Suppose we have a right- angled triangle with theta has one of the angles ( not 90 degrees) and hypotenuse c , opposite side a and adjacent side b.
then sin α = a/c giving a = c sin α .............(1)
and cos α = b/c giving b = c cos α...............(2)
by Pythagoras theorem:-
a^2 + b^2 = c^2 and from equations (1) and (2):-
a^2 + b^2 = c^2 sin^2 α + c^2 cos^2 α
a^2 + b^2 = c^2 ( sin^2 α + cos^2 α)
Comparing this equation with the Pythagoras equation sin^2 α + cos^2 α must equal 1.