How Do You Differentiate sin, cos, and tan Functions?

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter EIRE2003
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Differentiating
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the differentiation of trigonometric functions, specifically sine, cosine, and tangent. Participants explore the rules and methods for finding derivatives, including the use of limit definitions, Taylor series, and the quotient rule.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asks for the rules for differentiating tan, sin, and cos, noting the relationship between sine and cosine.
  • Another participant suggests deriving the derivative of sine using the limit definition and mentions that a Taylor series expansion can be used for the other functions.
  • A third participant lists the derivatives of sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent, indicating their relationships.
  • A later reply confirms the derivatives of sine and cosine and suggests using the quotient rule to derive the tangent function from its sine and cosine components.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the derivatives of sine and cosine, but there is no consensus on the best method for deriving the tangent function, as different approaches are mentioned.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the familiarity with calculus concepts, such as the limit definition and Taylor series, are present. The discussion does not resolve the best method for differentiation or the completeness of the derivative list provided.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students or individuals seeking clarification on the differentiation of trigonometric functions and the various methods available for finding these derivatives.

EIRE2003
Messages
107
Reaction score
0
What are the rules for differentiating tan, sin & cos?

I know cos = -sin

tan = sin/cos?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Be careful of what you type.

You can derive sin's derivative (say that five times fast) using the limit definition, from there a simple Taylor series expansion will get you the other two, or knowing sinx' = cosx and cosx' = -sinx, you can use the quotient rule to find tanx.
 
Yea, just like what Whozum said...

if [tex]f(x) = \sin \theta[/tex],[tex]f'(x) = \cos \theta[/tex]
[tex]f(x) = \cos \theta[/tex], [tex]f'(x) = -\sin \theta[/tex]
[tex]f(x) = \tan \theta[/tex], [tex]f'(x) = \sec^2 \theta[/tex]
[tex]f(x) = \csc \theta[/tex], [tex]f'(x) = -\csc\theta \cot\theta[/tex]
[tex]f(x) = \sec \theta[/tex], [tex]f'(x) = \sec\theta \tan\theta[/tex]
[tex]f(x)= \cot\theta[/tex], [tex]f'(x) = -\csc^2\theta[/tex]

Try finding the derivative of the inverse trig functions :rolleyes:
 
You are correct [tex]\frac{d}{dx}\cos{x} = -\sin{x}[/tex]

,and I assume you know that [tex]\frac{d}{dx}\sin{x} = \cos{x}[/tex].

Using these two definitions, use the quotient rule to find the derivative of tanx as Whozum said above.

[tex]\frac{d}{dx}\frac{u}{v} = \frac{vu' - uv'}{v^2}[/tex]

Express tangent as [tex]\frac{\sin{x}}{\cos{x}}[/tex] and see what you get using the rule above.

Jameson
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
4K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
4K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
4K
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
6K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K