( 511 )

The Three Trigonometric Ratios

Required Reading: Similarity | Equal Angles Equal Ratios | Equal Ratios Equal Angles

This set of lessons should get you comfortable with the basics of
trigonometry.
It is assumed that you are familiar with the materials presented in the
lessons for
Equal Angles Equal Ratios
Equal Ratios Equal Angles
Study the introductions and examples then work on the exercises.
Full solutions to the exercises are available online.
Jan 6, 2016 stephenbankes@gmail.com

( 5110 )

Introducing SOHCAHTOA

( 5111 )

The Tangent Ratio

( 5112 ) F
inding Angles using the Tangent Ratio

( 5113 )

The Sine Ratio

( 5114 ) F
inding Angles using the Sine Ratio

( 5115 ) T
he Cosine Ratio

( 5116 ) F
inding Angles using the Cosine Ratio

( 5117 ) S
pecial Triangles

( 5118 ) W
hen can a triangle be solved?

( 5119 ) O
pen Ended Questions

Short Answers to Exercises

ASSIGNMENT

( 5110 )

Introducing SOHCAHTOA

Courses in Trigonometry often begin by introducing you to something called SOHCAHTOA.

Lets see where this strange word comes from.
A Right Triangle is a triangle of which one of the angles is 90
If we let the Greek letter theta ( ) represent one of the angles as drawn below, then
the shorter leg which is adjacent to is called the Adjacent leg
the leg which is opposite to is called the Opposite leg
the longest leg, which is opposite to the 90 angle, is called the Hypotenuse,
The ratio of these legs are called the sine, cosine, and tangent ratios, and are drawn below.

By convention, people have agreed to abbreviate these names to

sin which means sine
of
cos which means
cosine of
tan which means
tangent of
which is drawn to the right

The mnemonic

SOHCAHTOA

is intended to help you remember these ratios.

( 5111 )

The Tangent Ratio

EXAMPLES

EXERCISES

Related Reading: Equal Angles Equal Ratios

Similar Right Triangles

If you did the exercise in the section titled Equal Angle Equal Ratio
you would know that the ratio
is equal to

O
A

for the triangle

regardless of the size of the triangle.

The triangle can be

small

mediium

large

The ratios

1
4

1.5
6

3
12

are all the same PROVIDED that the angle is 14

Similar evidence was found in the Equal Angle Equal Ratio lessons that the
ratio

O
A

for the triangle was always equal to

3
5

regardless of how big or small

this triangle is.

THIS EQUAL ANGLE EQUAL RATIO STUFF IS CALLED TRIGONOMETRY
And the ratio

O
A

that we have been talking about is called the TANGENT RATIO.

EXAMPLES

1.

The tangent ratio for the triangle, below right

is

1.5
6

which simplifies
to

2.

1
4

or 0.25

With a CALCULATOR, you can get the tangent ratio by pressing the TAN button and then 14
For example: TAN 14 will give you 0.24933 which is approximately 0.25
The calculator must be in DEGREE mode for this to work.

3.

QUESTION: Why does the calculator result of 0.24933 differ from our value of 0.25?
ANSWER: Our 0.25 result was based on an actual measurement of a 14 triangle using a crude
protractor.

4.

Verify these results with a calculator

tan 31 = 0.601

tan 40 = 0.839

tan 45 = 1.000

tan 60 = 1.732

( 5111 )

The Tangent Ratio

1. Use a calculator to determine these tangent ratios, to 3 decimals

tan 14 = __________ tan 31 = __________ tan 35 = __________ tan 45 = __________

2. For the triangle, determine

a. the ratio for tan 14
b. the value of Z

3. For the triangle, determine

a. the ratio for tan 31
b. the value of A

4. For the triangle, determine

a. the ratio for tan 35
b. the value of R

5. For the triangle

= _________ ?
L = _________ ?

( 5112 )

Finding Angles using the Tangent Ratio

EXERCISES

There are times when you have a triangle where you do not know what the angle is.
For example, with
we know that

tan =

but we do not know what value of is.

Originally, people would determine this by making three sticks of length 3, 4 and 5
and fit them together to form a right triangle. These lengths could be 33 ccmm,, 44 ccmm,,
55 ccmm or 33 iinncchheess,, 44 iinncchheess,, 55 iinncchheess or whatever units desired.
It does not matter which which units you use the result would be the same, since
you would have similar triangles and would therefore have corresponding ratios.
For example, 1 inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters, which means that the tangent
ratios in

would both equal 0.75, since tan =

3 cm
4 cm

3 in
4 in

3
4

= 0.75

Having carefully constructed the right triangle, people would then very carefully
measure the angle with a protractor. We did these types of measurements in section
315 of the geometry lessons. If you did some of these measurements, you will
realize how long and tedious they can be. Over time, people figured out how to
calculate these angles with limitless precision using a branch of math called
CALCULUS. Fortunately for you, these results have now been coded into calculators
and all you need to do is push keys.
With a calculator, you can quickly determine that

tan =

3
4

means that

36.87
This is done by hitting the keys
2nd

TAN

(34)

or

INV

TAN

(34)

or something similar.
If you do not have a calculator, you will need to resort to trig tables or may even
have to build the triangle and measure the angle with a protractor.

