Assignment Activity Unit 6: Trigonometric and Inverse Trigonometric

Functions

MATH 1201 — College Algebra

Task 1

After completing one revolution starting from the initial line, point A is observed to have

coordinates (−√3/2, 1/2) on the unit circle. This corresponds to a standard angle of θ = 150° =

5π/6 radians, since cos θ = −√3/2 and sin θ = 1/2 identify this exact point on the circle.

Figure 1. Point A at θ = 150° on the unit circle, with reference angle 30°.

i. All six trigonometric function values

Using the coordinates of Point A, x = cos θ = −√3/2 and y = sin θ = 1/2, the six trigonometric

functions are calculated using their unit-circle definitions:

sin θ = y = 1/2

cos θ = x = −√3/2
tan θ = sin θ / cos θ = (1/2) ÷ (−√3/2) = −√3/3 (≈ −0.577)

csc θ = 1 / sin θ = 1 ÷ (1/2) = 2

sec θ = 1 / cos θ = 1 ÷ (−√3/2) = −2√3/3 (≈ −1.155)

cot θ = 1 / tan θ = −√3 (≈ −1.732)

ii. Quadrant

Point A lies in Quadrant II. The x-coordinate (−√3/2) is negative and the y-coordinate (1/2) is

positive, and only Quadrant II satisfies both conditions (x < 0, y > 0).

iii. Angle and reference angle

The angle formed by Point A and the positive x-axis, measured counterclockwise, is θ = 150°

(5π/6 radians). Its reference angle — the acute angle between the terminal side and the x-axis —

is 180° − 150° = 30° (π/6 radians).

Task 2

Alice stands at Point A, 4 meters from the base of a 6-meter tree, observing an object at the top.

She then moves to Point B, 2 meters from the tree. Both points, the base of the tree, and the

object form two right triangles sharing the vertical side (the tree).
 Figure 2. Angles of elevation from Points A and B to the object at the treetop.

i. Angles at A and B

The angle of elevation is found using the tangent ratio: tan(angle) = opposite / adjacent = height

of tree / horizontal distance.

At Point A (4 m away): tan(∠A) = 6/4 = 1.5 → ∠A = arctan(1.5) ≈ 56.31°

At Point B (2 m away): tan(∠B) = 6/2 = 3 → ∠B = arctan(3) ≈ 71.57°

These angles — measured from the horizontal ground up to the line of sight toward the object —

are called angles of elevation.

ii. Comparing angle A and angle B

Angle B (≈71.57°) is larger than Angle A (≈56.31°). This shows that as an observer moves closer

to a tall object, the angle of elevation increases; conversely, when observing an object from

farther away, the angle of elevation is smaller. Distance and the angle of elevation are inversely

related for a fixed object height.

iii. Distance from the object to A and B

The straight-line distance from the object to each observation point is the hypotenuse of each

right triangle, found with the Pythagorean theorem, d = √(height² + horizontal distance²):

Distance to A = √(6² + 4²) = √(36 + 16) = √52 = 2√13 ≈ 7.21 meters

Distance to B = √(6² + 2²) = √(36 + 4) = √40 = 2√10 ≈ 6.32 meters

Task 3
a. Sine equation from given properties

Given: Midline = 5, Amplitude = 13, Period = 2π, Phase shift = 0. The general sine form is y = A

sin(B(x − C)) + D, where A = amplitude, D = midline, C = phase shift, and period = 2π/B.

Since the period is already 2π, B = 2π ÷ 2π = 1. With A = 13, D = 5, and C = 0, the equation is:

y = 13 sin(x) + 5

Figure 3. Graph of y = 13 sin(x) + 5, oscillating between −8 and 18 about the midline y = 5.

b. Analysis of y = 15 tan(πx/3 + 2)

The general tangent form is y = A tan(B(x − C)), where A is the stretching factor and the period

is π/B. Rewriting the argument: πx/3 + 2 = (π/3)(x + 6/π), so B = π/3 and C = −6/π.
Stretching factor: A = 15

