What is Trigonometry?

- Functions, Formulas & Applications

Contributors: Katherine Kaylegian-Starkey, Yuanxin (Amy) Yang Alcocer, Elaine Chan

Learn what trigonometry is and what trigonometric functions are. Understand the examples of how to use
each function, as well as know the instances when it is useful to use trigonometry.

Table of Contents

 What is Trigonometry

 Trigonometry Formulas

 Trig Applications

 Lesson Summary

What is Trigonometry
Trigonometry may be one of the most useful mathematic tools ever discovered as it gives a way
to relate an angle in a right-angled triangle to the ratio of its sides. Almost anything can be
reduced to a right-angled triangle. For example, the height of a mountain can be measured
using its shadow and the angle of elevation, and contractors use trigonometry to ensure that
walls are perpendicular and that roofs are angled without gaps. More than just that,
trigonometry relates angles in a right-angled triangle with angles of a circle, a point on the
circle's circumference, and the rotation of that point around the circle. The rotation of this point
will continue endlessly unless some force acts upon it, and this continued motion is represented
in the trigonometric functions. Because trigonometry can represent repetitive circular motion, it
is used to mathematically describe oscillating systems. The most common oscillating systems
are waves such as oceanic or audio waves. Other practical applications, such as measuring
height and studying waves, will be explored later on.

Trigonometry Formulas
Understanding trigonometry starts with a solid understanding of right-angled triangles. The
hypotenuse is the longest side of a right-angled triangle, and it is always the side opposite of
the 90∘ angle. The adjacent leg is the leg that touches the angle in question, and the opposite
leg is the leg, which is opposite of the angle in question. It is important to note that the angle in
question will never be the 90∘ angle; it will always be one of the other two angles. The first
image below shows the relationship between the legs and an angle while the second image
shows how the triangle from figure 1 relates to a circle. These two images are crucial to
understanding trigonometry and will be referenced throughout the rest of this lesson.
 A right-angled triangle with each angle and corresponding side color-coded.

The same triangle from figure 1 is shown within a circle. The radial line, c, mark a point on the
circumference of the circle, and this point is appropriately labeled with the corresponding
trigonometric functions

Looking at the first image above:

sin(A) = a/c

cos(A) = b/c

tan(A) = a/b

csc(A) = c/a

sec(A) = c/b

cot(A) = b/a
Sin(A) is read sine of A . This function is the y-coordinate in the second image above. Cos(A) is
read cosine of A, and it is the x-coordinate in the second image above. From these two functions,
all of the others are derived. Tan(A) is known as tangent of A , and it is the ratio of sine to cosine.
The other three functions, cosecant, secant, and cotangent, are the inverses of these main trig
functions. All of these relationships can get very confusing, but there is a handy acronym to
remember the relationship between the main trigonometric functions and the legs of a triangle:
SOH, CAH, and TOA. SOH stands for sine=opposite/hypotenuse, CAH stands for
cosine=adjacent/hypotenuse, and TOA stands for tangent=opposite/adjacent.

Trig Applications
As mentioned, trigonometric functions are among the most useful mathematic tools ever
discovered. Astrophysicists use trigonometry to take measurements of the planets, and
contractors use trigonometry to measure the dimension of houses. Oceanographers use
trigonometry to describe the motion of ocean waves, and engineers use it when designing any
electric or audio component. Trigonometry's ability to be useful across so many disciples comes
from its ability to describe oscillatory motion using an angle and a right-angled triangle. Many
systems oscillate or move about an equilibrium point. There are obvious oscillatory systems
such as a pendulum or a wheel that move with circular motion. There are less obvious systems
such as the movement of an electron within an atom or the oscillation of an atom itself within a
material. There are so many more practical uses for trigonometry that they cannot all be listed
here. The examples below demonstrate some of the fundamental uses of trigonometry:

Example 1: The power company is installing new electric poles, and they need to know how tall
to make them. The specs from the previous installation have disappeared. But the project
manager isn't concerned. However, some poles have cables running from the top to the ground.
These cables are 33 ft feet long, and they are installed at a 60.4 angle to the ground. The
∘

project manager waits at one of these poles for the sun to move just right so that that pole's
shadow meets the cable anchored in the ground. She measures the pole's shadow to be 10 ft.
How tall does she measure the pole to be?
 The geometry of the problem reduces to this triangle, making trigonometry the ideal mechanism to
solve this problem.

