Inverse Trig Functions

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Taught by MrRutter
  • Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
9930 views | 3 ratings
Meets NCTM Standards:
Lesson Summary:

In this lesson on inverse trig functions, the teacher explains that an inverse trig function is not the same as a reciprocal power, and it involves swapping x and y values. The graphs of inverse trig functions are only contained in two quadrants, and they have limited ranges. The teacher demonstrates how to graph the inverse sine function, and how to evaluate expressions involving inverse trig functions by first finding the correct quadrant on the unit circle.

Lesson Description:

Learn about inverse trig functions and what their graphs look like.

Additional Resources:
  • Trig Graphs - A table of graphs of trig and inverse trig functions.
Questions answered by this video:
  • What are inverse trig functions?
  • What does inverse sin, inverse cos, and inverse tan mean?
  • What does sin^-1 theta mean?
  • How do you graph inverse trig functions?
  • What does the graph of y = inverse sin x look like?
  • What quadrants are the inverse trig functions defined in?
  • What is arcsin (-1)?
  • What is cot(sin^-1(1/2) - cos^-1(1))?
  • How do you calculate values of inverse trig functions?
  • Staff Review

    • Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
    This lesson is a good explanation of inverse trig functions, what they mean, and how they are graphed. A topic that is often quite difficult to understand and put on paper is done in a very straight-forward way.
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    • Currently 2.0/5 Stars.
    I like it but it would be appropriate to talk about why we restrict the range on the inverse sine. Reminder of one-to-one functions would help to fill in any gaps the viewer may have.