Period: π ÷ (π/3) = 3

Phase shift: C = −6/π ≈ −1.91 (a shift of 6/π units to the left)

Vertical asymptotes occur where the tangent argument equals π/2 + kπ (k an integer):

πx/3 + 2 = π/2 + kπ → x = 3/2 − 6/π + 3k, for any integer k

Domain: all real numbers except x = 3/2 − 6/π + 3k, where k is any integer

Figure 4. Graph of y = 15 tan(πx/3 + 2) showing period 3 and vertical asymptotes.

c. Coordinates of points a, b, d, e, f

The curve reaches its maximum value (y = 1) at θ = 0°, matching the shape of a cosine function

rather than a sine function (which would instead cross zero at θ = 0°). Reading the key zero,

maximum, and minimum points at 90° intervals gives:

a = (−360°, 1)

b = (−180°, −1)

d = (90°, 0)
e = (180°, −1)

f = (270°, 0)

This confirms the graph represents the cosine function, y = cos(θ), since cos(0°) = 1 (the peak at

the origin) and the curve is symmetric about the y-axis (an even function), unlike sine which is

odd and passes through the origin.

Figure 5. y = cos(θ) with points a, b, d, e, and f labeled at 90° intervals.

Task 4

The chosen trigonometric function is Y = f(X) = sin(X), with its inverse f⁻¹(Y) = arcsin(Y).

Because sine is periodic and not one-to-one over all real numbers, its inverse function arcsin is

defined only by restricting the range to [−π/2, π/2]. The completed table below fills in Y = sin(X)

for each given X value, and then f⁻¹(Y) = arcsin(Y), evaluated using that restricted range.

X 0 π/3 2π/3 π/2 π 4π/3 2π

Y = f(X) = 0 √3/2 ≈ √3/2 ≈ 1 0 −√3/2 ≈ 0
sin(X) 0.87 0.87 −0.87
f⁻¹(Y) = 0 π/3 π/3 π/2 0 −π/3 0
arcsin(Y)
Figure 6. Left: Y = sin(X) over [0, 2π] with table values marked. Right: f⁻¹(Y) = arcsin(Y) over its domain [−1, 1].

Periodicity

The table shows Y = sin(X) returning to 0 at X = 0, π, and 2π, and repeating the same value

(√3/2) at both X = π/3 and X = 2π/3. This reflects the period of sine, 2π: the function completes

one full cycle of values every 2π units and repeats identically thereafter.

Domain and range of Y = f(X) and f⁻¹(Y)

Y = f(X) = sin(X): domain is all real numbers (ℝ); range is [−1, 1].

f⁻¹(Y) = arcsin(Y): domain is [−1, 1]; range is restricted to [−π/2, π/2].

Notice that f⁻¹(Y) does not always return the original X value — for example, X = 2π/3 maps to

Y = √3/2, but arcsin(√3/2) returns π/3, not 2π/3. This happens because sine is not one-to-one

over all reals, so its true inverse only exists once the domain is restricted; arcsin always returns

the value within [−π/2, π/2], not necessarily the original input.

Even, odd, or neither

Y = f(X) = sin(X) is an odd function, because sin(−X) = −sin(X) for all X (its graph is symmetric

about the origin). This can also be verified from the table: sin(π/3) ≈ 0.87 while sin(−π/3) would

equal −0.87, satisfying f(−X) = −f(X).

References

Abramson, J. (2021). Algebra and trigonometry (2nd ed.). OpenStax.

[Link]

Mathispower4u. (2010a, March 1). Determine trigonometric function values using the unit circle

[Video]. YouTube. [Link]

Mathispower4u. (2010b, May 11). Graphing sine and cosine with transformations [Video].

YouTube. [Link]

Mathispower4u. (2011a, May 24). Example: Determine what trig function relates specific sides

of a right triangle [Video]. YouTube. [Link]

Mathispower4u. (2011b, May 26). More examples: Determining trig function values using the

unit circle [Video]. YouTube. [Link]

Mathispower4u. (2011c, June 3). Examples: Evaluate expression involving inverse trig functions

(Part 1) [Video]. YouTube. [Link]