How to solve
Complementary angles swap sine and cosine: the opposite side for one acute angle is adjacent for its complement. That geometry is why sin(90° − θ) = cos θ and cos(90° − θ) = sin θ.
Steps
- Rewrite using sin(90° − θ) = cos θ or cos(90° − θ) = sin θ.
- Evaluate the resulting standard value if needed.
Example
Simplify sin(90° − 30°).
- Cofunction: sin(90° − 30°) = cos 30°.
- cos 30° = √3/2.
Answer: sqrt(3)/2
Loading drills…