Periodic Nature of Sine, Cosine, and Tangent

Definition

The periodic nature of sine, cosine, and tangent refers to their ability to repeat their values over regular intervals as their inputs change. This repetition occurs because these trigonometric functions follow specific patterns based on angles.

Related terms

Amplitude: Amplitude represents half of the distance between maximum and minimum points in one cycle of a periodic function. It's like the volume knob on your stereo, controlling how loud or soft the song (or trigonometric function) sounds.

Period: The period of a periodic function is the length of one complete cycle. It's similar to the duration of your favorite song before it starts playing again from the beginning.

Phase Shift: A phase shift occurs when a periodic function is shifted horizontally, causing it to start at a different point in its cycle. It's like starting your favorite song not from the beginning but jumping into it halfway through.