This kind of problem is called a side-angle-side problem because the problem gives the size of a
known angle sandwiched between two legs of known lengths. There are a few ways to solve
this, but the easiest is to use the Law of Sines which states that a/sin(A) = b/sin(B) . With
the values given in the problem,
∘ ∘
33/sin(90 ) = x/sin(60.4 )

This can be rearranged to read

∘ ∘
[33/sin(90 )]sin(60.4 ) = x

Evaluating the left side gives x = 28.69

The project manager should make her power poles 28.69 ft tall.

This may seem like just an example of a math lesson, but engineers use trigonometry to solve
problems like this every day.

Example 2: The movement of a point on a wave can be described with the equation
f (x, t) = Asin(x − vt), where f(x, t) is a function with the argument x for position and t for

time, A is the amplitude of the wave, and v is the velocity of the wave. Using this equation to
answer the following question: A piece of tape is wrapped around a string at x = 0.2m, and the
string is wiggled. It is observed to have an amplitude of 0.03m, and its velocity is measured to be
0.05 m/s. Where will the tape be after 15 seconds?

All of the pieces are given, now putting the values:

f (0.2, 15) = 0.03sin(0.2 + 0.05 ∗ 15)

f (0.2, 15) = 0.00049m

The piece of tape would be at a position barely discernible from y = 0. While this was not a
practical or realistic example, it does demonstrate the range of problems that can be solved
using trigonometry.

Lesson Summary
Trigonometry is a field of mathematics that relates the ratios of the legs in a right-angled
triangle to an angle in a circle and a point on the circumference of that circle. Many real-world
motions are circular, and oscillate or move back and forth around an equilibrium point.

Trigonometry's ability to relate an angle to a point on a circle makes it a versatile and valuable
tool. There are two main trigonometric functions, sin(x) and cos(x), and from these functions the
other four trig functions, tan(x), cosec(x), sec(x), and cot(x), are derived. Sin(x) relates an angle, x,
in a right-angled triangle to the opposite leg and the hypotenuse, while cos(x) relates the angle
x to the adjacent leg and the hypotenuse. Tan(x) is a ratio of sine and cosine, and the remaining
functions are the inverses of the first three.

Trigonometry is used in many fields such as astrophysics, carpentry, oceanography, and

engineering. It is versatile due to its ability to mathematically describe repeating motions. Each
of these fields uses trigonometry differently, but the basic processes are the same, making
trigonometry one of mathematic's most powerful tools.

Video Transcript

What Is Trigonometry?
Trigonometry can be defined as the calculation part of geometry. Trigonometry is where you
apply your knowledge of triangles from geometry and use the resulting formulas to help you
solve problems.

Many math symbols come from the Greek language and, not surprisingly, the word
trigonometry also has its roots in that language. The first part of the word trigon is Greek for
'triangle.' The second part comes from the Greek word metron for 'measure.' Trigonometry has
a lot to do with triangles. Sines, cosines, and tangents all come from the measuring of the lowly
triangle.

Trigonometry and Triangles

Not just any triangle will do for trigonometry, though. It has to be a right triangle where one of
the angles is a 90 degree angle.

What's so special about the right triangle, you say? Well, just looking at it, we see that a right
triangle has names for all three sides. But, whoa, hold your horses. The names don't always
remain the same! The hypotenuse is always the side across from the right angle; however, the
other two sides switch depending on which angle you are referring to. You see, the adjacent
side, as the name suggests, is always next to the angle.
So, if our angle was at the blank angle, then the adjacent and opposite sides above would
switch.

These three sides make trigonometry. Yes, trigonometry is all about the ratios between the
sides. Sine, cosine, and tangent are all different ratios of these three sides.

Trigonometric function Ratio

Sine: sin(x)= Opposite/Hypotenuse

Cosine: cos(x)= Adjacent/Hypotenuse

Tangent: tan(x)= Opposite/Adjacent

This is the foundation of all of trigonometry! An easy way to remember these ratios is by
pronouncing the word SOHCAHTOA. It helps me remember the ratios. SOH is for sine with the
ratio of opposite over hypotenuse. CAH is for cosine with the ratio adjacent over hypotenuse.
And TOA is for tangent with the ratio opposite over adjacent. Do you see how you have
shortened the ratios to the first letter of each word? Remember that one word, and it will do you
well in trigonometry. While there are other trigonometric functions, they all are related to these
basic three.

