Basic Trig Functions An Introduction to Sine, Cosine, and Tangent Melanie Forbes

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Basic Trig FunctionsAn Introduction to Sine, Cosine, and Tangent

Melanie Forbes

Mosque Detail, provided by Let’s Book (Jamie Carter) on Flickr, Creative Commons, some rights reserved, April 2009, Seoul, Korea.

What are Trig Functions? Let’s look at 3 similar triangles

If the angles of one triangle are exactly the same as the angles of another, those triangles are similar.

3

4

5

θ

β

6

8

10

θ

β

4.5

6

7.5

θ

β

These are 3 similar right triangles; they each have a 90° angle, equal angles θ, and equal angles β.

Comparing Sides Look at the green triangle and find angle θ Compare the side opposite θ to the

hypotenuse

3

4

5

θ

β

Comparing Sides Look at the taupe triangle and find angle θ Compare the side opposite θ to the

hypotenuse

4.5

6

7.5

θ

β

Ratios are the Same Did you notice that each of the 3 similar

triangles, even though the triangles were different sizes, had the exact same ratio of sides?

Comparing Sides Look at the orange triangle and find angle θ Compare the side opposite θ to the

hypotenuse

6

8

10

θ

β

The Sine Function Ancient mathematicians noticed that

similar right triangles always had side ratios that were the same.

In a right triangle, the ratio of the side opposite a given angle to the hypotenuse is known as the Sine (abbreviated sin) ratio.

Sine θ = In this triangle sin θ = And sin β =

3

4

5

θ

β

Mosaic Tile Medallion, provided by A. Davey on flickr, Creative Commons, Some rights reserved, April 2010, Mosque, Esfahan, Iran.

Practice In each triangle, determine sine θ.

Just click to see the correct answer

What is Sine θ?

Sin θ =

7

2425

θ

What is Sine θ?

Sin θ =

9

40

41θ

What is Sine θ?

Sin θ =

5

12

13

θ

How did you do? If you correctly identified the sine ratios

in those triangles, click to move to the next section.

Otherwise, click below to go back.

Go to the beginning Review the sine ratio

Left Arrows Reverse Button, Provided by: Microsoft

Decorative and Calligraphic Tilewormk, provided by A. Davey on flickr, Creative Commons, Some rights reserved, April 2010, Mosque, Esfahan, Iran.

The Cosine Function

In a right triangle, the ratio of the side adjacent to a given angle compared to the hypotenuse is known as the Cosine (abbreviated cos) ratio.

Cosine θ = In this triangle cos θ = And cosβ = 3

4

5

θ

β

Practice In each triangle, determine cosine θ.

Just click to see the correct answer

What is Cosine θ?

Cos θ =

7

2425

θ

What is Cosine θ?

Cos θ =

9

40

41θ

What is Cosine θ?

Cos θ =

5

12

13

θ

How did you do? If you correctly identified the cosine

ratios in those triangles, click to move to the next section.

Otherwise, click below to go back.

Review the sine ratio Review the cosine ratio

Left Arrows Reverse Button, Provided by: Microsoft

3D Ornamental Mosaic Tile, provided by A. Davey on flickr, Creative Commons, Some rights reserved, April 2010, Mosque, Kerman, Iran

The Tangent Ratio

In a right triangle, the ratio of the side opposite a given angle compared to the side adjacent to the angle is known as the Tangent (abbreviated tan) ratio.

Tangent θ = In this triangle tan θ = And tanβ = 3

4

5

θ

β

Practice In each triangle, determine tangent θ.

Just click to see the correct answer

What is Tangent θ?

Tan θ =

7

2425

θ

What is Tangent θ?

Tan θ =

9

40

41θ

What is Tangent θ?

Tan θ =

5

12

13

θ

How did you do? If you correctly identified the tangent

ratios in those triangles, click to move to the next section.

Otherwise, click below to go back.

Review the cosine ratio

Review the tangent ratio

Left Arrows Reverse Button, Provided by: Microsoft

SOH – CAH - TOA You can remember the definitions of the 3

trig ratios with a mnemonic

SOH: Sin=Opposite/Hypotenuse

CAH: Cos=Adjacent/Hypotenuse

TOA: Tan=Opposite/Adjacent

Detail 3-D Tilework, provided by A. Davey on flickr, Creative Commons, Some rights reserved, April 2010, Mosque, Esfahan, Iran.

Thanks for Watching.

Any idea why I included pictures from the Middle East?

Detail 3-D Tilework, provided by A. Davey on flickr, Creative Commons, Some rights reserved, April 2010, Mosque, Esfahan, Iran.

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