HOW TO SCORE A'S IN TRIGONOMETRY

A Comprehensive Guide and Easy to understand TRIGONOMETRY

by: MDA

What is TRIGONOMETRY?

Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and
angles of triangles. the branch of mathematics concerned with specific functions of angles and
their application to calculations. There are six functions of an angle commonly used in trigonometry.
Their names and abbreviations are sine (sin), cosine (cos), tangent (tan), cotangent (cot), secant (sec),
and co-secant (csc).

Why do we study Trigonometry?

Trigonometry and its functions have an enormous number of uses in our daily life. For instance,
it is used in geography to measure the distance between landmarks, in astronomy to measure the
distance of nearby stars and also in the satellite navigation system.

3 Basic Trigonometry Functions:

There are three basic functions in trigonometry, each of which is one side of a right-angled triangle
divided by another.

Name Abbreviation Relationship to sides of the triangle

Sine Sin Sin (θ) = Opposite/hypotenuse

Cosine Cos Cos (θ) = Adjacent/hypotenuse

Tangent Tan Tan (θ) = Opposite/adjacent

What are 6 trigonometric functions?
There are six functions of an angle commonly used in trigonometry. Their names and abbreviations
are sine (sin), cosine (cos), tangent (tan), cotangent (cot), secant (sec), and co-secant (csc).

The six important trigonometric functions (trigonometric ratios) are calculated using the below
formulas and considering the above figure. It is necessary to get knowledge about the sides of the right
triangle because it defines the set of important trigonometric functions.

Even and Odd Trigonometric Functions

The trigonometric function can be described as being even or odd.
Odd trigonometric functions: A trigonometric function is said to be an odd function if f(-x) = -f(x)
and symmetric with respect to the origin.
Even trigonometric functions: A trigonometric function is said to be an even function, if f(-x) = f(x)
and symmetric to the y-axis.
We know that
•Sin (-x) = – Sin x
•Cos (-x) = Cos x
 •Tan (-x) = -Tan x
•Csc (-x) = – Csc x
•Sec (-x) = Sec x
•Cot (-x) = -Cot x

Therefore, cosine and secant are the even trigonometric functions, whereas sine, tangent, cosecant and
cotangent are the odd trigonometric functions. If we know the even and odd trigonometric functions, it
helps us to simplify the trigonometric expression when the variable inside the trigonometric function is
negative.

Trigonometry Angles
The trigonometry angles which are commonly used in trigonometry problems are 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°and
90°.The trigonometric ratios such as sine, cosine and tangent of these angles are easy to memorize. We
will also show the table where all the ratios and their respective angle’s values are mentioned. To find
these angles we have to draw a right-angled triangle, in which one of the acute angles will be the
corresponding trigonometry angle. These angles will be defined with respect to the ratio associated
with it.
For example, in a right-angled triangle,
Sin θ = Perpendicular/Hypotenuse
or θ = sin-1 (P/H)
Similarly,
θ = cos-1 (Base/Hypotenuse)
θ = tan-1 (Perpendicular/Base)

Trigonometry Table
Check the table for common angles which are used to solve many trigonometric problems involving
trigonometric ratios.

Angles 0° 30° 45° 60° 90°

Sin θ 0 ½ 1/√2 √3/2 1

Cos θ 1 √3/2 1/√2 ½ 0

Tan θ 0 1/√3 1 √3 ∞

Cose θ ∞ 2 √2 2/√3 1

Sec θ 1 2/√3 √2 2 ∞

Cot θ ∞ √3 1 1/√3 0
In the same way, we can find the trigonometric ratio values for angles beyond 90 degrees, such as 180°,
270° and 360°.

List of Trigonometry Formulas

The Trigonometric formulas or Identities are the equations which are true in the case of Right-Angled
Triangles. Some of the special trigonometric identities are given below –

1.Pythagorean Identities
sin²θ + cos²θ = 1
tan2θ + 1 = sec2θ
cot2θ + 1 = cosec2θ
sin 2θ = 2 sin θ cos θ
cos 2θ = cos²θ – sin²θ
tan 2θ = 2 tan θ / (1 – tan²θ)
cot 2θ = (cot²θ – 1) / 2 cot θ

2.Sum and Difference identities-

For angles u and v, we have the following relationships:
sin(u + v) = sin(u)cos(v) + cos(u)sin(v)
cos(u + v) = cos(u)cos(v) – sin(u)sin(v)
sin(u – v) = sin(u)cos(v) – cos(u)sin(v)
cos(u – v) = cos(u)cos(v) + sin(u)sin(v)

3.If A, B and C are angles and a, b and c are the sides of a triangle, then,
Sine Laws
a/sin A = b/sin B = c/sin C
Cosine Laws
•c2= a2+ b– 2ab cos C
•a2= b2+ c2– 2bc cos A
•b2= a2+ c2– 2ac cos B
Sample Problems:

1.Find x and H in the right triangle below.

