Applications of

Trigonometry
Name-Yatharth Singh
Class-X
th

Roll No.-41
School-K.V. -5,
Jaipur

Mansarovar,

What is Trigonometry?
O Trigonometry is a methodology for finding some unknown

elements of a triangle provided the data includes a sufficient

amount of linear and angular measurements to define a
shape uniquely.

O For example, two sides a and b of a triangle and the angle

they include define the triangle uniquely. The third side c

can then be found from the Law of Cosines while the angles
and are determined from the Law of Sines.

O Trigonometry is derived from Greek words trignon,

meaning "triangle" and metron, meaning "measure.

History of Trigonometry
The Babylonian astronomers (1900 BC)
kept detailed records on the rising and
setting of stars, the motion of the
planets, and the solar and lunar
eclipses, all of which required familiarity
with angular distances measured on the
celestial sphere. Some have even
asserted that the ancient Babylonians
had a table of secants.
The Egyptians used a primitive form of
trigonometry for building pyramids in
the 2nd millennium BC.

 The next significant developments of trigonometry

were in India. Influential works from the 4th5th
century, known as the Siddhantas first defined the
sine as the modern relationship between half an
angle and half a chord, while also defining the
cosine, versine, and inverse sine.
Soon afterwards, another Indian mathematician and
astronomer, Aryabhata , collected and expanded
upon the developments in his work, Aryabhatiya.
The Siddhantas and the Aryabhatiya contain the
earliest surviving tables of sine values and versine (1
cosine) values.

Trigonometry Formulae & their Full

forms..
Sin(sine)-perpendicular/hypotenuse
Cos(cosine)-base/hypotenuse
Tan(tangent)-perpendicular/base
Cosec(cosecant)hypotenuse/perpendicular
Sec(secant)-hypotenuse/base
Cot(cotangent)-base/perpendicular

Applications of Trigonometry
There is an enormous number of applications of trigonometry and
trigonometric functions. For instance, the technique of triangulation is
used in astronomy to measure the distance to nearby stars, in
geography to measure distances between landmarks, and in satellite
navigation systems. The sine and cosine functions are fundamental to
the theory of periodic functions such as those that describe sound and
light waves.
In the following slides, we will learn what is line of sight, angle of
elevation, angle of depression, and also solve some problems related
to trigonometry using trigonometric ratios.

Line of Sight
ight
S
f
o
Line

Suppose a boy is looking at a bird on a tree, so the

line joining the eye of the boy and the bird is called
the Line of Sight.

Angle of Elevation
Angle of Elevation

Lets take the same case again that a boy is looking at

a bird on a tree. The angle which the line of sight
makes with a horizontal line drawn away from the
eyes is called the angle of elevation.

Angle of Depression
Angle of Depression

Now if we consider that the bird is looking at the boy,

then the angle between the birds line of sight and
horizontal line drawn from its eyes is called the Angle
of Depression.

Lets now solve some

examples
O Following are some very simple examples of the

application of trigonometry.
O In the first example, you have to find the distance of

a man from the building as well as the distance

between him and the top of the tower.
O In the second example, you have to find

Examples
O A man is standing at a distance from a building of height 30 m. The

angle of elevation from the mans eyes to the top of the tower is 45
degrees. Find the distance of the man from the building as well as the
distance between him and the top of the tower.
A
30
m
C
(man)

45
B

O Distance (BC)
tan45 = 1 = AB/BC = 30/BC
BC = 30 m

Therefore, the distance between the man and the tower is 30

meters.
O Now, Finding AC
sin45 = 1/2 = 30/AC
AC = 30 2 meters

Thus, the distance between the man and the top of the tower is 30
2 meters.

O A man in a car is looking at the top of a tree, which is 40 m

from him. Find the distance between the man and the top of
the tree, if the angle of elevation is 30 degrees.
A

30
C
(car)

40 m

cos30 = 3 / 2 = 40 / AC
AC = 80 / 3

Therefore, distance between the man and the top of the tree is 80 / 3
meters.