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Trig Identity Visualizer

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About This MicroSim

Watch the Pythagorean identity come to life! The areas of the green (cos²θ) and red (sin²θ) squares always add up to 1, no matter what angle you choose. This is because the hypotenuse of the reference triangle is always 1!

Lesson Plan

Learning Objective: Students will interpret the Pythagorean identity sin²θ + cos²θ = 1 geometrically using the unit circle.

Key Insight: The identity is just the Pythagorean theorem applied to a right triangle with hypotenuse 1!