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Exercise 349Calculus › Single-variable calculus › Differentiation › Mean Value TheoremL1Added 1 Nov 2026

Sine is 1-Lipschitz

#mean value theorem#inequalities

Statement

Prove that for all real numbers aa and bb,
∣sin⁡b−sin⁡a∣≤∣b−a∣.|\sin b-\sin a|\le|b-a|.

Hint

Apply the Mean Value Theorem to sin⁡\sin on the interval between aa and bb.

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Solution

If a=ba=b both sides are 00. Otherwise assume a<ba<b (the other case is symmetric). The function sin⁡\sin is continuous on [a,b][a,b] and differentiable on (a,b)(a,b), with derivative cos⁡\cos.

By the Mean Value Theorem there is c∈(a,b)c\in(a,b) such that
sin⁡b−sin⁡a=cos⁡c (b−a).\sin b-\sin a=\cos c\,(b-a).

Since ∣cos⁡c∣≤1|\cos c|\le1, we get ∣sin⁡b−sin⁡a∣=∣cos⁡c∣ ∣b−a∣≤∣b−a∣|\sin b-\sin a|=|\cos c|\,|b-a|\le|b-a|.