You know sin2x+cos2x=1 — but the skill of turning a messy trig expression into that kind of clean form is trigonometric simplification. Because sines, cosines and their relatives are all tied together by identities from the unit circle, a tangled combination can almost always be rewritten as something shorter: a single term, a constant, or an easier combination.
Simplify 1+cosxsinx+sinx1+cosx. Over a common denominator the numerator is sin2x+(1+cosx)2=sin2x+1+2cosx+cos2x. The Pythagorean identity turns sin2x+cos2x into 1, giving 2+2cosx=2(1+cosx), so
sinx(1+cosx)2(1+cosx)=sinx2=2cscx.
A two-term sum collapses to one term.
Strategies that usually work
Convert everything to sines and cosines — cancellations then appear.
Spot Pythagorean pairs and replace them with 1 (or sec2, csc2).
Factor and cancel as you would with ordinary algebra.
Multiply by a conjugate — e.g. multiply 1+sinx1 by 1−sinx1−sinx to unlock a Pythagorean identity. …
Method: Collapse the numerator with a double-angle identity before dividing
If a numerator combines cos2x with sin2x or cos2x, substitute the double-angle form so the numerator simplifies (often to a constant), leaving a trivial integral.
Steps
Step 1: Replace cos2x with the form that cancels the other term.
Mistake 1: Choosing the wrong form of the cos2x identity.
Why it's wrong: to cancel the +2sin2x you need cos2x=1−2sin2x; using 2cos2x−1 leaves an uncancelled cos2x term and misses the clean simplification. Correct approach: pick the identity that makes cos2x+2sin2x=1.
Mistake 2: Overcomplicating a fraction that reduces to sec2x. …