Prove that $-\sqrt{2}\leq \sin\theta+\cos\theta\leq\sqrt{2}$

Hint: We have $$\sin\theta+\cos\theta=\sqrt{2}\sin\left(\theta+\frac{\pi}{4}\right).$$Clearly we have $$-1\leq\sin(\theta+\pi/4)\leq1.$$

Update: To answer the edited question (that is, not using the sum formula for $\sin(\theta+\pi/4)$, we have $$(\sin\theta+\cos\theta)^2+(\sin\theta-\cos\theta)^2=2\cdot\underbrace{(\sin^2\theta+\cos^2\theta)}_1+2(\sin\theta)(\cos\theta)-2(\sin\theta)(\cos\theta)=2.$$ Since $x^2\geq0$ for all real $x$, we can subtract $(\sin\theta-\cos\theta)^2$ from both sides to obtain $$2-(\sin\theta-\cos\theta)^2\geq0.$$Equivalently, this can be written $$(\sin\theta-\cos\theta)^2\leq2.$$This just means $$|\sin\theta-\cos\theta|\leq\sqrt{2}.$$ By definition of absolute value, this says $$-\sqrt{2}\leq\sin\theta-\cos\theta\leq\sqrt{2}.$$

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Trigonometry

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