Mathematics Education

Lesson Plan Template

Fall 2009

Lesson Topic: Inverse Trigonometric Functions

Teacher: Jeff McMahon

OVERVIEW OF LESSON
This generalization lesson is a direct follow-up to the first two lessons taught about
inverse functions in which students identified properties of inverse functions and their
graphs. In the introduction, the following pre-requisite knowledge will be reviewed by
questioning the students (see details below): in general, the domain of a function is the
range of its inverse and the range of the function is the domain of its inverse; for a
one-to-one function, the graph of the inverse function is obtained by reflecting the
graph of the original function across the line y=x; and if a function is not one-to-one, a
domain restriction defining a new one-to-one function is necessary so the inverse
function of the “new function” can be found. We will also discuss what information
we obtain by using an inverse trig function (i.e., what angle gives me a particular
sine/cosine/tangent value?). In the lesson body, students will work together to
construct the graphs of the inverse trigonometric functions using one laptop per person
and a teacher developed GSP file (“McMahon_InverseTrigFunctions_091116.gsp”;
information conveyor/construction aide) to generate the reflection of the trigonometric
functions sin(x), cos(x), and tan(x) across y = x by dragging a point on each function
and observing the trace of the reflected point. Note: If it seems like the students are
having difficulty using the GSP file as a class, the SmartBoard will be available for a
teacher demonstration in a large group setting (communication technology). Using the
evidence they gather from the GSP file (collaboration technology that supplies
necessary data for group work) the students will work within the group to develop a
consensus of which domain restriction they feel is necessary to create a “new
function” for which the inverse function is one of the inverse trigonometric functions
mentioned above. Each student will have a worksheet outlining how to use the GSP
file as technology for learning mathematics to find the “new function” and construct
the graphs of the inverse trigonometric functions arcsin(x), arccos(x), and arctan(x) as
the reflection of the graph of the “new function” across y = x [worksheet is
communication technology, albeit very low-tech]. Students will then verify that their
conjectured inverse function is the proper inverse trigonometric function using the
“show” action button in the GSP file (answer checker). If time permits, students will
solve right triangle problems by using the TI-Nspire to calculate various values
(answer giver) for the inverse trigonometric functions, which is technology for doing
mathematics.

McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 1 of 10

BASIC COMPONENTS
1. Lesson goals & objectives
a. Targeted Idea
(Generalization of a Concept) To find the single valued inverse function of a
periodic trigonometric function, the original function’s domain must be restricted
on an interval so we have a new one-to-one function that fully encompasses the
range of the trigonometric function. Thus, the range of the inverse function is
equivalent to the domain of the new one-to-one function.
Objectives
1. Students will perform the horizontal line test on the original trigonometric
function to find an interval that is one-to-one and encompasses the entire range
of the trigonometric function, which will be referred to as the “new function”
(Generalization of a Procedure) This can be done with gestures relating to what
is seen on the laptop screen or in GSP by constructing and dragging a
horizontal line
2. Using the reflection trace generated in GSP, students will identify the proper
range of the inverse trigonometric function and verbally justify how the graph
of their conjectured inverse function passes the vertical line test and has a
range equivalent to the domain of the aforementioned new one-to-one function
(Generalization of a Concept).
** (Extension) Students will use the TI-Nspire calculator application to
evaluate inverse trigonometric functions when given two side lengths of a right
triangle (Procedure)
b. Main Pennsylvania mathematics standard addressed
2.8.11.O Determine the domain and range of a relation, given a graph or set of
ordered pairs. (Objective 1 and 2)
2.8.11.S Analyze properties and relationships of functions (e.g., linear,
polynomial, rational, trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic). (Objective 1 and 2)
2.10.11.B Identify, create, and solve practical problems involving right triangles
using the trigonometric functions and the Pythagorean Theorem. (Extension)