Trigonometry and Circles

So, how does all this stuff about triangles relate to circles? Because, as you travel all around the
circle, you can create all the triangles you need to solve trigonometry problems.
This particular circle with a radius of one is called the unit circle. Placing the circle on the
Cartesian coordinate with the center of the circle as the origin, we will get sides that are
negative. Taking a ratio with a negative number will give us a negative number in return. So it is
with all three trigonometric functions. There are certain angles that will yield a negative answer.
You can check this with the unit circle by drawing a triangle with the hypotenuse drawn at the
angle. The angle of the triangle follows the Cartesian coordinate rules, getting bigger as you go
counterclockwise from the positive side of the x-axis.

Study the unit circle a bit and you will find some interesting trigonometric relationships. For
instance, the angles 20 and 160 both yield the same sine. Looking at the unit circle and drawing
a triangle at both those angles, we see that the triangles have the same height. Since the ratio
sine deals with the opposite side of the angle, it is the same for both degrees.

How Will It Help Me in Real Life?

You might be surprised at how useful triangles are in the real world. Two important applications
are the building of roads on hillsides or mountainsides and the flight path of a landing plane.
Let's look at a couple of examples.

Given a particular hillside, the city needs to know how long of a road to build. Of course, the city
is not going to build over the hillside as it is. That would be too bumpy. The hillside would be
somewhat leveled first. At what grade does the leveling need to take place? To reach the top of
the hill, you can't lop off a midsection of the hill, you have to gradually slope up. So, what slope
is needed?

This is where trigonometry comes into play. You can take a picture of the hill and draw a triangle
where the hypotenuse represents the road. Taking measurements for the bottom of the triangle
and the height of the triangle, you can figure out the angle or slope that is needed for the road
to follow the hillside properly.

Similarly, when a plane is coming in for a landing, the pilot has to figure out the distance he is
from the landing strip and how high up he is. This will determine his rate of descent or his angle
of descent. It is a similar process with using the triangle and finding the angle. Alternately, if
given a required angle of descent, he has to figure out the distance at which he needs to start
coming down.

Lesson Summary
Trigonometry literally means the measuring of triangles. But it can be defined as the part of
geometry that deals with computations. Trigonometry is where you get to flex your brain
muscles and figure out problems in function form instead of shape form. In the real world,
trigonometry has real uses that are important for your safety.

Activities FAQs
Definitions
We have seen that, for an acute angle, the trigonometric functions are defined as ratios of
the lengths of the sides of a right triangle.

sin(θ) = opposite/hypotenuse = opp/hyp

and that

cos(θ) = adjacent/hyp=adj/hyp

and

tan(θ) = opp/adj

Opposite refers to the length of the side of the right triangle opposite the angle. Adjacent is
the length of the side of the right triangle adjacent to the angle. Hypotenuse is the length of
the side of the right triangle opposite the right angle.

Problem 1:

Show that tan(θ)= sin(θ)/cos(θ)

Answer 1:

Using the definition, divide the numerator and denominator by the hypotenuse. Invoke the
definitions of sine and cosine.

Problem 2:

Show that sin2 (θ) + cos2 (θ) = 1

Answer 2:

Using the Pythagorean Theorem for a right triangle, we may write the equation:

opp2 + adj2 = hyp2

Divide both sides of the equation by

hyp2

Use the definitions of sine and cosine.

Other Trigonometric Definitions
csc(θ)=hyp/opp

sec(θ)=hyp/adj

cot(θ)=adj/opp

A trigonometric identity is a relationship among the trigonometric functions. The most

elementary are an immediate consequence of the trigonometric definitions.

From the definitions, there are additional relationships:

cot(θ) = 1/ tan(θ)

csc(θ)=1/sin(θ)

sec(θ)=1/cos(θ)

Problem 3:

Prove tan2 (θ) +1 = sec2 (θ)

Answer 3:

Divide both sides of Problem 2 by cos2 (θ) . Use the trigonometric definitions.

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