Section Four

Trigonometric Functions
Trigonometry may be described as the study of trigonometric functions. In this section, we introduce the
six trigonometric functions.

The Pythagorean theorem

You will have to do many calculations involving the Pythagorean theorem. If you have a good command of
the theorem, skip this subsection and go straight to the next one that addresses similar right-angled triangles.
In case you do not remember it, the theorem asserts that in any right-angled triangle, (i.e. in any triangle
that has a 90 degree angle), the square of the length of the longest side of the triangle is equal to the sum
of the squares of the lengths of the two shorter sides. The longest side is called the hypotenuse. If its length
is h and the lengths of the other two shorter sides are a and b, (see the …gure below), then the Pythagorean
theorem asserts that
h2 = a2 + b2

b h

Here is a derivation of the theorem, given more than 2000 years ago in China:
Start with a square whose length is a + b and its width is also a + b where a and b are the lengths of
the shorter sides of the right-angled triangle above

a+b

a+b a+b

a+b

A square with length and width a + b

Divide each side of the square into two segments, one of length a and the other one of length b as we have

1
done using dots in the …gure below.

b . a

.
.
a

a
. b

Each side of the square is divided into two segments

Join the dots as shown in the …gure below.

b . a

Triangle 4 Triangle 3

h b

a h

.
Smaller square

. h
a
h
b Triangle 2
Triangle 1

a
. b

The four triangles and the smaller square

This …gure contains four copies of the given right-angled triangle, i.e. four copies of the triangle below

b h

We have labelled them Triangle 1, Triangle 2, Triangle 3 and Triangle 4. The …gure also contains a four-sided
…gure and the length of each one of its sides is h. Can you see why each one of its angles must be 90 ?

2
Therefore it is a square, and we have labelled it the Smaller square. When we cut out the four right-angled
triangles and paste them as shown below, we end up with two rectangles and a square.

b . .
Triangle 4

a h

. .
Triangle 1 Triangle 3 Smaller square

. . h
a

Triangle 2 h

. b .
Each rectangle has area ab and the smaller square has area h2 . Therefore the sum of the areas of the two
rectangles and smaller square is
ab + ab + h2 = 2ab + h2
Clearly this is the area of the big square.
We now note that there is another way of calculating the area of the big square: Multiply its length
(a + b) by its width (a + b). The result is

(a + b) (a + b) = a2 + ab + ba + b2 = a2 + 2ab + b2

Conclusion:
2ab + h2 = a2 + 2ab + b2
When we subtract 2ab from both sides of the above equation we get

h2 = a2 + b2

as the Pythagorean theorem asserts.

Exercise I
Calculate the unknown length in each one of the given right-angled triangles below.

10
h 9
5 b
7

P 12 a
C 8 B

Right angle at P Right angle at C Right angle at B

3
Similar right-angled triangles
We plan to introduce the trigonometric functions as ratios of the lengths of pairs of sides in right-angled
triangles. This approach requires us to use some properties of similar right-angled triangles.
By de…nition, two given geometric …gures are similar if they have the same shape and di¤er only in size.
This means that you can obtain the bigger one of the two …gures by simply magnifying the smaller …gure.
Two similar triangles are shown below.

Red triangle Blue triangle

It turns out that the corresponding angles of any two similar …gures that are bounded by straight line
segments are equal. We give examples of corresponding angles in the …gures below.

Example 1 (1): ABC and P QR below are similar right-angled triangles because you can obtain P QR by
magnifying ABC. When you do that, the angle at A turns into the angle at P , so we call them corresponding
angles. The angle at C and the angle at R are also corresponding angles. Of course the two right angles are
corresponding angles.

A B P Q
Two similar right-angled triangles

Turning to sides, AB and P Q are called corresponding sides, (because when you magnify the smaller triangle,
side AB turns into side P Q). By the same token, BC and QR are also corresponding sides as are AC and
P R.

4
Example 2 (2): Another pair of similar right-angled triangles.

U V X Y

In this pair; (i) the right angles are at U and X, (ii) the angle at V is equal to the angle at Y , (iii) and the
angle at W is equal to the angle at Z. Turning to sides, U V and XY are corresponding sides as are V W and
Y Z. W U and ZX are also corresponding sides.

Example 3 (3): In the …gure below, ABE and ACD are similar right-angled triangles because: (i) they
both have a right angle; at B and C, (ii) they share angle at A, (iii) the angle at E is equal to the angle at
D
D

A B C

AB and AC are corresponding sides. BE and CD are also corresponding sides as are AE and AD.