Verify the following

if
then

tan A =

1
10

A = 5.71

if
then

tan B =

1
4

B = 14.04

if
then

tan C =

10
10

C = 45

if
then

tan D =

99
1

D = 89.42

( 5112 )

Finding Angles using the Tangent Ratio

1. Determine the angle , to 2 decimals, for

2. Determine the angle to 2 decimals

tan =

tan =

1
2

3
1

tan =

tan =

3
5

5
1

( 5113 )

The Sine Ratio

EXERCISES

Related Reading: Multiplication Shortcuts , Opposite over Hypotenuse Ratio

In a previous lesson we
learned that
the ratio

Opposite
Hypotenuse
1

has the same value of

for any 30 right triangle.

This is true for medium 30 triangles

or small 30 triangles

or 30 triangles of any size.

Similarly, the ratio

Opposite
Hypotenuse

for 14 right triangles is always roughly

equal to 0.242

The ratio

The

Opposite
Hypotenuse

Opposite
Hypotenuse

2
8.25

0.242 is true for any 14 right triangle.

ratio is called the S I N E R A T I O .

EXAMPLES
1. Use a calculator to verify that
sin 25 =
0.423

sin 30 =
0.500

sin 35 =
0.574

sin 42 =
0.669

2. Find the unknown ( y ) for

SOLUTION: y = 4 . 0 2 which we find as follows.

The sine ratio for 35 is 0.574 and the sine ratio for the triangle
is

Opposite
Hypotenuse

This means that

y
7

= 0.574

Since we know that

y
7

= y

we need to multiply both sides of

the above equation by 7 to get

7

y
7

= 7

0.574

which gives you

y = 7

0.574 = 4 . 0 2

( 5113 )

The Sine Ratio

1. Write the sine ratios for

2. Calculate the following to 3 decimals

sin 23

sin 32

sin 43

sin 50

sin 70

sin 88

3. Use the sine ratio to determine the specified unknown, to 2 decimals

y = _______

x = _______

10

( 5114 )

Finding Angles using the Sine Ratio

EXERCISES

There are times when you may know the sine ratio for a triangle but do not know the
angle.
For example, with
we know that

sin =

but we do not know

If you have a calculator, you can quickly determine that = 36.87

by hitting the keys

2nd

SIN

(35)

or

INV

SIN

(35)

or something similar.
If you do not have a calculator, you may need to resort to trig tables
or follow the procedure given in equal ratio equal angle and build the triangle and
measure the angle with a protractor.
EXAMPLES
1. Verify the following

if

sin = 0.5

then

if

= 30

sin =

then

if

= 36.87

sin =

then

5
13

= 22.62

2. Determine the sine ratio and the angle for

ANSWERS:

sin =

CALCULATOR: use

2nd

5
13

SIN

= 22.62

( 5 13 )

or

INV

SIN

( 5 13 )

11

( 5114 )

Finding Angles using the Sine Ratio

1. Determine the angle to 2 decimals

= _______

_______

= _______

= _______

2. Determine the angle , to a maximum of 2 decimals, for the following ratios

sin =

sin =

1
2

3
7

= _______

sin =

= _______

sin =

= _______

= _______

3. Write the sine ratio, then determine the angle to 2 decimals

sin =
=

sin =
=

sin =

sin =

12

The Cosine Ratio

( 5115 )

EXERCISES

Related Reading: Multiplication Shortcuts Adjacent over Hypotenuse Ratio

In a previous lesson
we learned that
the ratio

Adjacent
Hypotenuse

has the same value of 0.866

for any 30 right triangle.

As with the tangent and sine ratio, this result holds regardless of how big or small the 30 right triangle is.
For example, with
Adjacent
Hypotenuse

3
2

0.866

Similar results holds

for other angles

and for this reason, the

Adjacent
Hypotenuse

ratio is given a special name: the COSINE RATIO.

EXAMPLES
1. Use a CALCULATOR to verify that
cos 30 = 0.866

cos 60 = 0.500

2.

cos 67 = 0.391

Find the unknown ( X ) for the triangle.

