Question 1

hey I have a question
what if we have a triangle with no known sides but 2 angles(including one right angle) is given then how will we find the 3rd angle and 3 sides? is it possible?

Accepted Answer

If you know two angles of a triangle, it is easy to find the third one. Since the three interior angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees you can always calculate the third angle like this:

Let's suppose that you know a triangle has angles 90 and 50 and you want to know the third angle. Let's call the unknown angle x.
x + 90 + 50 = 180
x + 140 = 180
x = 180 - 140
x = 40

As for the side lengths of the triangle, you need more information to figure those out. A triangle of side lengths 10, 14, and 9 has the same angles as a triangle with side lengths of 20, 28, and 18.

Question 2

How is theta defined in accurate mathematical language?

Accepted Answer

theta is not defined in math language, it is a symbol used as a variable to generally represent an angle.

Question 3

What is the etymology of sin, cos and tan?

Accepted Answer

*From Wikipedia - Trigonometric Functions - Etymology*

The word sine derives from Latin _sinus_, meaning "bend; bay", and more specifically "the hanging fold of the upper part of a toga", "the bosom of a garment", which was chosen as the translation of what was interpreted as the Arabic word _jaib_, meaning "pocket" or "fold" in the twelfth-century translations of works by Al-Battani and al-Khwārizmī into Medieval Latin. The choice was based on a misreading of the Arabic written form _j-y-b_ (جيب), which itself originated as a transliteration from Sanskrit _jīvā_, which along with its synonym jyā (the standard Sanskrit term for the sine) translates to "bowstring", being in turn adopted from Ancient Greek χορδή "string".

The word tangent comes from Latin _tangens_ meaning "touching", since the line _touches_ the circle of unit radius, whereas _secant_ stems from Latin _secans_—"cutting"—since the line _cuts_ the circle.

The prefix "co-" (in "cosine", "cotangent", "cosecant") is found in Edmund Gunter's Canon triangulorum (1620), which defines the _cosinus_ as an abbreviation for the _sinus complementi_ (sine of the complementary angle) and proceeds to define the _cotangens_ similarly.

Question 4

How to find the sin, cos and tan of the 90 degree angle? Will we follow the same procedure as we did with the other two angles?

Accepted Answer

If we consider the right angle, the side opposite is also the hypotenuse. So sin(90)=h/h=1.
By pythagorean theorem, we get that sin^2(90)+cos^2(90)=1. So, substituting, 1+cos^2(90)=1
cos^2(90)=0
cos(90)=0

And we see that tan(90)=sin(90)/cos(90)=1/0. So tan(90) is undefined.

Question 5

Based on the first paragraph, "The ratios of the sides of a right triangle are called trigonometric ratios.", if in trigonometry the ratios of the sides of a triangle  are called 'trigonometric ratios' then what if the triangle is not a right triangle. Will the ratios of the sides of that triangle have a different label. And based on my question, how will the mnemonic 'soh cah toa' help find the sides of the 'non- right triangle' triangle? Are there more methods to find the sides of a triangle relative to trigonometric functions or formula?

Accepted Answer

Good questions, it's clear you are thinking about where this is going. The laws of sines and cosines can be used to help you figure out the relationships of the sides and angles for triangles that are not right triangles. There are some great videos:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry/hs-geo-trig/modal/v/law-of-sines

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry/hs-geo-trig/modal/v/law-of-cosines-example

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry/hs-geo-trig/hs-geo-solving-general-triangles/v/law-of-cosines-word-problem

Question 6

I've heard that there are other trigonometric functions out there, with names like versine. Who decided that sine, cosine, and tangent would be the ones we learn in school? What happened to the others?

Accepted Answer

I would guess that it's because these functions are technically more complex than the ones we learn in school. For example, versine(x) = 1 - cos(x). Applications of these functions seem to be applicable to navigation, especially across a spherical plane. However, with the progression of technology (I assume) these older functions have grown less practical and have fallen away in favor of manipulations of the more familiar 6 trig functions we study today.

Question 7

What is the symbol theta

Accepted Answer

Theta is a Greek letter that is commonly used in Math to symbolize a variable that represents an angle :)

Question 8

why is sin, cos and tan change?

Accepted Answer

sin cos and tan changes based on the angle you choose.it is all matter of perspective.

Question 9

IS there ANY way to easily remember the SIN, COS and TAN formulas??  Any tips and tricks?

Accepted Answer

SOH CAH TOA. The sine of theta, θ, or sine(θ = opposite side divided by hypotenuse, cosine(θ = adjacent side divided by hypotenuse, and tangent(θ = opposite divided by adjacent side. Or SOH CAH TOA

Question 10

Can you explain the multiple choice question, The Khan explanation didn't really help me.

Accepted Answer

First, let's think about the rules of SOH-CAH-TOA:
SOH -> Sine = Opposite / Hypotenuse
CAH -> Cosine = Adjacent / Hypotenuse
TOA -> Tangent = Opposite / Adjacent
This is relative to the value of the angle inputted into each of these functions.

The question is asking us which of the follow values is equal to a/c.  Note that you can select multiple answers, which provides a hint as to how many answers you should get. Let's evaluate them, one by one:

cos(20) -> CAH -> cos(20) = Adjacent / Hypotenuse -> b / c
sin(20) -> SOH -> sin(20) = Opposite / Hypotenuse -> a / c
tan(20) -> TOA -> tan(20) = Opposite / Adjacent -> a / b
cos(70) -> CAH -> cos(70) = Adjacent / Hypotenuse -> a / c
sin(70) -> SOH -> sin(70) = Opposite / Hypotenuse -> b / c
tan(70) -> TOA -> tan(70) = Opposite / Adjacent -> b / a

Out of these 6 answer choices, only sin(20) and cos(70) produce the desired result of a / c. Hence, they are the two answers.

I hope this clarified the question for you. If not, feel free to comment and ask away!

Acronym Part	Verbal Description	Mathematical Definition
$S O H$ ‍	$S$ ‍ine is $O$ ‍pposite over $H$ ‍ypotenuse	$\sin (A) = \frac{Opposite}{Hypotenuse}$ ‍
$C A H$ ‍	$C$ ‍osine is $A$ ‍djacent over $H$ ‍ypotenuse	$\cos (A) = \frac{Adjacent}{Hypotenuse}$ ‍
$T O A$ ‍	$T$ ‍angent is $O$ ‍pposite over $A$ ‍djacent	$\tan (A) = \frac{Opposite}{Adjacent}$ ‍

High school geometry

Course: High school geometry > Unit 5

Trigonometric ratios in right triangles

SOH-CAH-TOA: an easy way to remember trig ratios

Example

Practice

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