As seen from the above examples, corresponding sides in a pair of similar triangles do not have the same
length. What is the same are their ratios. Thus in Example (1)

Length of AB Length of BC
= .
Length of P Q Length of QR
We may also write this as
Length of AB Length of P Q
=
Length of BC Length of QR
Likewise
Length of BC Length of CA
=
Length of QR Length of RP
which we may also write as
Length of BC Length of QR
=
Length of CA Length of RP
The last one is
Length of CA Length of AB
=
Length of RP Length of P Q
which may be written as
Length of CA Length of RP
=
Length of AB Length of P Q

5
In Example (2),
Length of U V Length of V W Length of W U
= =
Length of XY Length of Y Z Length of ZX
Of course they may be re-arranged at will.

Write down the equal ratios in Example (3).

The above ratios may be used to calculate unknown lengths in similar triangles if su¢ cient information
is furnished about some of the lengths.

Example 4 Say we are given that the lengths, in centimeters, of the sides AB, BC and P Q in Example
(1) are 8, 15 and 20 respectively.

d
15

8 20
A B P Q

Length of P Q 20
Since we know the ratio , (it is ), we may use it to calculate the length d of side QR. We
Length of AB 8
simply use the fact that
d 20
=
15 8
20 15 75
Therefore d = = centimeters.
8 2
Exercise 5

1. Suppose, in Example (1), the lengths, in inches, of QR, RP and BC are 18, 20:4 and 15 respectively.
Calculate the length of CA.
2. Suppose, in Example (2), the lengths, in feet, of ZY , XY and U V are 13, 12 and 21 respectively.
Calculate the length of V W .
3. A 6 feet tall man walks away from the base of a house as shown in the …gures below. When he is 18
feet away from the house, his shadow starts forming 8 feet ahead of him. How tall is the building?

house house

18 feet 8 feet

house shadow house shadow

6
 4. Legend has it that the Greek mathematician Thales impressed Egyptians o¢ cials when he calculated
the height of a pyramid by simply comparing the length of its shadow to the length of the shadow of
some stick. You can use a similar procedure to calculate the height of a tree in your backyard without
climbing it. Do the following:

(i) Measure the length of the tree’s shadow.

(ii) Erect an upright stick and measure the length of its shadow.

Now argue that the two …gures above are similar. Therefore
The height of the tree The height of the stick
=
The length of the tree’s shadow The length of the stick’s shadow
The only unknown quantity in the above equation is the height of the tree. Say the length of the
tree’s shadow is 22 feet, the length of the stick’s shadow is 1.7 feet and the height of the stick is 4
feet. What is the height of the tree? Round o¤ your answer to one decimal place.

We are now ready to introduce trigonometric functions. We plan to de…ne them as ratios of pairs of sides
in right-angled triangles.

The tangent function

We start with the tangent of an angle u, written as tan u and pronounced t-a-n–i-u. Figure (1) below shows
such an angle in the …rst quadrant. We construct a right-angled triangle for u by picking a convenient point
C on its terminal ray then drop a perpendicular CB from C to the horizontal axis, ( it is the dotted line),
as shown in Figure (2).

u u
A B

Figure (1) Figure (2)

7
The right-angled triangle is ABC where A is the origin. It is generally agreed to call BC the side opposite
angle u and AB the side adjacent to u. Note that the length of BC is the vertical coordinate of C and the
length of AB is the horizontal coordinate of C. We de…ne
Length of BC Length of opposite side Vertical coordinate of C
tan u = = =
Length of AB Length of adjacent side Horizontal coordinate of C
This ratio does not depend on the size of the right-angled triangle for u. The reason is that drawing a
di¤erent right-angled triangle for u, (by choosing a di¤erent point C on the terminal ray), gives a triangle
that is similar to triangle ABC, therefore
Length of new opposite side Length of BC
=
Length of new adjacent side Length of AB
For some angles u, it is easy to calculate tan u using the geometry of triangles. Among such angles are
30 , 45 , and 60 : Of these three, tan 45 is the easiest one to calculate because when u is 45 degrees, the
opposite side AB and the adjacent side BC are equal in length, (see the …gure below), therefore tan 45 =
Length of BC
= 1:
Length of AB

To determine tan 30 , consider the equilateral triangle, (i.e. a triangle whose sides are all equal in length),
ACD shown in Figure (a) below. For convenience, we chose the lengths of its sides to be 2 units each.

