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2.1: Right Triangle Trigonometry

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With the Pythagorean theorem we can find one side of a right triangle if we know the other two sides. By using what we know about similar triangles, we can find the unknown sides of a right triangle if we know only one side and one of the acute angles.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.31.21 PM.png Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.31.28 PM.png

We can find side b with the Pythagorean theorem. Can we find size b?

The Sine of an Angle

In Example 2 of Section 1.2, p. 16 , we saw that in a 306090 right triangle, the ratio of the shortest side to the hypotenuse was 12, or 0.5. This ratio is the same for any two right triangles with a 30 angle, because they are similar triangles, as shown at right.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.35.04 PM.png

The ratio is given a name; it is called the "sine of 30." We write

sin30=0.5,

where sin is an abbreviation for sine. There is nothing special about 30 angles; we can talk about the sine of any angle. The sine of an angle is the ratio of the side opposite the angle to the hypotenuse.

Definition 2.11 Sine of an Acute Angle.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.37.51 PM.png

sinθ=oppositehypotenuse

Example 2.12

Find the sine of the labeled angle in each triangle below.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.39.25 PM.png Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.39.38 PM.png

Answer

a The side opposite angle ϕ is 5 , and the hypotenuse is 13 , so the sine of ϕ is

sinϕ=513, or approximately 0.3846

b The side opposite angle β is 5, and the hypotenuse is 3, so the sine of β is

sinβ=53, or approximately 0.7454

Checkpoint 2.13

Find the sine of the labeled angle in the triangle at right. Round your answer to 4 decimal places.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.42.09 PM.png

Answer

0.7442

Caution 2.14

We must use the sides of a right triangle to calculate the sine of an angle. For example, in the triangle at right, sinθ=47, because ABC is a right triangle. It is not true that sinθ=57, or sinθ=67. In this chapter, we consider only right triangles.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.44.20 PM.png

Using a Calculator

Mathematicians have calculated the sines of any angle we like. The values of the sine were originally collected into tables, and are available on scientific calculators. For example, let's find the sine of 50. First, consider some triangles, as shown below.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 1.45.44 PM.png

Which angle has the larger sine, 30 or 50?

Do you expect the sine of 50 to be larger or smaller than the sine of 30? Do you expect the sine of 50 to be larger or smaller than 1?

Example 2.15

Use your calculator to find the sine of 50 by entering SIN 50. (Make sure your calculator is set for degrees.) You should find that

sin50=0.7660444431.

This is not an exact value; the sine of 50 is an irrational number, and your calculator shows as many digits as its display will allow. (Not all sine values are as "nice" as the sine of 30!) Usually we round to four decimal places, so we write

sin50=0.7660

Caution 2.16

Note that when you press the sine key, SIN , your calculator displays

sin(

with an open parenthesis, as the prompt to enter an angle. It is more proper to use parentheses and write sin(50) for "the sine of 50," but we often omit the parentheses in simple trigonometric expressions.

Think of the notation sin as an operation symbol telling you to find the sine of an angle, just as the symbol tells you to take the square root of the expression under the radical.

Checkpoint 2.17

a Use your calculator to complete the table, rounding your answers to four decimal places.

θ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
sinθ                    

b What do you notice about the values of sinθ as θ increases from 0 to 90? If you plot the values of sinθ against the values of θ, will the graph be a straight line? Why or why not?

Answer
a
θ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
sinθ 0 0.1737 0.3420 0.5 0.6428 0.7660 0.8660 0.9397 0.9848 1

b The values of sinθ increase from 0 to 1 as θ increases from 0 to 90. The graph will not be a straight line because the slopes between successive points are not constant.

Note 2.18 The important thing to remember is that the sine of an angle, say 50, is the same for any right triangle with a 50 angle, no matter what the size or orientation of the triangle.

