Adding Sine and Cosine Waves- How to get formula

In summary, the conversation discusses a screenshot from a textbook that explains how to get the formula for adding sines and cosines. The person is confused about the placement of the hypotenuse in the formula and learns that it is a result of multiplying by 1 in order to maintain equality. The conversation also delves into whether the +θ in the formula is a phase shift, and it is confirmed that it is.
  • #1
opus
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I have included a screenshot of a part of my textbook that is giving me a slight bit of confusion.

It's talking about how to get the formula for adding sines and cosines.

The part that I am confused about is the very first formula introduced in the screenshot.

From what I understand, we are taking one side of the sum of sines formula, and Asin(x)+Bcos(x).
The part in parentheses I do understand. It's stating the sum of sines formula in a different way. But I do not understand why the ##\sqrt{A^2+B^2}##, which would be the hypotenuse, is on the outside of the parentheses.
 

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  • #2
Here’s a shot of my understanding of it thus far.
 

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  • #3
opus said:
I have included a screenshot of a part of my textbook that is giving me a slight bit of confusion.

It's talking about how to get the formula for adding sines and cosines.

The part that I am confused about is the very first formula introduced in the screenshot.

From what I understand, we are taking one side of the sum of sines formula, and Asin(x)+Bcos(x).
The part in parentheses I do understand. It's stating the sum of sines formula in a different way. But I do not understand why the ##\sqrt{A^2+B^2}##, which would be the hypotenuse, is on the outside of the parentheses.
In a thread earlier today, you learned that you could multiply one side of an equation by 1 and still maintain equality. So multiply ##A~sin(x) + B~cos(x)## by ##\frac {\sqrt{A^2+B^2}} {\sqrt{A^2+B^2}}## and see what you get. It should look a lot like the first line of the derivation.
 
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  • #4
AH! That's the one! Threw me off a little because it looks like they did that, and they factored the square root term out of the numerator and left it in the denominator. That is perfect, thank you!
 
  • #5
As an additional question, now that we have the Sum of Sines and Cosines formula
##Asin\left(x\right)+Bcos\left(x\right)## = ##\sqrt{A^2+B^2}sin\left(x+θ\right)##,
is the +θ considered a phase shift? That is, are we taking the graph of sin(x) and shifting it θ to the left?
 
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  • #6
opus said:
As an additional question, now that we have the Sum of Sines and Cosines formula
##Asin\left(x\right)+Bcos\left(x\right)## = ##\sqrt{A^2+B^2}sin\left(x+θ\right)##,
is the +θ considered a phase shift? That is, are we taking the graph of sin(x) and shifting it θ to the left?
Yes, that is exactly the case.
 
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  • #7
Thank you tnich.
 
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FAQ: Adding Sine and Cosine Waves- How to get formula

What is the formula for adding sine and cosine waves?

The formula for adding sine and cosine waves is:
y = a*sin(x) + b*cos(x)
Where "a" and "b" are the amplitudes of the sine and cosine waves, respectively, and "x" is the angle in radians.

How do I determine the amplitude of a sine or cosine wave?

The amplitude of a sine or cosine wave can be determined by looking at the highest and lowest points of the wave. The distance between these two points is the amplitude. Alternatively, you can also use the formula:
amplitude = (maximum value - minimum value) / 2

Can I add more than two sine and cosine waves?

Yes, you can add any number of sine and cosine waves together using the same formula:
y = a1*sin(x) + a2*sin(x) + ... + an*sin(x) + b1*cos(x) + b2*cos(x) + ... + bn*cos(x)
Where a1, a2, ..., an are the amplitudes of the sine waves and b1, b2, ..., bn are the amplitudes of the cosine waves.

How do I know which wave is the sine wave and which is the cosine wave?

The sine wave is usually represented by the letter "sin" and the cosine wave is represented by the letter "cos". In the formula, the "a" coefficient represents the sine wave and the "b" coefficient represents the cosine wave. Additionally, the sine wave has a phase shift of 90 degrees (or π/2 radians) compared to the cosine wave.

Can I use this formula for any angle measurement?

Yes, this formula can be used for any angle measurement as long as it is in radians. If your angle is given in degrees, you can convert it to radians by multiplying it by π/180.

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