1. Lesson flow
a. Introduction (4-5 minutes)
Since this is the second time the students will be reviewing the concepts
presented in my first peer teaching lesson, I will simply ask the students what
they know about the graph of the inverse if they are given a point (a, b) on the
original function, along with justification.
Anticipated Responses:
McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 2 of 10
 1. The point (b,a) must be on the inverse because the input and output of
the original function switch roles in the inverse.
2. The point (b,a) has to be on the inverse because the coordinates flip-
flop. Follow-up question: Which coordinate acts as the domain in
the original function and what is its role in the inverse?
Anticipated Response: For the point (a,b), a is the input and b
is the output. Since the roles of input and output are reversed for
the inverse, the point (b,a) is on the graph and now b is the input
and a is the output.
3. I can’t remember…that was a long time ago! Teacher follow-up:
“Can anyone remind (name) what we have been talking about
regarding the domains and ranges of functions and their inverses?
Anticipated response to follow-up is (1) or (2) above
Next, I will ask someone to summarize the generalization of the shape of the
graph of the inverse of a one-to-one function (being careful to emphasize ONE-
TO-ONE.
Anticipated Responses:
1. If you reflect the graph of the original function across y = x you
get the graph of the inverse.
2. There is a mirror image across y = x.
Having discussed that prerequisite knowledge, the next step I take will be
drawing y = x2 on the board from the HLQ used at the end of the last lesson. I
will clarify the conclusion from the conceptual lesson that when the original
function is not one-to-one, it is necessary to make a domain restriction and define
a “new” one-to-one function, for which we then find the inverse function of the
“new function”. Students should keep this in mind as we do our activity today.
To formally introduce the topic of the day, I will write “sin-1(x)” and ask students
if that expression is equivalent to 1/sin(x) (White Board Layout attached as
“McMahon_WhiteBoardLayout_091118.doc”).
Anticipated Responses:
1. Yes, when you take something to a negative power it means
the reciprocal, so 1/sin(x) makes sense.
Anticipated difficulty: As illustrated by the response,
students mistake the notation to mean the reciprocal of a
function instead of the inverse function arcsin(x)
Teacher action: Using the Mac “Grapher” Utility, I
will graph the function y = sin(x) and y = 1/sin(x). I will ask
the students if the graph of y = 1/sin(x) could be an inverse
function for the sine function based on what we know about
the mirror images. Anticipated response: “No, that can’t be
the inverse, but then what is it? (Technology as a puzzle)”
McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 3 of 10
 2. It might not be because sin(x) can be zero and then it would
be undefined.
3. No, sin-1(x) asks you to find the angle you need to get a sine
value of x. The expressions aren’t equivalent. Note: this
interpretation is necessary to do the extension, but other than
the teacher mentioning that yes, this is the case, it will not
really be an integral part of achieving the lesson objectives.

Based on the student responses, I will either elaborate on their answers or give a
mini-lecture about how the notation arcsin(x) is used to eliminate the confusion as
found in (1) above, and that notation is what will be used for our lesson today. I will
explain that if you read a function like y = arcsin(x), it means that you want to find
the angle “y” that has a sine value of x. I will then pose the question, what are some
possible values for arcsin(0)?
Anticipated responses:
1. Arcsin(0) = 0 because (0,0) is a point on the graph of y = sin(x),
which means the sine of 0 is 0. Teacher Follow-up: “Great! Can
you think of any other values or is it unique?”
Anticipated response: Since the function is periodic, it could
also be π or 2π or any integer multiple of π. (Teacher leads in to
final part of introduction)
2. Arcsin(0) is the angle that has a sine of 0, but there are a lot of
values because sin(x) is periodic. (Move to last part of
introduction)
As the students have pointed out, arcsin(x) as we have been thinking of it has
multiple outputs for a given input, so it is not a function! Because the original
function is not one-to-one, we must restrict its domain and create a new function
whose graph’s reflection across y = x is the graph of the inverse trig function. The
students’ task today is to construct the graphs of y = arcsin(x), y = arccos(x), and y =
arctan(x).

b. Lesson Body (3 minutes per function, 1 minute to verify results)

As discussed in the overview, the students will be working at their tables using
the laptops (1 per student) and GSP as collaboration technology (students use
evidence on screen to facilitate small group discussion and large group
justification). Each student will be given a worksheet (attached:
McMahon_GeneralizationWorksheet_091118.doc, key:
McMahon_GeneralizationWorksheetKey_091118.doc) on which they will take
notes and make conjectures about the inverse trig functions. The initial table asks
students to identify various properties of the graphs of the trig functions y =
sin(x), y = cos(x), and y = tan(x) without dragging the trace point. The first
question on the worksheet asks students to conjecture the domain of the “new”
function whose reflected graph will be a portion of the blue traces. Students are
McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 4 of 10
 expected to draw on their prior knowledge and perform the horizontal line test to
find such a one-to-one interval on the original function, but it is not explicitly
stated on the worksheet. The subsequent directions on the worksheet state how
to interact with the dynamic geometry environment by dragging a point on the
trigonometric function to trace the reflection of the function (which is not one-to-
one) across y = x.
Anticipated Technological Difficulty/What Students Might See Onscreen:
Once the trace is drawn, students might not be able to identify which
part of the graph of the original function corresponds to the trace.
When they identify an interval on the original graph that is a one-to-
one function, not being able to distinguish where the trace occurs will
decrease the likelihood that they correctly sketch the inverse function.

