=12sin2θ= 2\cos^2\theta - 1 = 1 - 2\sin^2\theta
tan(2θ)=2tanθ1tan2θ\tan(2\theta) = \dfrac{2\tan\theta}{1 - \tan^2\theta}

Half-Angle Formulas

Formula
sin ⁣(θ2)=±1cosθ2\sin\!\left(\dfrac{\theta}{2}\right) = \pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1 - \cos\theta}{2}}
cos ⁣(θ2)=±1+cosθ2\cos\!\left(\dfrac{\theta}{2}\right) = \pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1 + \cos\theta}{2}}
tan ⁣(θ2)=±1cosθ1+cosθ=sinθ1+cosθ=1cosθsinθ\tan\!\left(\dfrac{\theta}{2}\right) = \pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1 - \cos\theta}{1 + \cos\theta}} = \dfrac{\sin\theta}{1 + \cos\theta} = \dfrac{1 - \cos\theta}{\sin\theta}

The sign of the half-angle formulas depends on the quadrant of θ2\dfrac{\theta}{2}.

Power-Reducing Formulas

Formula
sin2θ=1cos(2θ)2\sin^2\theta = \dfrac{1 - \cos(2\theta)}{2}
cos2θ=1+cos(2θ)2\cos^2\theta = \dfrac{1 + \cos(2\theta)}{2}
tan2θ=1cos(2θ)1+cos(2θ)\tan^2\theta = \dfrac{1 - \cos(2\theta)}{1 + \cos(2\theta)}

Product-to-Sum Formulas

Formula
sinAcosB=12[sin(A+B)+sin(AB)]\sin A\cos B = \dfrac{1}{2}[\sin(A + B) + \sin(A - B)]
cosAcosB=12[cos(AB)+cos(A+B)]\cos A\cos B = \dfrac{1}{2}[\cos(A - B) + \cos(A + B)]
sinAsinB=12[cos(AB)cos(A+B)]\sin A\sin B = \dfrac{1}{2}[\cos(A - B) - \cos(A + B)]

Law of Sines and Cosines

FormulaUse
asinA=bsinB=csinC\dfrac{a}{\sin A} = \dfrac{b}{\sin B} = \dfrac{c}{\sin C}Two angles and a side, or two sides and an angle opposite one
c2=a2+b22abcosCc^2 = a^2 + b^2 - 2ab\cos CTwo sides and included angle, or three sides
Area=12absinC\text{Area} = \dfrac{1}{2}ab\sin CTwo sides and included angle

Special Angle Values

Anglesin\sincos\costan\tan
0°001100
30°30°12\dfrac{1}{2}32\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}13=33\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{3}} = \dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{3}
45°45°22\dfrac{\sqrt{2}}{2}22\dfrac{\sqrt{2}}{2}11
60°60°32\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}12\dfrac{1}{2}3\sqrt{3}
90°90°1100undefined

Degree-Radian Conversions

DegreesRadians
0°00
30°30°π6\dfrac{\pi}{6}
45°45°π4\dfrac{\pi}{4}
60°60°π3\dfrac{\pi}{3}
90°90°π2\dfrac{\pi}{2}
120°120°2π3\dfrac{2\pi}{3}
135°135°3π4\dfrac{3\pi}{4}
150°150°5π6\dfrac{5\pi}{6}
180°180°π\pi
270°270°3π2\dfrac{3\pi}{2}
360°360°2π2\pi

Conversion Formulas

ConversionFormula
Degrees to radiansradians=degrees×π180\text{radians} = \text{degrees} \times \dfrac{\pi}{180}
Radians to degreesdegrees=radians×180π\text{degrees} = \text{radians} \times \dfrac{180}{\pi}

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