The figure below shows three different right triangles with a 50 angle. Although the sides of the triangle may be bigger or smaller, the ratio  opposite  hypotenuse  is always the same for that angle, because the triangles are similar. This is why the sine ratio is useful.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.17.26 PM.png

In each triangle, the ratio sin50= opposite  hypotenuse =0.7660

Using the Sine Ratio to Find an Unknown Side

In the next example we see how to use the sine ratio to find an unknown side in a right triangle, knowing only one other side and one angle.

Example 2.19

Find the length of the side opposite the 50 angle in the triangle shown.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.21.24 PM.png

Answer

In this triangle, the ratio  opposite  hypotenuse  is equal to the sine of 50, or

sin50= opposite  hypotenuse 

We use a calculator to find an approximate value for the sine of 50, filling in the lengths of the hypotenuse and the opposite side to get

0.7660=x18

We solve for x to find

x=18(0.7660)=13.788

To two decimal places, the length of the opposite side is 13.79 centimeters.

Caution 2.20

In the previous example, even though we showed only four places in sin50, you should not round off intermediate steps in a calculation, because the answer loses accuracy with each rounding. You can use the following keystrokes on your calculator to avoid entering a long approximation for sin50:

sin(50)×18

The calculator returns x=13.78879998.

Checkpoint 2.21

Find the length of the hypotenuse in the triangle shown.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.26.12 PM.png

Answer

8.5 m

The Cosine and the Tangent

There are two more trigonometric ratios used for calculating the sides of right triangles, depending on which of the three sides is known and which are unknown. These ratios are called the cosine and the tangent.

Suppose we’d like to find the height of a tall cliff without actually climbing it. We can measure the distance to the base of the cliff, and we can use a surveying tool called a theodolite to measure the angle between the ground and our line of sight to the top of the cliff (this is called the angle of elevation).

These values give us two parts of a right triangle, as shown at right. The height we want is the side opposite the angle of elevation. The distance to the base of the cliff is the length of the side adjacent to the angle of elevation.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.29.04 PM.png

The ratio of the side opposite an angle to the side adjacent to the angle is called the tangent of the angle. The abbreviation for “tangent of theta” is tanθ.

Definition 2.22 Tangent of an Acute Angle.

tanθ=oppositeadjacent

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.30.16 PM.png

Just like the sine of an angle, the tangent ratio is always the same for a given angle, no matter what size triangle it occurs in. And just like sinθ, we can find the values of tanθ on a scientific calculator.

Example 2.23

a Use your calculator to find the tangent of 58.

b Find the height of the cliff if the angle of elevation to the top of the cliff is 58 at a distance of 300 feet from the base of the cliff.

Answer

a Enter TAN 58 to find tan58=1.6003, rounded to four decimal places.

We use the tangent ratio to write an equation. In this triangle, the angle is 58.

b tan58= opposite  adjacent 

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.36.03 PM.png

Next we fill in the value of tan58, and the lengths of the sides.

1.6003=h300

Solving for h gives

h=300(1,6003)=480.0

so the height of the cliff is about 480 feet.

Checkpoint 2.24

a Use the tangent ratio to find x in the triangle shown.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.38.06 PM.png

b Use the sine ratio to find the hypotenuse, c, of the triangle.

c Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the hypotenuse of the triangle. Do you get the same answer with both methods? Can you explain why the calculations might give (slightly) different answers?

Answer

a x=23 ft

b c=55 ft

c The answers agree when rounded to units. Rounding during calculation can cause the results to differ.

The third trigonometric ratio, called the cosine, is the ratio of the side adjacent to an angle and the hypotenuse of the triangle.

Definition 2.25 Cosine of an Acute Angle.

cosθ=adjacenthypotenuse

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.42.14 PM.png

Example 2.26

Find sinθ,cosθ, and tanθ for the triangle shown at right.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.43.29 PM.png

Answer

First, we use the Pythagorean theorem to find the hypotenuse, c.

c2=62+82c2=536=84=100Take square roots.c=100=10

For the angle θ, the opposite side is 8 inches long, and the adjacent side is 6 inches long, as shown in the figure. Thus,

sinθ= opposite  hypotenuse =810 or 0.8cosθ= adjacent  hypotenuse =610 or 0.6tanθ= opposite  adjacent =86 or 1.¯3

Checkpoint 2.27

a Use your calculator to complete the table. Rounding the values of sine and cosine to four decimal places.

