Trigonometry Study Guide

Maths 101

Maths 101: Trigonometry The Basics The hypotenuse is the longest side The side opposite the labelled angle is called the opposite side The side next to the labelled angle which is not the hypotenuse is the adjacent side Remember SOH CAH TOA sine = opposite hypotenuse adjacent hypotenuse opposite adjacent opposite

adjacent

hypotenuse

cosine =

tangent =

The Sine We can use the sine formula from above to find: an angle when given the opposite and hypotenuse sides to the angle a side when given the opposite angle and the hypotenuse Worked Example In the diagrams below, find the value of x a) 10cm x x a sine = opposite hypotenuse = 7 10 = 0.7 7cm b) 35o

12cm

Use the inverse function to find x sin-1(0.7) = 44o b sine = opposite hypotenuse x = 12

x = sin35o x 12 = 6.9cm

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Trigonometry Study Guide

Maths 101

The Cosine We can use the cosine formula to find: an angle when given the adjacent and hypotenuse sides to the angle a side when given the adjacent angle and the hypotenuse Worked Example In the diagrams below, find the value of x a) 12cm x 7cm a cosine = adjacent hypotenuse = 12 10 . = 0.416 b) x 47o

9cm

Use the inverse function to find x . -1 cos (0.416) = 65.4o adjacent hypotenuse x = 9

b cosine =

x = sin47o x 9 = 6.14cm The Tangent We can use the tangent formula to find: an angle when given the opposite and adjacent sides to the angle a side when given the adjacent angle and side Worked Example In the diagram below, find the value of x 35o 6cm x = tan35o x 9 = 8.6cm x tangent = opposite adjacent x = 6 = 0.416

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Trigonometry Study Guide

Maths 101

Find the values of angles and sides marked with letters below a) 45o x 6cm a 60o d) 8cm 5cm y 7.2cm The Isosceles Triangle Worked Example The diagram to the right shows triangle BCD. BC and BD are the same length. a) Find the length, x, of the triangle b) Calculate the area of the triangle a First we find y, which is x, using the cosine of 53o, which gives: y cos53o = y = 7(cos53o) = 4.2cm 7 x = 2y y = 8.4 z e) 11.8cm b) 15cm b c) 50o 12cm

7cm

b For the area, we must find the height, h We can use Pythagoras or trigonometry h sin53o = h = 7(sin53o) = 5.6cm 7 The area is (b x h) so: 0.5 x 8.425 x 5.59 = 23.55cm2 (to 2 d.p.)

53o x

53o

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Trigonometry Study Guide

Maths 101

The Sine Rule There are two rules we can use besides the above trigonometric ratios for triangles with no right-angle. The first is the sine rule. a sin A = b sin B = c sin C OR sin A a = sin B b = sin C c

We use the sine rule to find: a side when given two angles and a side [sides go on top] an angle when given two sides and an angle [sines go on top] Worked Example In the following triangles, calculate the value of x a) A 84o 47o B a x 25cm b) 7cm C 40o B A 6cm x C

Use the sine rule with the sides on top when trying to find a side x 25 25(sin 84o) = therefore x = = 34.0cm (to 3 s.f.) sin 47o sin 84o sin 47o

b Use the sine rule with the sines on top when trying to find an angle sin x sin 40o = therefore x = sin-1 (0.7499) = 48.6o (to 3 s.f.) 7 6 Calculate the lengths of the sides and size of the angle marked with letters a) b) A A 5cm 57o B c) A 6m 47o B 8cm m C B r 18o 15m C x 25o C y B d) 43o 60o 9mm A 132o C

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Trigonometry Study Guide

Maths 101

The Cosine Rule The second of the two rules is the cosine rule, which we can use to: find the hypotenuse when given two sides and an angle find any angle when we have all three sides The cosine rule is: a2 = b2 + c2 2bc(cosA) b2 = a2 + c2 2ac(cosB) c2 = a2 + b2 2ab(cosC) OR cosB = cosA = b2 + c2 a2 2bc a2 + c2 b2 2ac a2 + b2 c2 2ab

A c B b

cosC =

a Worked Example

Know that in these triangles A, B and C are all angles and a, b and c are all sides

In the following triangles, calculate the value of x a) 6cm 80o x b) 7cm 5cm 10cm By way of the cosine rule: x2 = 62 + 102 (2 x 6 x 10)cos80o x2 = 136 120cos80o x2 = 115.16 x = 115.16 = 10.7cm By way of the cosine rule: 52 + 72 82 cos = = 2x5x7 = 0.1428 cos-1(0.1428) = 82o 8cm Find the value of y in each of the following triangles a) b) y 6m 110o 8m 9cm 16cm y 12cm

10 70 x

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Trigonometry Study Guide

Maths 101

When to Use the Rules Here is the full list of scenarios you may encounter and how to respond: When given 2 sides and the angle in between them: use the cosine rule to find the third side use the sine rule to find either missing angle find the other missing angle using the other two angles from 180 degrees

75o

10

10 62o

80o

When given a side in between 2 angles: use triangle theory to find the missing angle use the sine rule to find both the missing sides

8 12

When given all 3 sides: use the cosine rule to find any missing angle use the sine rule to find another angle use triangle theory to find the third angle

15

40o 10

The ambiguous case: use the sine rule to find both possible answers of the required missing angle use the sum of 180 to find the possibilities for the other angle in the triangle use the sign rule to find out the possibilities for what the third side may be

Getting to Know Your Trigonometric Ratios From dividing the equilateral triangle on the following page into two rightangled triangles, we take just one of them. Using that right-angled triangle, and the formulae for sine, cosine and tangent, we can work out certain values for sine, cosine and tangent at regular intervals in a graph.

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Trigonometry Study Guide

Maths 101

2 60o 2

2 60o 1

30o

2 60o

30o 3

1 1

1 tan 60o =

3
sin 60o = 2 1 sin 30o = 2 cos 30o = cos 60o =

3
2 tan 30o =

3
3

We can also use a right-angled isosceles triangle, where the equal sides are of length 1 and the hypotenuse will be root 2 sin 45o = tan 45o =

2
2

cos 45o =

2
2

2
45o

45o

1 The Sine Formula The sine formula can be used to calculate the area of a scalene triangle Area = ab (sin C) Worked Example Find the area of this triangle, to 3 significant figures B 5cm 38o C 7cm A A = x a x b x sin C A = 0.5 x 5 x 7 x sin 38o = 10.8cm2

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