C C
60° 60°

2 2
1 1

A 30° B
A 30° B
30°

1
2
60°

Figure (a) Figure (b)

The 30 degree angle u is angle BAC. It turns out that the length of BC is half the length of DC, therefore
the side opposite u has length 1. We nowp use the Pythagorean
p theorem to calculate the length of AB, (the
side adjacent to u). It turns out to be 22 12 = 3. (If you are wondering how we got this, we argued
that if the length
p of AB is x then by the Pythagorean theorem, 12 + x2 = 22 , therefore x2 = 22 12 = 3
and so x = 3.) We can now ignore the lower half of triangle ACDp and turn our attention to its upper half
in Figure (b). Since the length of BC is 1 and the length of AB is 3, it follows that
p
Length of opposite side 1 3
tan 30 = =p =
Length of adjacent side 3 3

8
 p
It is worth noting that the horizontal coordinate of C is 3 and the vertical coordinate of C is 1, therefore
Vertical coordinate of C
tan 30 =
Horizontal coordinate of C

To determine tan 60 , consider the same equilateral triangle ACD but drawn di¤erently as shown below
in Figure (3). For convenience, we assumed that the length of each is 2 units.

C C

60°

2 2 2 2

60° 60° 60° 60°

A 2 D A 1 B D

Figure (3) Figure (4)

We drop a perpendicular CB from C to the horizontal axis as shown in Figure (4). This gives us a right-
angled triangle for the 60 angle, namely triangle ABC . We know the length of the side adjacent to the
angle; it is 1. The corresponding side that is opposite the angle is BC and we have to calculate its length.
Using the Pythagorean theorem gives the length to be
p p
22 12 = 3

Therefore p
Length of opposite side 3 p
tan 60 = = = 3
Length of adjacent side 1
p
As we did above, we note that the horizontal coordinate of C is 1 and its vertical coordinate is 3, therefore
Vertical coordinate of C
tan 60 =
Horizontal coordinate of C

An example of the tangent of an angle bigger than 90

We take the 135 degree angle shown below. As required, we draw a line CB that is perpendicular to the
horizontal axis. The result is a right-angled triangle ABC for the given angle shown in the …gure to the
right. We would want to de…ne tan 135 to be
Length of opposite side
Length of adjacent side

9
but we have a problem: What is the side opposite the 135 angle, and what is the side adjacent to it?

The 135 angle A right-angled triangle for 135

An easy way out of this dilemma is to use the de…nition

Vertical coordinate of C
tan u =
Horizontal coordinate of C
Since angle BAC is 45 , (i.e. 180 135 ), angle BCA must also be 45 , therefore the line segments BA
and BC must have the same length. If, for pure convenience, we assume that the length of BC is one unit
then the length of BA must also be one unit. Therefore the point C has coordinates ( 1; 1) and so
Vertical coordinate of C 1
tan 135 = = = 1
Horizontal coordinate of C 1

In practice you will use a calculator to evaluate the tangent function. For a number of scienti…c calculators
that record the operations that you are performing, you will, (most probably), evaluate tan u, (when u is in
degrees), as follows:

(i) Set the calculator in degree mode.

(ii) Press the button tan on the calculator. The expression tan( should show up on the screen.
(iii) Enter the number u followed by ) then press the button = . The value of tan u should appear on the
screen.

Use your calculator to complete the following table. Round o¤ the values to 3 decimal places.

u 21 48 79 126 180 235 260 300 352

tan u

Soon you will be required to draw an angle whose tangent is a given number. Here are two examples:

Example 6 To draw an angle u that satis…es the following conditions: (i) it is in standard position, (ii) it
is in the …rst quadrant and (iii) its tangent is 56 , (i.e. tan u = 56 ).

Solution We have to take the positive horizontal axis as the initial ray. To draw a terminal ray for u, it
su¢ ces to draw a line segment that originates from (0; 0) and passes through a point C with vertical
coordinate 5 and horizontal coordinate 6 so that
Vertical coordinate of C 5
tan u = =
Horizontal coordinate of C 6

10
 It is drawn below.

6
C.
4

u
2 4 6

Example 7 To draw an angle w which, (i) is in standard position, (ii) is in the third quadrant, and (ii) has
tangent 43 , (i.e. tan w = 34 ).

Solution We have to take the positive horizontal axis as the initial ray. We have to draw a terminal ray
with the property that if C is a point on the ray then
Vertical coordinate of C 4
=
Horizontal coordinate of C 3
Since the horizontal and vertical coordinates of points in the third quadrant are negative, it must be the
case that
Vertical coordinate of C 4
=
Horizontal coordinate of C 3
The two negative signs happen to cancel out to give the result tan w = 43 . Therefore, it su¢ ces to draw
a line segment that originates from (0; 0) and passes through ( 3; 4). The angle is drawn in the …gure
below.

