A trigonometric identity is an equation in trigonometric functions that holds for every admissible value of the angle, not just for special ones. The three fundamental identities all descend from a single geometric fact — that a point (cosθ, sinθ) always lies on the unit circle, so x2+y2=1 becomes
sin2θ+cos2θ=1
Dividing this identity through by cos2θ gives tan2θ+1=sec2θ, i.e. 1+tan2θ=sec2θ (valid wherever cosθ ≠ 0); dividing instead by sin2θ gives 1+cot2θ=cosec2θ (valid wherever sinθ ≠ 0). These three identities are the basic toolkit for simplifying trigonometric expressions: they let you rewrite sec2θ−1 as tan2θ, combine fractions with denominators like 1−sinθ and 1+sinθ (whose product is cos2θ), find one tri …