The formulas cos(x±y)=cosxcosy∓sinxsiny
and sin(x±y)=sinxcosy±cosxsiny express the sine and cosine of a sum or
difference of two angles in terms of the sines and cosines of the individual angles;
cos(x−y) is established first, directly from the unit circle using the distance between two
points on it, and every other case -- cos(x+y), sin(x+y), sin(x−y), and the
corresponding formulas for tan(x±y) and cot(x±y) -- is deduced from it. A companion
family, the sum-to-product formulas (sinx+siny=2sin2x+ycos2x−y and its
three relatives), rewrites a sum or difference of two trigonometric terms as a product, which is
exactly what is needed to simplify an expression, prove an identity, or factor an equation
before solving it. Together these formulas are the single most-used toolkit in the chapter,
underlying the multiple-angle formulas, many identity proofs, and the standard-angle values such
as sin75∘ or tan15∘ that are not directly read off the unit circle.