The next example solves a typical problem using the tangent function.

Example 8 In the given triangle, angle A is 39 , the side AB has length 32 cm and angle ABC is a right

11
angle. Calculate the length of the side BC and round o¤ to 1 decimal place.

Solution We use the de…nition

Length of opposite side Length of BC
tan 39 = =
Length of adjacent side 32
Therefore Length of BC = 32 tan 39 . We use a calculator to determine tan 39 then multiply it by
32 to get 25.9 cm, to 1 decimal place.

Exercise 9
3 3
1. Draw an angle u, in the second quadrant, whose tangent is 8, (i.e. tan u = 8) and an angle w in
the third quadrant whose tangent is 45 .

2. In triangle ABC, the angle at B is a right angle, the angle at A is 43 and the side AB has length 28
cm.

Calculate the length of the side BC.

3. In triangle ABC below, the side BC has length 19 inches and the angle ACB is 28 . Calculate the
length of the side AB.

The sine and cosine of an angle

We now introduce the sine and cosine of a given angle. To this end, consider a given angle u in standard
position. As we have done above, we denote the origin by A and take the positive horizontal axis, (starting
at A), as the initial ray. Take a convenient point C on the terminal ray for u and draw a line CB that is
perpendicular to the horizontal axis at B. The result is a right-angled triangle ABC for u. The …gures below

12
show such right-angled triangles when u is in the four di¤erent quadrants.

Right-angled triangle for an Right-angled triangle for an

angle u in the second quadrant angle u in the …rst quadrant

Right-angled triangle for an Right-angled triangle for an

angle u in the third quadrant angle u in the fourth quadrant

The line segment AC is called the hypotenuse of the right triangle ABC. The sine of u is written sin u and
pronounced s-a-i-n-i-u, (Not s-i-i-n-u). It is de…ned by

Vertical coordinate of C
sin u =
Length of hypotenuse AC
If u is in …rst quadrant then
Length of opposite side
sin u =
Length of hypotenuse
The length of the hypotenuse is a positive number, irrespective of the quadrant in which the angle u lies,
(because it is a length of a line segment, so it cannot be negative). The sign of sin u is determined by the
sign of the vertical coordinate for the point C on the terminal ray.
The cosine of u is written as cos u and is pronounced c-o-s-a-i-n-i-u. It is de…ned by
Horizontal coordinate of C
cos u =
Length of hypotenuse AC
If u is in …rst quadrant then
Length of adjacent side
cos u =
Length of hypotenuse
As mentioned above, the length of the hypotenuse is a positive number, irrespective of the quadrant in
which the angle u lies. The sign of cos u is determined by the sign of the horizontal coordinate for C.

13
 sin u
It turns out that tan u = for any angle u. To verify it, we use the expressions
cos u
Vertical coordinate of C Horizontal coordinate of C
sin u = , cos u =
Length of hypotenuse AC Length of hypotenuse AC
We get
Vertical coordinate of C
sin u Length of hypotenuse AC Vertical coordinate of C Length of hypotenuse AC
= =
cos u Horizontal coordinate of C Length of hypotenuse AC Horizontal coordinate of C
Length of hypotenuse AC
Vertical coordinate of C 1
=
1 Horizontal coordinate of C
Vertical coordinate of C
= = tan u
Horizontal coordinate of C
Example 10 Consider u = 45 . In its right-angled triangle ABC shown below, the length of BC is equal to
the length of BA. There is no harm assuming that each one has length 1. Then by The Pythagorean theorem

p p
the hypotenuse AC has length 12 + 12 = 2. Since the vertical and horizontal coordinates of C are both
1, it follows that p
1 2
sin 45 = p =
2 2
and p
1 2
cos 45 = p =
2 2
We already know that
tan 45 = 1
Example 11 For another example, we calculate sin 120 , cos 120 and tan 120 . The 120 angle is drawn
in the …gure below. Its right-angled triangle is ABC. Each one of the three sides of triangle ACD
p has length
2. Therefore AB has length 1 and using the Pythagorean theorem reveals that BC has length 3.

