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Thursday, April 3, 2014

Reflection# 1: Unit Q, Trigonometric Identities

What does it actually mean to verify a trig identity?
When we are asked to verify an identity what we have to do is make sure that both sides equal each other exactly. we can do this by substituting trig functions with each other. No matter what, both sides equal the same thing. we just have to check that its true. 
What tips and tricks have you found helpful? 
Well the best tip for this unit is memorize the identities. If you know your identities you can look at a problem and be ahead of the problem. There were times where i knew what i was going to do in the problem two steps before i actually did them. This was thanks to me memorizing the identities. 
Explain your thought process and steps you take in verifying a trig identity.  Do not use a specific example, but speak in general terms of what you would do no matter what they give you. 
The first thing that i would see is what are the terms in which we have to end up with. Is it going to be a fraction? Do they cancel at the end? these are some questions that go through my mind in the beginning. then if i have a fraction i try to get rid of the bottom part if possible. then i try to set everything to sin and cosine. so that later i can just move those two around to turn them into the trig function it has to equal to.  

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