Given that 2 tan x = sec x i.e. 2 * sin x / cos x = 1 / cos x Assuming cos x is not 0, (in which case tan x would be infinity) we can cancel out the 2 cos x's in the denominators to get the equation 2 * sin x = 1 or sin x = 1/2 Now the other ratios can be computed. cos x = sqrt(1 - sin^2 x) = sqrt (1 - 1/4) =(+ or -) tan x = sin x / cos x = (+ or -) cot x = 1 / tan x = (+ or -) Now, the given exp is 4*cot^2 x - 8 * tan^2 x = Hope this helps :)