PLANE TRIGONOMETRY

I. PLANE ANGLE

A plane angle is determined by rotating a ray (half-line) about its endpoint called vertex.

 TYPES OF ANGLES:

ACUTE ANGLE: θ>90°

RIGHT ANGLE: θ = 90°
OBTUSE ANGE: 90<θ<180°
STRAIGHT ANGLE: θ = 180°
REFLEX ANGLE: 180°< θ <360°
PERIGON: θ = 360°
 Sign Convention:
Positive Angle - an angle measured in counter - clockwise direction.
Negative Angle - an angle measured in clock - wise direction
 UNITS OF ANGLE MEASUREMENTS
1. Degree
2. Radian
3. Gradian
4. Mil
Conversion Factors:
1 revolution = 360 degrees
= 2π radians
= 400 gradians
= 6400 mils
180 degrees = π radians
Examples:
1. Express 135° in radians
2. Convert 6.5π radians to degrees
3. The ratio of the angle in a triangle 3:4:5. Find the measure of the largest angle in radians.
4. The angle 174 degrees is equivalent to what in mils
5. Find the measure of 2.25 revolutions counterclockwise in mils.

 ANGLE PAIRS
1. Complementary Angles: A + B = 90°
2. Supplementary Angles: A + B = 180°
3. Explementary Angles: A + B = 360°
Examples:
1. Three times the measure of a complement of a certain angle is equal to 30° more than the measure
of its supplement. Find the angle.
2. One angle measures twice as much as the other. Find the measure of each angle if the two angles
form a linear pair.
 REFERENCE ANGLE
A Reference Angle θ for an angle α in standard position is the positive acute angle between the
x-axis and the terminal side of angle α.
Reference Angle Measurements:
Q1: θ = α Q2: θ = (180 - α) Q3: θ = (α-180) Q4: θ = (360 - α)

 COTERMINAL ANGLE
Two angles which when placed in standard position, have coincident terminal sided are called
Co-terminal Angles.
θ = β +k(360°)
Examples:
1. Find the reference angle and the first positive co-terminal angle of 125° counterclockwise.

II. RIGHT TRIANGLE

 THE PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM
“In a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the
squares of the lengths of the legs.”
NOTE: In any triangle, the sum of any two sides must be greater than the third side; otherwise no
triangle can be formed.
If: c² > a² + b² ( the triangle is obtuse)
c² < a² + b² (the triangle is acute)

 THE SIX TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS

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 QUADRANT SIGN OF TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS

Q1: All Trigonometric functions are positive
Q2: Only sine and its reciprocal are positive
Q3: Only tangent and its reciprocal are positive
Q4: Only cosine and its reciprocal are positive
Example: In what quadrants do the secant and cosecant of an angle plotted on a Cartesian coordinates
have the same sign?
 ANGLES OF DEPRESSION AND ELEVATION
1. Angle of Elevation - is the angle from the horizontal up to the line of sight from the observer
to an object above.

2. Angle of Depression - is the angle from the horizontal down to the line of sight from the
observer to an object below.

Example:
1. From a 120 feet observation tower on the coast, a Coast Guard officer sights a boat in
difficulty. The angle of depression of the boat is 5 degrees. How far is the boat from the
shoreline?
2. A 75 foot zip-line is attached to the top of a 50 foot building. If you are laying on the ground
where the zip-line reaches and are looking up to your friend at the top of the building, what is
the angle of elevation?

III. OBLIQUE TRIANGLE

An Oblique Triangle is a triangle that contains no right triangle.

 SOLUTIONS TO OBLIQUE TRIANGLES

1. THE SINE LAW: “in any triangle, the ratio of any side to the sine of its opposite angle is
constant”
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Note: use Sine Law if:
1. Given two angles at any side
2. Given two sides and an angle opposite one of them
THE COSINE LAW
“In any triangle, the square of any side is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides
minus twice the product of these sides and the cosine of their included angle”

Standard Form: Alternative Form:

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Note: Use Cosine Law if:

1. Given three sides
2. Given two sides and their included angle

THE LAW OF TANGENTS

“Law of Tangents sets a ratio relationship between the sum and difference of two sides of a
triangle, to the tangents of half the sum and difference of the angles opposite to the sides.”

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Note: Use Tangent Law:

The tangent law is applied and calculated the way of the law of sine and cosine are applied to identify
the measures of a given triangle.

Examples:

1. A chandelier is suspended from the ceiling by two chains. One chain is 46cm long and forms a 60
degree angle with the ceiling. The other chain is 64 cm long. What angle does the longer chain make
with the ceiling?
2. A triangular lot sits at the corner of two streets that intersect at an angle of 58 degrees. One street
side of the lot is 32m and the other is 40m. How long is the back of the lot (the third side), to the nearest
meter?