General Discussion

Pre-Calculus was fine until we got to trigonometry. Where apparently tan^2x-sin^2x can equal (tan^2x)(sin^2x).

and here I thought that math could actually make sense for once

but honestly, I just don't know what to say... logic tells us that this statement is false, yet algebra proves this...?

what is life anymore

I hated trig. I thought calculus (so long as it didn't involve trig) was easier. Worst math ever. It was too visual-spatial for me. Unit circle and all those graphs. Ugh.

The trig theorems are vastly easier to understand if you dissect them. Instead of viewing that as tan and sin, view it as the numbers that make tan and sin. IIRC that statement is true because of division rules.


TBH calc and trig were pretty easy for me once I understood why everything worked. The how wasn't enough for me. What tripped me up in calc was the algebra. XD

@Hypercoaster

Yeah, the graphs messed me up for a bit :( I got confused trying to calculate their formulas, but thankfully I had a graphing app to double-check; hopefully I'll improve before the next test Dx

@Hawktalon

My math teacher told me that too :) Breaking them down made my life 200% easier :D And yeah, the algebra sometimes gets really messy. It seems like trigonometry in general is really messy :(

@feming

Good, glad you were able to find a way to wrap your head around it. For when you get into trig proofs, this site was a lifesaver for me. There are often multiple ways to prove things so it may not get you the answer your book is looking for but it's still a really valuable resource. You can plug in the original and then use it as a starting point or plug in several steps down if you get stuck.

https://www.symbolab.com/solver/trigonometric-identity-calculator

Oh gosh I remember trig. I learned a bunch of it earlier this year and I don't even remember most of it...I do remember being pretty good at it. Graphing sin, cos, and tan wasn't fun, but I could prove equations like the one in the OP, and that was the fun part.

@Novoluvaga

Thanks for the offer! I'm glad that you managed to ace it :D

@Hawktalon

WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS SITE BEFORE o.o thank you so much <33 this is definitely going to help

@Gootarts

I hope it'll get easier as I go on :) And yeah, it is kind of satisfying in a way once you finish the problem :D

@Naegiri

Proving equations are fun (sort of, as long as you understand what you're doing :P), but the graphs are just... ehh. Oh well, I think that we're done with graphs (for now). Time to face the algebra!

I actually LOVED trigonometry when I took pre-calc in high school. Unfortunately I dont remember much of it anymore. :(