Sinusoids

CMPT 318: Lecture 3

Sinusoids

Sinusoids is a collective term referring to both sine

and cosine functions.

Tamara Smyth, tamaras@cs.sfu.ca

School of Computing Science,
Simon Fraser University

A sinusoid is a function of time having the following

form:
x(t) = A sin(t + ),
where x is the quantity which varies over time and

January 16, 2006

f
t

t +

,
,
,
,
,
,

peak amplitude
radian frequency (rad/sec) = 2f
frequency (Hz)
time (seconds)
initial phase (radians)
instantaneous phase (radians)
Sinusoidal Signal

Amplitude

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Time (s)

Figure 1: Sinusoid where A = 2, = 25, and = /4.

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

Amplitude and Magnitude.

Phase and Period.

The term peak amplitude, often shortened to

amplitude, is the nonnegative value of the
waveforms peak (either positive or negative).

The initial phase , given in radians, tells us the

position of the waveform cycle at t = 0. Also
sometimes called:
phase offset
phase shift
phase factor

The instantaneous amplitude of x is the value of

x(t) (either positive or negative) at time t.
The instantaneous magnitude, or simply
magnitude, of x is nonnegative and is given by
|x(t)|.

One cycle of a sinusoid is 2 radians.

The period T of a sinusoid is the time (in seconds) it

takes to complete one cycle.
Since sinusoids are periodic with period 2, an initial
phase of is indistinguishable from an initial phase of
2.
We may therefore restrict the range of so that it
does not exceed 2.
Typically we choose the range
< < ,
but we many also encouter
0 < < 2.

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

Frequency

Sine and cosine functions.

The frequency f of the waveform is given in cycles

per second or Hertz (Hz).
Frequency is equivalent to the inverse of the period T
of the waveform,

The sine and cosine function are very closely related

and can be made equivalent simply by adjusting their
initial phase:

sin = cos( )
or
cos = sin( + ).
2
2
1

Hz.

Amplitude

f = 1/T

The radian frequency , given in radians per second,

is equivalent to the frequency in Hertz scaled by 2,
= 2f

0.5
0
0.5
1

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Time (s)

(rad/sec).

Figure 2: Phase relationship between cosine and sine functions.

In calculus, the sine and cosine functions are

derivatives of one other. That is,
d sin
d cos
= cos
and
= sin .
dt
dt

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

y(t) = s(t + 1) = t + 1
= t+1

If a signal can be expressed in the form

we say x(t) is a time-shifted version of s(t).

y(t) = s(t+1)

0 1

A positive phase indicates a shift to

the left whereas a negative phase indicates a shift to the right.

0 1 2 3

0t+11
1 t 0,

which is simply s(t) with its origin shifted to the left,

or advanced in time, by 1 seconds.

x(t) = s(t t1),

x(t) = s(t2)

Shifting the function by t1 = 1 seconds yields

Time-shifting a signal.

s(t)

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

1 0 1 2

Figure 3: Time-shifting a signal.

Consider the simple function

s(t) = t

0 t 1.

Shifting the function by t1 = 2 seconds yields

x(t) = s(t 2) = t 2
= t2

0t21
2 t 3,

which is simply s(t) with its origin shifted to the

right, or delayed, by 2 seconds.
CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

Sinusoidal and Circular Motion

Sinusoidal and Circular Motion cont.

Consider a vector of length one (1), rotating at a

steady speed in a plane, the vector tracing a circle
with a radius equal to its length.

The x- and y-axis are the horizontal and vertical lines

intersecting at the circles centre.
y-axis
(0, 1)


/2







/4




( 12 , 12 )



(-1, 0)



(1, 0)




x-axis



(0, -1)


3/2

Figure 5: The vector coordinates are determined by projecting onto the x and y-axis.

Figure 4: A vector rotating along the unit circle.

Projecting the vector onto the x- and y-axes allows us

to determine its coordinates in the xy-plane.

Each time the vector completes one rotation of the

circle, it has completed a cycle of 2.
The rate at which the vector completes one cycle is
given by its frequency.

If the vector is rotated in a counterclockwise direction,

at angle from the positive x-axis, projecting onto
both the x- and y-axes creates right angle triangles.

The length of the vector is given by its amplitude

(which for simplicity, in this case, is one (1)).

Trigonometric identities, with knowledge of and the

vector length, will help us determine the coordinates.

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

Sinusoids and Circular Motion cont.

Adding two sinusoids of the same

frequency

Projecting onto the x- and y-axis gives a sequence of

points that resemble a cosine and sine function
respectively.

Adding two sinusoids of the same frequency but with

possibly different amplitudes and phases,
produces another sinusoid at that frequency.
3
sin(4t)
2sin(4t + /4)
sum

Amplitude

amplitude >

10

time >

1
0
1
2
3

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Time (s)
Figure 7: Adding two sinusoids of the same frequency.

amplitude >
time >

Recalling the expression for sinusoidal motion and

trigonometric identities1 , we may see that
x = A sin(0t + ) = A sin( + 0t)
= [A sin ] cos 0t + [A cos ] sin 0t
= B cos 0t + C sin 0t,

Figure 6: Projecting onto the x and y axis.

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

11

sin(A + B) = sin(A) cos(B) + cos(A) sin(B)

CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

12

where the amplitude A is given by

A = B 2 + C 2,

Vector Addition
Since one vector represents one sinusoid, to add two
sinusoids of the same frequency, we need only perform
vector addition.

and the phase is given by

yaxis

 
1 C
.
= tan
B

Every sinusoid can be expressed as the sum

of a sine and cosine function, or equivalently,
an in-phase and phase-quadrature component.

xaxis
Figure 8: Adding sinusoids using vector addition.

Since the vectors have the same frequency, they will

rotate as a unit and their sum will have the same
frequency.
The sum vector u + v in Figure 8 also has its own x
and y component (from projecting onto the x- and
y-axes) and therefore may have a different amplitude
and phase.
CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

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CMPT 318: Fundamentals of Computerized Sound: Lecture 3

14