Solution: x = 10 / tan(51°) = 8.1 (2 significant digits)

H = 10 / sin(51°) = 13 (2 significant digits)

2.Find the lengths of all sides of the right triangle below if its area is 400.

Solution
Area = (1/2)(2x)(x) = 400
Solve for x: x = 20 , 2x = 40

Pythagoras's theorem: (2x)2 + (x)2 = H2

H = x √(5) = 20 √(5)
 3. BH is perpendicular to AC. Find x the length of BC.

Solution BH perpendicular to AC means that triangles ABH and HBC are right triangles.

Hence tan(39°) = 11 / AH or AH = 11 / tan(39°)

HC = 19 - AH = 19 - 11 / tan(39°)

Pythagoras's theorem applied to right triangle HBC: 112 + HC2= x2

solve for x and substitute HC: x = √ [ 112 + (19 - 11 / tan(39°) )2]

= 12.3 (rounded to 3 significant digits)

4.ABC is a right triangle with a right angle at A. Find x the length of DC.

Solution

Since angle A is right, both triangles ABC and ABD are right and therefore we can apply
Pythagoras's theorem.
142= 102+ AD2, 162= 102+ AC2
 Also x = AC - AD
= √( 162- 102 ) - √( 142- 102) = 2.69 (rounded to 3 significant digits)

5.In the figure below AB and CD are perpendicular to BC and the size of angle ACB is 31°.
Find the length of segment BD.

Solution

Use right triangle ABC to write: tan(31°) = 6 / BC , solve: BC = 6 / tan(31°)

Use Pythagoras's theorem in the right triangle BCD to write:

92+ BC2= BD2

Solve above for BD and substitute BC: BD = √ [ 9 + ( 6 / tan(31°) )2]

= 13.4 (rounded to 3 significant digits)

6.The area of a right triangle is 50. One of its angles is 45°. Find the lengths of the sides
and hypotenuse of the triangle.

Solution

The triangle is right and the size one of its angles is 45°; the third angle has a size 45° and
therefore the triangle is right and isosceles.

Let x be the length of one of the sides and H be the length of the hypotenuse.
Area=(1/2)x2 = 50 , solve for x: x = 10
We now use Pythagoras theorem to find  H: x2 + x2 = H2
Solve for H: H = 10 √(2)
 7.In a right triangle ABC, tan(A) = 3/4. Find sin(A) and cos(A).

Solution Let a be the length of the side opposite angle A, b the length of the side adjacent to angle
A and h be the length of the hypotenuse.

tan(A) = opposite side / adjacent side = a/b = 3/4

We can say that: a = 3k and b = 4k , where k is a coefficient of proportionality. Let us find h.
Pythagoras's theorem: h2 = (3k)2 + (5k)2

Solve for h: h = 5k sin(A) = a / h = 3k / 5k = 3/5 and cos(A) = 4k / 5k = 4/5

8.In a right triangle ABC with angle A equal to 90°, find angle B and C so that sin(B) =
cos(B).

Solution

Let b be the length of the side opposite angle B and c the length of the side opposite angle C and h the
length of the hypotenuse.

sin(B) = b/h and cos(B) = c/h

sin(B) = cos(B) means b/h = c/h which gives c = b

The two sides are equal in length means that the triangle is isosceles and angles B and C are equal in
size of 45°.

9.A rectangle has dimensions 10 cm by 5 cm. Determine the measures of the angles at the
point where the diagonals intersect.

Solution

The diagram below shows the rectangle with the diagonals and half one of the angles with size x.
tan(x) = 5/2.5 = 2 , x = arc-tan(2)

larger angle made by diagonals 2x = 2 arc-tan(2) = 127° (3 significant digits)

Smaller angle made by diagonals 180 - 2x = 53°.

 10.The lengths of side AB and side BC of a scalene triangle ABC are 12 cm and 8 cm
respectively. The size of angle C is 59°. Find the length of side AC.

Solution

Let x be the length of side AC. Use the cosine law

122 = 82 + x2 - 2 · 8 · x · cos(59°)

Solve the quadratic equation for x: x = 14.0 and x = - 5.7

x cannot be negative and therefore the solution is x = 14.0 (rounded to one decimal place).

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