SOLUTION: X = 86.04, since
and therefore X = 91

X
91

= cos 19

cos 19 86.04

3. Find the unknown ( Y ) for

If you look closely at this figure, you will see that the leg
Y is adjacent to the 67 angle.
This means that

Y
12

= cos 67

which implies that Y = 12

cos 67 4.69 since cos 67 = 0.391

13

( 5115 )

The Cosine Ratio

1. State the cosine ratio for

2. Calculate the following to 4 decimals

cos 23 = _________

cos 32 = _________

cos 45 = _________

cos 50 = _________

cos 70 = _________

cos 88 = _________

14

3. Write the cosine ratio then solve for the specified unknown to 2 decimals

cos 36 =
cos 23 =

x=
A=

cos 32 =
cos 45 =
B=
D=

15

( 5116 )

Finding Angles using the Cosine Ratio

EXERCISES

As with the sine and tangent, there will be times when you may know the
cosine ratio for a triangle but do not know the angle.
For example, with

we know that

cos( ) =

40
41

but we do not know

If you have a calculator, you can quickly determine that = 12.68

This was obtained by hitting the keys
2nd

COS

( 40 41 )

or

INV

COS

depending on whether your calculator has the

2nd

( 40 41 )
or

INV

key.

If you do not have a calculator, you will need to resort to trig tables
or, failing that option,
having to build the triangle and measure the angle with a protractor.
EXAMPLES
Verify the following
a. if

cos A = 0.1

then

A = 84.26

b. if

cos B = 0.5

then

B = 60

c. if

cos C =

d. if

cos D =

3
4
9
13

then

then

C = 41.41

D = 46.19

16

( 5116 )

Finding Angles using the Cosine Ratio

1. Answer the following, to 2 decimals

if cos =

if cos =

1
2

3
7

then = _______

if cos =

then = _______

if cos =

3
4

7
8

then = _______

then = _______

2. State the cosine ratio then the value of to 2 decimals

17

( 5117 )

Special Triangles

EXERCISES

Prerequisite Reading: Pythagoras Theorem | Types of Triangles

Commit these triangles to memory.

The 30, 60, 90 triangle is one of the
most common.
NOTE: the SHORTEST leg is HALF the
LONGEST leg.
Also note that the other leg follows from
the Pythagorean Theorem.
22 = ( 3 )2 + 12

Here is a
rotated version
of the above
Remember that the square
( lower righthand corner of the triangle )

is the right angle

which equals 90

The size of the 30, 60, 90 triangle

does not matter.
If we magnified it by 1.5
by multipling each leg by 1.5,
we would get the triangle to the right.
NOTE: the length of the longest leg
for 30 triangles is always
DOUBLE the length of the short leg.

Another special triangle

is the isosceles right triangle

18

( 5117 )

Special Triangles

Find the unknowns { x, y, z .. }

x = ________

x = ________

y = ________

y = ________

z = ________

z = ________

x = ________

x = ________

y = ________

y = ________

z = ________

z = ________

x = ________
y = ________
z = ________

19

( 5118 )

When can a triangle be solved?

EXERCISES

A triangle consists of 3 legs and 3 angles and is considered "solved" when all 3 legs and all 3 angles are
known.
Triangles can be solved only by using trigonometry and the rules of geometry.
Trigonometry is the art of solving triangles, and as this can take some time to master,
we will focus this lesson on when a triangle can be solved and not how it can be solved.
What do you need to know about a triangle to be able to calculate all 3 legs and all 3 angles?
The MINIMUM AMOUNT of information you need to know about a traingle to be able to solve it
is at least 1 leg and two other pieces, such as another leg and an angle or two other legs.

TRIANGLES CAN BE SOLVED

EXAMPLES

if you know 1 leg and 2

angles the other two legs
and angle can be found
using trigonometry.

leg = 3 units
angles =
23.12 and 90

leg = 16 units
angles = 20
and 90

if you know 2 legs and 1

angle the other leg
and two angles can be
found using trigonometry.

angle = 111
legs = 7 and 3
units

legs = 3 and 7
units
angle = 90

if you know 3 legs the

three angles
can be found using
trigonometry.
TRIANGLES CAN NOT BE
SOLVED

legs = 7, 8
and 10 units

legs = 3, 7 and
58 units
EXAMPLES

if they do not have enough

information.
The triangles to the right have
only 2 pieces of information

this has a 3 cm leg and a

90 angle with a 3 cm leg

this too has a 3 cm leg

and a 90 angle

20

( 5118 )

When can a triangle be solved?