14
 p
Therefore the coordinates of C are 1; 3 and so
p
Vertical coordinate of C 3
sin 120 = =
Length of hypotenuse AC 2
Horizontal coordinate of C 1
cos 120 = =
Length of hypotenuse AC 2
and p
Vertical coordinate of C 3 p
tan 120 = = = 3
Horizontal coordinate of C 1
The table below gives a few values of these three functions. The angles u may be given in degrees or
radians. We have given them in both units.

Table of values of tanu, sinu and cosu for some special values of u

u in
0 30 45 60 90 120 135 150 180
degrees
u in 2 3 5
0
radians 6 4 3 2 3 4 6
p p
3 p p 3
tan u 0 1 3 un-de…ned 3 1 0
3 3
p p p p
1 2 3 3 2 1
sin u 0 1 0
2 2 2 2 2 2
p p p p
3 2 1 1 2 3
cos u 1 0 1
2 2 2 2 2 2

u in
210 225 240 270 300 315 330 360
degrees
u in 7 5 4 3 5 7 11
2
radians 6 4 3 2 3 4 6
p p
3 p p 3
tan u 1 3 un-de…ned 3 1 0
3 3
p p p p
1 2 3 3 2 1
sin u 1 0
2 2 2 2 2 2
p p
3 1 1 1 1 3
cos u p 0 p 1
2 2 2 2 2 2

It turns out that tan (390 ) = tan (30 ), sin (390 ) = sin (30 ) and cos (390 ) = cos (30 ). This is easy
to explain. The terminal ray for the 30 angle coincides with the terminal ray for the 390 angle. Actually,
adding any multiple 360 n, (where n is an integer) of 360 , to 30 has the same e¤ect because the terminal
ray for the (360n + 30) coincides with the terminal ray for the 30 angle. Thus

tan (750 ) = tan (720 + 30 ) = tan (30 ), sin (750 ) = sin (30 ) and cos (750 ) = cos (30 )

tan (30 + 360n ) = tan (30 ), sin (30 + 360n ) = sin (30 ) and cos (30 + 360n ) = cos (30 )

Moreover, any angle u in degrees has the same properties, i.e. for any integer n;

tan (u + 360n ) = tan u, sin (u + 360n ) = sin u and cos (u + 360n ) = cos u

15
More Trigonometric Functions
There are three more trigonometric functions denoted by cot u, csc u and sec u. They are de…ned by:
1 1 1
cot u = csc u = sec u =
tan u sin u cos u
They are just the reciprocals of the tangent, sine and cosine functions. Most calculators give only the values
of sin u, cos u and tan u. The other functions are evaluated using the above formulas. For example,
1 1
sec 60 = = 1 = 2:
cos 60 2

Example 12 The point C with coordinates ( 5; 12) is on the terminal ray of an angle u in standard position.
To …nd the exact value of: sin u, cos u, tan u, cot u, csc u and sec u.

Solution: The angle is shown in the …gure below

The horizontal and vertical coordinates of C are 5 and 12 respectively. The hypotenuse has length
p p
52 + 122 = 169 = 13

Therefore
Vertical coordinate of C 12 Horizontal coordinate of C 5
sinu= = cosu= =
Length of hypotenuse AC 13 Length of hypotenuse AC 13

Vertical coordinate of C 12 Horizontal coordinate of C 5

tan u = = cotu= =
Horizontal coordinate of C 5 Vertical coordinate of C 12

Length of hypotenuse AC 13 Length of hypotenuse AC 13

cscu= = secu =
Vertical coordinate of C 12 Horizontal coordinate of C 5

Example 13 To …nd the exact values of tan u, sin u and sec u given that u is in standard position, it is
quadrant IV and cos u = 32 .

Solution: The angle is shown in the …gure below. Since cos u = 23 , we may take the horizontal coordinate

16
 of a point on the terminal ray to be 2 and the corresponding hypotenuse to have length 3.

p p
Then the corresponding vertical coordinate should be 32 22 = 5. It has to be negative
p because
the vertical coordinates of points in the fourth quadrant cannot be positive. Thus C 2; 5 is a point
on the terminal ray for the given angle u. Therefore
p
Vertical coordinate of C 5
tan u = =
Horizontal coordinate of C 2
p
Vertical coordinate of C 5
sin u = =
Length of hypotenuse 3

3
sec u = :
2
Exercise 14
1. ( 3; 4) is a point on the terminal ray of an angle u in standard position. Find the exact value of
sin u; cos u, and sec u.
p
5
2. You are given that u is an acute angle in standard position and sin u = . Find the exact value of :
3
2 2 sin u
(a) cos u (b) tan u (c) (sin u) + (cos u) (d)
cos u
cos u and tan u then verify that
3. The angles u, w and z are shown in the …gure below.

