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20th Nov 2009

Pythagorean Identities

The identity: sin˛x + cos˛x = 1 can be used to derive two more important identities:

By dividing each of these terms by sin˛x, we can derive a second identity:

  • 1 + cot˛x = cosec˛x

By dividing (*) by cos˛x, we arrive at the third (and final) identity:

  • tan˛x + 1 = sec˛x

These identities work for any angle x (measure in either degrees or radians).


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