Prerequisite Reading: Types of Triangles

1. When all three angles and all three legs of a triangle are known, the triangle is said to be ____________

2. State whether or not each of the following traingles can be solved. Explain your answer.

3. TRUE / FALSE: "Any triangle can be solved if you know three things about it".
Support or refute this statement.

4. A friend says that

can be solved by simply measuring its remaining sides and

angles.
Is you friend correct in saying this?

21

( 5119 )

Solving Triangles with SOHCAHTOA

1. Find the unknowns

a.

A = _________

b.

B = _________
C = _________
2. A little boy, drawn on the
right,
is out flying a kite.
How high is the kite
above the ground?

22

( 511 )

( 5111 )

SHORT ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

TThhee TTaannggeenntt RRaattiioo

1.

tan 14 = 0.249

tan 31 = 0.839

tan 35 = 0.700

tan 45 = 1.000

2.

a
tan 14 =

3.

b
Z
8 cm

Z = 1.99 cm

a
tan 31 =

4.

b
A
4 cm

A = 2.40 cm

a
tan 35 =

b
R
8 cm

A = 5.7 cm

5. L = 2 cm

( 5112 )

FFiinnddiinngg AAnngglleess uussiinngg tthhee TTaannggeenntt RRaattiioo

1.
2.

( 5113 )

1.

= 21.81

= 30.96

= 18.43

= 23.20

= 26.57

= 30.96

= 71.57

= 78.69

TThhee SSiinnee RRaattiioo

sin =

2.

7
24

sin =

sin =

5
12
9
40

sin 23 = 0.530

sin 50 = 0.766

sin 23 = 0.940

y = 2.65

x = 8.83

FFiinnddiinngg AAnngglleess uussiinngg tthhee SSiinnee RRaattiioo

1.

2.

sin 23 = 0.391

3.

( 5114 )

sin =

= 30

= 48.59

= 25.38

= 61.04

sin =

sin =

3
10
6
10

, = 17.46

sin =

, = 36.87

sin =

8
11

, = 46.66

7.2
10

, = 46.05

23

( 5115 )

TThhee CCoossiinnee RRaattiioo

1.

cos =

2.

24

cos =

25

12
13
40
41

cos 23 = 0.8480

cos 23 = 0.7071

cos 50 = 0.6428

cos 23 = 0.3420

cos 88 = 0.0349

cos 36 =

9
B

cos 32 =

, x = 7.28

cos 23 =

, x = 7.28

cos 45 =

A
8
D
6

, A = 7.36

, D = 4.24

FFiinnddiinngg AAnngglleess uussiinngg tthhee CCoossiinnee RRaattiioo

1.

= 60

= 41.41

= 64.62

= 28.96

cos =

2.

cos =

( 5117 )

cos =

cos 23 = 0.9205

3.

( 5116 )

cos =

4
5

, 36.87

24
25

, 16.26

sin =

sin =

12
13
40
41

, 22.62

, 12.68

SSppeecciiaall TTrriiaanngglleess
x 6.93, y = 4, z = 60

x 3.46, y = 30, z = 60

x = 45, y = 45, z 9.90

x = 90, y 4.24, z = 3
x 16.39, y 8.49, z = 12

( 5118 )

WWhheenn ccaann aa ttrriiaannggllee bbee ssoollvveedd??

1. solved
NO
YES
NO
YES
2.
3. FALSE: you need to know 3 things which include at least 1 leg
ie: you need to know { 1 leg + 2 angles } or { 2 legs + 1 angle } or { 3
legs }
4. FALSE: your friend will have been able to MEASURE the sides and angles of
the triangle
but these measurements would be approximations limited by the precision and
accuracy of your measurement and measurement tools.
The triangle would remain UN-SOLVED
The only way to solve the triangle would be via the use of trigonometry
which you couldn't in this case as you do not have enough information.

( 5119 )

OOppeenn EEnnddeedd QQuueessttiioonnss

1.
2. height = 14.58 feet

A = 3 cm

B = 2.25 cm, C = 5.56 cm

24

( 511 )

The Three Trigonometric Ratios

1. Calculate the following to 3 decimals

a. sin 20 = _______
b. cos 30 = _______
c. tan 40 = _______

2. Calculate the following angles to 2 decimals

a. sin A = 0.3

A = _______

b. cos B = 0.4

B = _______

c. tan C = 0.5

C = _______

3. Write the sine, cosine and tangent ratios for

Express your answers as the ratio of two integers.

4. What is the angle for the above triangle?
Answer to two decimal places.
5.

Consider this triangle

a. Determine the sine ratio for

b. Determine the angle

25

6. Which of these situations can be solved using trigonometry?

Yes or No
A. _________
B. _________
C. _________
D. _________

7. Which of these triangles can be solved?

Yes or No
A. _________
B. _________
C. _________
D. _________

26