Trigonometric Identities Table

A complete reference table of trigonometric identities, organized by category. These formulas are essential tools in algebra, calculus, and physics — use them to simplify expressions, solve equations, and convert between trigonometric forms.

Fundamental Identities

The three Pythagorean identities and the basic reciprocal and quotient relationships.

IdentityFormula
Pythagorean (sin/cos)sin²θ + cos²θ = 1
Pythagorean (tan/sec)1 + tan²θ = sec²θ
Pythagorean (cot/csc)1 + cot²θ = csc²θ
Reciprocal — csccsc θ = 1 / sin θ
Reciprocal — secsec θ = 1 / cos θ
Reciprocal — cotcot θ = 1 / tan θ
Quotient — tantan θ = sin θ / cos θ
Quotient — cotcot θ = cos θ / sin θ

Cofunction and Even/Odd Identities

Cofunction identities relate a function to its complement (90° − θ). Even/odd identities describe behavior under negation of the angle.

IdentityFormula
Cofunction — sin/cossin θ = cos(90° − θ)
Cofunction — cos/sincos θ = sin(90° − θ)
Cofunction — tan/cottan θ = cot(90° − θ)
Cofunction — cot/tancot θ = tan(90° − θ)
Cofunction — sec/cscsec θ = csc(90° − θ)
Cofunction — csc/seccsc θ = sec(90° − θ)
Even — coscos(−θ) = cos θ
Even — secsec(−θ) = sec θ
Odd — sinsin(−θ) = −sin θ
Odd — tantan(−θ) = −tan θ
Odd — csccsc(−θ) = −csc θ
Odd — cotcot(−θ) = −cot θ

Sum and Difference Formulas

Expand or simplify expressions involving sums or differences of two angles.

IdentityFormula
sin(A + B)sin A cos B + cos A sin B
sin(A − B)sin A cos B − cos A sin B
cos(A + B)cos A cos B − sin A sin B
cos(A − B)cos A cos B + sin A sin B
tan(A + B)(tan A + tan B) / (1 − tan A tan B)
tan(A − B)(tan A − tan B) / (1 + tan A tan B)

Double Angle Formulas

Express functions of 2A in terms of functions of A. cos(2A) has three equivalent forms.

IdentityFormula
sin(2A)2 sin A cos A
cos(2A) — form 1cos²A − sin²A
cos(2A) — form 22 cos²A − 1
cos(2A) — form 31 − 2 sin²A
tan(2A)2 tan A / (1 − tan²A)

Half Angle Formulas

Express functions of A/2 in terms of functions of A. The ± sign depends on the quadrant of A/2.

IdentityFormula
sin(A/2)±√((1 − cos A) / 2)
cos(A/2)±√((1 + cos A) / 2)
tan(A/2) — form 1±√((1 − cos A) / (1 + cos A))
tan(A/2) — form 2sin A / (1 + cos A)
tan(A/2) — form 3(1 − cos A) / sin A

Power-Reducing Formulas

Reduce the power of squared trig functions. Derived from the double angle formulas for cos(2A).

IdentityFormula
sin²A(1 − cos 2A) / 2
cos²A(1 + cos 2A) / 2
tan²A(1 − cos 2A) / (1 + cos 2A)

Product-to-Sum and Sum-to-Product

Convert between products and sums of trigonometric functions.

IdentityFormula
sin A cos B½ [sin(A + B) + sin(A − B)]
cos A cos B½ [cos(A − B) + cos(A + B)]
sin A sin B½ [cos(A − B) − cos(A + B)]
sin A + sin B2 sin((A+B)/2) cos((A−B)/2)
sin A − sin B2 cos((A+B)/2) sin((A−B)/2)
cos A + cos B2 cos((A+B)/2) cos((A−B)/2)
cos A − cos B−2 sin((A+B)/2) sin((A−B)/2)

References

See also