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Recall that right triangles can be labeled according to the location of one of the acute angles in
the triangle.
hypotenuse
opposite
x
adjacent
The three primary trigonometric ratios are Sine, Cosine and Tangent.
Each of the primary trigonometric ratios have reciprocal trigonometric ratios. These ratios are
Cosecant, Secant and Cotangent and are defined as follows:
Most calculators do not have buttons for cosecant, secant or cotangent ratios. For example to
evaluate csc 20o, you would use:
Do not use sin-1, cos-1 and tan-1 on your calculator to evaluate the inverse trig ratios. These keys
are used determine the angle associated with a given primary ratio.
Unit 5 MCR 3U1
Example 1: Evaluate the six trigonometric ratios for the following triangle.
5 cm
3 cm
A
C 4 cm
Example 5: Solve the following triangle. Round to the nearest degree, or nearest tenth of a cm.
w
y
63.5o
W Y
9.6 cm
Unit 5 MCR 3U1
The following triangles are considered “special triangles”. We can use these triangles to find
the exact values of the primary trigonometric ratios for 30o, 45o and 60o.
45o
30o
1
2
45o
1
60o
1
The primary trigonometric ratios of these triangles can be summarized below.
30o
45o
60o
Example 2: A baseball diamond forms a square of side length 27.4 m. Claudia says that she used
a special triangle to calculate the distance between home plate and second base. Explain how she
calculated this distance, then state the actual distance from home to second base.
Unit 5 MCR 3U1
The vertex of angle is at the origin. The ray that is located on the initial
positive x-axis is called the initial arm. The other ray, called the terminal arm
arm, rotates about the origin. The measure of the angle is the amount of
rotation from the initial arm to the terminal arm.
vertex
A related acute angle is the angle between the terminal arm of an angle in standard position and the x-
axis, when the terminal arm lies in quadrants 2, 3, or 4. *** Very important!***
The principle angle is the counterclockwise angle between the initial arm and the terminal arm of an angle
in standard position. Its value is between 0o and 360o.
terminal
arm
principal
related angle
acute angle
vertex initial
arm
*** For any principal angle greater than 90°, the values of the primary trigonometric ratios are
either the same as, or the negatives, of the ratios for the related acute angle. ***
***If the terminal arm of an angle in standard position lies in quadrant 2, 3, or 4, there exists a
related acute angle and a principal angle. ***
To determine the value of an angle using the coordinate grid, the following applies.
▪ Let (x, y) be a point on the terminal arm of an angle in standard position.
When is less than 90o, the following trig ratios apply:
y r = x2 + y2
(x,y) y
sin =
r
r
x
y cos =
r
x
x
Unit 5 MCR 3U1
Example 1: The point (6, 10) is on the terminal arm of an angle in standard position. Find sin and cos .
For angles that are greater than 90o, you can use the
unit circle as a guideline for determining the value of QUADRANT 2 QUADRANT 1
the angles: 90 – 180o 0-90o
QUADRANT 3 QUADRANT 4
Example 2 180-270o 270-360o
The point (-3, 2) is on the terminal arm of angle in
standard position. Find the value of .
Example 3: The point (-2, -4) is on the terminal arm of angle in standard position. Find the value of .
Example 4: The point (2, -3) is on the terminal arm of angle in standard position. Find the value of .
Unit 5 MCR 3U1
For any angle in standard position, with point P(x, y) on the terminal arm, and r = x 2 + y 2 , the 3
primary trig ratios are defined in terms of x, y, and r as follows:
y x y P(x, y)
sin = cos = tan =
r r x
r
y
The memory device CAST shows which trig ratios are positive in
each quadrant:
x
S A
Sine All
T C
Tangent
Cosine
Example 1: Determine the exact values of the primary trig ratios and θ:
P(-4, -3)
To prove that a given trigonometric equation is an identity, both sides of the equation need to be shown to
be equivalent. This can be done by:
• Simplifying the more complicated side until it is identical to the other side or manipulating both
sides to get the same expression.
• Rewriting all expressions involving tangent and the reciprocal trig ratios in terms of sine and cosine.
• Applying the Pythagorean Identities where appropriate.
• Using a common denominator or factoring as required.
You can use the following identities to help you prove other identities.
1 + cot 2 = csc 2
cot 2 = csc 2 − 1
When you are given two side lengths, and a corresponding angle for one of the given lengths, you
will encounter the ambiguous case for sine law.
The Ambiguous Case: a situation in which 0, 1, or 2 triangles can be drawn given the information
in the problem. This occurs when you know two side lengths and an opposite one of the sides
rather than between them.
The ambiguous case for sine law refers to the possibility of having 0, 1 or 2 answers for a
given problem involving the use of sine law.
Unit 5 MCR 3U1
If A , a and b are given, and A is acute, there are four possibilities to consider. Note
that h refers to the height of the triangle (which may not be given).
If A is acute and a h , no triangle exists If A is acute and a = h , one right triangle exists
If A is acute and a b , one triangle exists If A is acute and h a b , two triangles exist
Example 3 : Where appropriate, sketch all possible triangles, given each set of information. Label
all side lengths to the nearest tenth of a centimeter all angles to the nearest degree.
a 2 = b 2 + c 2 − 2bc cos A b2 + c2 − a 2
The forms of the cosine law are: cos A =
2bc
b 2 = a 2 + c 2 − 2ac cos B
a 2 + c2 − b2
cos B =
c 2 = a 2 + b 2 − 2ab cos C 2ac
a 2 + b2 − c2
cos C =
2ab
1.9
3.8
P
2.7
Q