Teacher Action/Student Response to Technology:

Remind students that they can erase their traces by choosing
“Display”à”Erase Traces” to clear the screen of the colored traces.
They can drag the point on the function to a starting point of their
choosing, clear the screen, and then observe the trace over a particular
interval. Another strategy would be to select only the trace point
(floating as a reflection of the drag point across y = x) and choose
“Display”à “Color” to choose a different color of the trace so as to
distinguish different intervals from each other. Reviewing those pre-
requisite skills empowers the students to manipulate the GSP
environment in a way that makes visual sense to them.

What students might see with the technology:

In the GSP tab for tan(x), the drag point can jump from one portion of
the reflected graph to another when the cursor moves along the x-
axis. The students will see a continuous trace for each period of
tan(x), but if they are moving the cursor parallel to the x-axis instead
of tracing the curve itself, the trace will jump up or down the y-axis
and begin a new trace.
Student Response:
Erase traces and experiment with the drag point to figure out why the
jump occurs. Using more controlled cursor movements that follow
the path of each period of tan(x), the students can construct
continuous reflections. They might also try to animate the trace point
rather than dragging it themselves.
For the final question on the worksheet, students are also asked to sketch their
conjecture of what the graph of the inverse trigonometric function looks like based on
the traces they generated in GSP. Since there are many possible one-to-one intervals
spanning the entire range of the function, there is the possibility that students may
come up with different answers at different tables or they may fail to identify the
proper one-to-one interval all together. Once students have drawn a sketch of a
conjecture, they can use the GSP file as an answer checker by showing the graph of
each inverse trig function using the “show” action button.

McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 5 of 10

 Anticipated Difficulties:
1. Students cannot perform the horizontal line test to determine a
one-to-one interval that has a range equivalent to that of the
trigonometric function.
2. Students identify a one-to-one interval with a range equivalent to
that of the trigonometric function, but it does not contain the
origin, and thus is not the graph of the inverse trigonometric
function.
Teacher Action:
1. Remind students that they can construct a horizontal line in GSP
by selecting the y-axis, constructing a point on the y-axis, and
then selecting the point and the y-axis and constructing a
perpendicular line. This line will pass the drag test and students
will explicitly see the vertical line they need to determine a one-
to-one interval of the trig function.
2. This situation will open up a discussion about reference angles.
Ask the students to reason through some of the points on their
conjectured graph, i.e., “What is arcsin(3π/2)?” Is that value the
most helpful to yield a value of -1?
Anticipated responses:
a) I know we used 30-60-90 triangles to memorize
some certain values, and then we used them as
reference angles for larger angles. I guess it would be
best to find the most basic angles and then extend the
results to other angles.

b) I always picture the positive domain for sin(x), so it

doesn’t make sense for me to look at negative angles.
The teacher will say very little about reference angles now and
leave the topic for the HLQ in the closure.

Extension: Teacher will draw 3 right triangles on the board (see attached file named
“McMahon_ExtensionExamples_091118”) and ask students to use TI-Nspire CAS
calculator application to solve for the identified angle (in radians) using inverse
trigonometric functions.

Exit: If students have not accomplished finding both y = arcsin(x) and y = arccos(x)
with 5 minutes remaining in the lesson, teacher will call the group back to a large
group discussion based on the evidence observed (time ran out and only sine and
cosine were investigated) during the time the students were working. If not everyone
got to find y = arccos(x), the teacher will show the function on the SmartBoard and
then modify the closure to contain only justifications with y = arcsin(x) and y =
arccos(x).

McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 6 of 10

Closure (5-6 minute discussion)—Questions are all post-punch
Open Form HLQ :
What are some of the similarities you see among the 3 (or 2 in case of exit)
inverse trigonometric functions we investigated today?
Anticipated Responses:
1. The domain for arcsin(x) and arccos(x) is [-1,1]
2. The interval [0, π/2] is in the range of every inverse trig function
3. The shape of the each inverse function graph is similar but the
orientations and ranges are different
4. They are all one-to-one even though the original function is not
Follow-Up to (1) or New HLQ: “Why do you think that each inverse trig function has
[0, π/2] as part of the range?
Anticipated responses:
1. The values of the trig functions for angles from [0, π/2] are the
common ones to memorize, and they can be used as reference
angles for larger angles.
2. It is easier to know the smaller angles so you don’t always have to
do a conversion in your head from something like arcsin(π) with
another interval to correspond to arcsin(0). Teacher Folow-up:
“Does the phrase ‘reference angles’ ring a bell? Could that
explain why there are some traces from GSP that have the right
domain and range but might not be as useful as a graph through
the origin?”
Anticipated Responses: Oh yeah! Reference
angles are when you draw another angle based on
what quadrant the actual angle is in, so we need all
of the values from [0, π/2] so we can extend those
results to other quadrants.
I don’t remember reference angles. Could you
explain that a little more? Teacher Response:
Same response as #3 below
3. I still don’t understand why there can only be one inverse trig
function. Teacher action: Draw the following figure on the board
(see reference below from SparkNotes) and review pre-requisite
knowledge of reference angles. Then, ask student to rephrase the
argument in his/her own words:

McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 7 of 10

 HLQ Follow-Up to (3): The domains and ranges of the sine and cosine functions are
the same. The domains of the arcsine and arccosine functions are the same. Why aren’t
the ranges of these inverse functions the same? (See reference below from Wade Ellis,
but I actually had to correct a typo…he had “range of arcsine and arccosine functions
are the same, why aren’t the domains of these functions the same”)
Anticipated responses:
1. We saw that they both need to contain [0, π/2] in the range, so we
can draw in that portion of the graph of the inverse function. The
next thing that needs to happen is to complete the graph so that it
passes the vertical line test and has a range equivalent to the domain
of the “new function” we found with the horizontal line test. This
cannot happen if we try to fit the graphs of the functions within the
same range.
2. Different domain restrictions of the trig function are necessary to
make the new one-to-one function, so that means the ranges of the
inverse functions cannot be the same.
3. Based on the graphs, I can see that they don’t have the same
ranges, but I can’t justify why this happens. Teacher action: Ask
student to identify the domain restriction necessary to create the new
one-to-one function based on the trig function. Are they the same for
sin(x) and cos(x)? How does this relate to the range of the inverse
function?
Anticipated response: The new function for sin(x) had a
domain of [-π/2,π/2] but the new function for cos(x) had a domain of
[0,π]. That means the ranges of the inverse functions won’t be the
same
Teacher wrap-up:
Summarize for students that they successfully developed the graphs for all of the
inverse trigonometric functions by generalizing the procedure of using the horizontal
line test to identify a portion of the trig function (a “new” function) that is both one-to-
one and encompasses the entire range of the trig function. Using that as a “new” one-
to-one function, the same concept applies of reflecting its graph across y = x, which
McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 8 of 10
 the students found using the traces in GSP. The range of the inverse function
corresponded to the domain of the “new” function, and we chose the domain
encompassing the origin so as to make sure we had [0, π/2] included in the range of
the inverse function to make use of reference angles.

2. Anticipated student difficulties, misunderstandings, confusions

Found in context throughout.
ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS
3. Materials/Equipment needed
a. 1 Laptop per student with GSP and
“McMahon_InverseTrigFunctions_091116.gsp” downloaded
b. 1 TI-Nspire CAS per student
c. 1 worksheet per student and pen/pencil (Total handouts needed = 15 students + 3
extras)
d. SmartBoard with laptop connected (Grapher and
“McMahon_InverseTrigFunctions_091116.gsp” open and ready to go) as
potential Communication Technology for teacher
4. Prerequisite skills, knowledge, and dispositions
a. Mathematics Knowledge
• Students can perform the horizontal line test on the graph of a function to
determine that it is one-to-one when any horizontal line passes through only
one point (Procedure).
• A one-to-one function is a function where every element of the domain
corresponds to one and only one unique element of the range (Concept).
• Domain is the set of all inputs of a function and range is the set of all outputs
of a function (Concept).
• Given a one-to-one function f(x), the inverse function f -1(x) has the following
properties: the domain of f(x) is the range of f -1(x), the range of f(x) is the
domain of f -1(x), and the graph of f -1(x) is the reflection of f(x) reflected
across the line f(x) = x (Concept).
• The graph of the inverse of a one-to-one function is the reflection of the graph
of the original function across the line y = x (Concept).
• The angles from 0 to π/2 are reference angles for angles whose radian measure
is greater than π/2 (Generalization of a Concept)
b. Technology/manipulative skills/experience
• Students can construct points and lines (that pass the drag test) through a
point that are perpendicular or parallel to a given axis

McMahon Generalization Lesson Plan Page 9 of 10

 • Students can manipulate a dynamic geometry environment in GSP by
dragging an indicated point, changing the color of traces, erasing traces,
using “show” action buttons, and navigating through tabbed pages
For extension:
• Students can create a new document on TI-Nspire CAS and open the
Calculator Application
• Students can use “ctrl” button to access secondary commands (inverse
trig functions) on the TI-Nspire CAS
• Students can verify that the TI-Nspire CAS is in radian mode and are able
to switch from degrees to radians in settings if necessary
c. Other
None
REFERENCES
Ellis, W. (2003). 25 Web Lesson Plan: Inverse Trig Functions [PDF document]. Retrieved

from West Valley College Web Lesson Plans Page: http://instruct.westvalley.edu/

ellis/WebLessonPlans/25InverseTrigFunctions.pdf

SparkNotes Editors. (n.d.). SparkNote on Trigonometry: Trigonometric Functions.

Retrieved November 9, 2009, from http://www.sparknotes.com/math/trigonometry

/trigonometricfunctions/

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