Trig Identities - Angle Addition - Maple Help
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Trig Identities: Angle Addition

Main Concept

There are several trig identities used in mathematics, among which are the angle addition and subtraction formulas. These formulas are summarized as follows:

 

Angle Addition or Angle Subtraction

Equivalent Identity

sinA+B

sinAcosB+cosAsinB

sinA−B

sinAcosB−cosAsinB

cosA+B

cosAcosB−sinAsinB

cosA−B

cosAcosB+sinAsinB

tanA+B

tanA+tanB1−tanAtanB

tanA−B

tanA−tanB1+ tanAtanB

 

The following questions focus on angle addition. Both the identities for sinA+B and cosA+B can be derived using geometry as shown below.

 

Select the appropriate radio button and click "Next" to see, step by step, how the identity is derived.

 

Questions

1. Using the identities in the above table, determine the value of sin(75°).

2. Prove that tanA+B=tanA+tanB1−tanAtanB.

 

Solutions

Solution 1

You can use the identity sinA+B=sinAcosB+cosAsinB to determine the value of sin(75°):

 

First, note that 45° + 30° = 75°. This is important, as these angles form one of the special triangles:

 

 

From this, you can substitute the two angles into the identity for sinA+B:

 

sinA+B=sinAcosB+cosAsinB

sin30°+45°=sin30°cos45°+cos30°sin45°

sin75°=1212+3212

sin75°=24+64

sin75°=2+64

Solution 2

First, note that:

 

tanA+B=sinA+BcosA+B

 

Keeping this in mind, you can substitute the trig identities for sinA+B and cosA+B and get:

 

sinAcosB+cosAsinBcosAcosB−sinAsinB

 

Now, divide every term by cosAcosB:

 

sinAcosBcosAcosB+cosAsinBcosAcosBcosAcosBcosAcosB−sinAsinBcosAcosB

 

Simplify this expression as follows:

 

sinAcosA+sinBcosB1−sinAsinBcosAcosB

 

Finally, you can simplify this expression further by recalling that tanQ=sinQcosQ:

 

tanA+tanB1−tanAtanB

 

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