Determine the exact value of:

(a) sin u (b) cos u (c) tan u (d) sin w (e) cos w (f ) tan w

(g) sin z (h) cos z (i) tan z (j) sec z (k) csc u (l) cot w

17
4. You are given that u is an angle in the second quadrant and sin u = 43 . Draw the angle in standard
position, construct an appropriate right-angled triangle for the angle, calculate the length of the unknown
side in the triangle, then calculate cos u, tan u, cot u, sec u, and csc u.
5. Calculate the exact values of cos u, sin u, sec u and csc u given that u is an angle in standard position,
it is in the third quadrant and tan u = 158 .
p
6. You are given that u is an angle in standard position, it is in the second quadrant and cos u = h.
2 2
Determine sin u and tan u then verify that (sin u) + (cos u) = 1.

Some Solutions
Exercise I

10
h 9
5 b
7

P 12 a
C 8 B

Right angle at P Right angle at C Right angle at B

p
h2 = 52 + 122 = 25 + 144 = 169. Therefore h = 169 = 13
p
b2 + 82 = 92 : Therefore b2 = 81 64 = 17. It follows that b = 17. You do not have to give the answer
as a decimal.
p
a2 + 72 = 102 : Therefore a2 = 100 49 = 51. It follows that a = 51

Exercise II
1. CA and RP are corresponding sides. CB and RQ are also corresponding sides and we know the ratio
Length of CB
. We use it to calculate the length of CA:
Length of RQ
Length of CA Length of CB Length of CA 18
= , therefore =
Length of RP Length of RQ 20.4 15
18
and so Length of CA = 20:4 = 17 inches.
15
2. 22.75
3. The similar triangles to use.

18
 In the …gure to the left, H is the height of the building and it is equal to 19.5 feet.
4. 51.8 feet

Exercise III

1.

Angle u Angle w

2. 28 tan 43 = 26:1 cm.

19
3. = 35:7 inches.
tan 28

Exercise IV

1. A right-angled triangle for u is drawn below.

The length of its hypotenuse is q

2 2
p
( 3) + ( 4) = 25 = 5
4 3 5
Therefore sin u = ; cos u = , and sec u = .
5 5 3

19
2. u is in the …rst quadrant. A right-angled triangle for u is given below.
qThe hypotenuse has length 3 and
p p 2 p p
the dotted line has length 5. Therefore the third side has length 32 5 = 9 5= 4=2

u
-2 -1 1 2 3

-1

-2

p
p p 2 5 p
5 5 2 2 sin u 5
(a) cos u= 32 (b) tan u= 2 (c) 3 + 3 = 5+4
9 =1 (d) = 3
2 = 2
cos u 3

3. The angles u, w and z are shown in the …gure below.

p p
The given right-angled triangle for angle u has a hypotenuse withqlength 32 + 72 = 58. The given
2 2 p
right-angled triangle for angle w has a hypotenuse with length ( 8) + ( 5) = 89. The given
q p
2
right-angled triangle for angle z has a hypotenuse with length ( 2) + 32 = 13

7 3 7 5
(a) sin u = p (b) cos u = p (c) tan u = (d) sin w = p
58 58 3 89
8 5 3 2
(e) cos w = p (f) tan w = (g) sin z = p (h) cos z = p
89 8 13 13
p p
3 13 58 8
(i) tan z = (j) sec z = (k) csc u = (l) cot w =
2 2 7 5
4. A right-angled triangle for u shown below hasp a hypotenuse
p of length 4 and the dotted side has length
4. It follows that the third side has length 42 32 = 7. Therefore
p p
7 3 7
(a) cos u = (b) tan u = p (c) cot u =
4 7 4

4 4
(d) sec u = p (e) csc u =
7 3

20
5. Since u is in the third quadrant where the vertical and horizontal coordinates are negative,
p tan u =
15 15 2 + 82 = 17
8 = 8 . A right-angled triangle for u is given below. Its hypotenuse has length 15
Therefore
8 15 17 17
(a) cos u = (b) sin u = (c) sec u = (d) csc u =
17 17 8 15

p
6. A right-angled triangle for u is given below. The length of the dotted side is h2 p2 .

Therefore:
p p
h2 p2 h2 p2
sin u = h , tan u = p and
p !2
2 2 h2 p2 p 2 h2 p2 p2 h2 p2 + p2 h2
(sin u) + (cos u) = + = + = = 2 = 1:
h h h2 h2 h2 h

21