Capitalising trigonometric functions

AI Thread Summary
Capitalizing trigonometric functions like Sinθ and Cosθ is not common practice, but it may indicate a specific convention or context. While it does not change the fundamental meaning of the functions, some texts use capitalized forms to denote restricted domains or complex extensions. There is some confusion regarding the use of capital letters, as different authors may apply them for various definitions. The discussion highlights the lack of consensus on this topic, with no definitive sources supporting the capitalization claim. Ultimately, the choice to capitalize trigonometric functions varies by author and context.
EricPowell
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I have always capitalised the first letter of my trigonometric functions, for example, writing Sinθ as opposed to the usual sinθ. Is it wrong to capitalise them? Does it make a difference in meaning?
 
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It does not, however that is not common practice.
 
It might make a difference, depending on your convention. Restricted sine and cosine functions sometimes have the first letter capitalised. Read: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Inverse-Cosine-and-Inverse-Sine.topicArticleId-11658,articleId-11639.html
 
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I think I've heard that Sin(x) was used for a different definition of the sine function, like sin(some constant* x).

EDIT: after looking up on the internet, I haven't found anything supporting my claim yet, so I could be wrong.
 
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Boorglar said:
I think I've heard that Sin(x) was used for a different definition of the sine function, like sin(some constant* x).
In some texts, Sin(x) is the sine function restricted to its principal domain, [-##\pi/2, \pi/2##].

Similarly, Cos(x) is the cosine function restricted to its principal domain, [0, ##\pi##].


Boorglar said:
EDIT: after looking up on the internet, I haven't found anything supporting my claim yet, so I could be wrong.
 
I've seen both Sin and Cos refer to the complex extensions of sin and cos. So it seems as if different authors use the capitalised forms for different variants.
 
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