θ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
sinθ                    
cosθ                    

b What do you notice about the values of sine and cosine? Can you explain why this is true? (Hint: If one (non-right) angle of a right triangle measures x degrees, how big is the other angle? Now sketch the triangle and label the opposite and adjacent sides for each angle.)

Answer

a

θ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
sinθ 0 0.1737 0.3420 0.5 0.6428 0.7660 0.8660 0.9397 0.9848 1
cosθ 1 0.9849 0.9397 0.8660 0.7660 0.6428 0.5 0.3420 0.1737 0

b The cosine of θ is equal to the sine of the complement of θ, or cosθ=sin(90θ).

Note 2.28 In the previous exercise, you should also notice that as the angle θ increases, sinθ increases but cosθ decreases.

You can see why this is true in the figure below. In each right triangle, the hypotenuse has the same length. But as the angle increases, the opposite side gets longer and the adjacent side gets shorter.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.52.39 PM.png

The Three Trigonometric Ratios

Here is a summary of the three trigonometric ratios we have discussed.

Trigonometric Ratios.

If θ is one of the angles in a right triangle,

sinθ= opposite  hypotenuse cosθ= adjacent  hypotenuse tanθ= opposite  adjacent 

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 2.57.34 PM.png

These three definitions are the foundation for all the rest of trigonometry. You must memorize them immediately!!

You must also be careful to apply these definitions of the trigonometric ratios only to right triangles. In the next example, we create a right triangle by drawing an extra line.

Example 2.29

The vertex angle of an isosceles triangle is 34, and the equal sides are 16 meters long. Find the altitude of the triangle.

Answer

The triangle described is not a right triangle. However, the altitude of an isosceles triangle bisects the vertex angle and divides the triangle into two congruent right triangles, as shown in the figure. The 16-meter side becomes the hypotenuse of the right triangle, and the altitude, h, of original triangle is the side adjacent to the 17 angle.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 3.10.57 PM.png

Which of the three trig ratios is helpful in this problem? The cosine is the ratio that relates the hypotenuse and the adjacent side, so we’ll begin with the equation

cos17= adjacent  hypotenuse 

We use a calculator to find cos17 and fill in the lengths of the sides.

0.9563=h16

Solving for h gives

h=16(0.9563)=15.3008

The altitude of the triangle is about 15.3 meters long.

Checkpoint 2.30

Another isosceles triangle has base angles of 72 and equal sides of length 6.8 centimeters. Find the length of the base.

Answer

4 cm

Review the following skills you will need for this section.

Algebra Refresher 2.3

Write two more ratios equivalent to the given fraction.

1. 104

2. 68

3. 0.6

4. 1.5

Compute the slope of the line.

5. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 3.16.26 PM.png

6. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 3.16.38 PM.png

7. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 3.16.49 PM.png

8. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 3.16.57 PM.png

Solve.

9. 12x=48

10. 60x=80

Algebra Refresher Answers

(Many answers are possible for 1-4.)

1 52,208

2 34,1216

3 35,1220

4 64,128

5 25

6 85

7 65

8 12

9 14

10 34

Section 2.2 Summary

Vocabulary

  • Sine
  • Cosine
  • Tangent
  • Angle of elevation
  • Adjacent side
  • Irrational number

Concepts

1 By using similar triangles, we can find the unknown sides of a right triangle if we know only one side and one of the acute angles.

Trigonometric Ratios.

2 If θ is one of the angles in a right triangle,

sinθ=oppositehypotenuse

cosθ=adjacenthypotenuse

tanθ=oppositeadjacent

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.07.59 PM.png

3 The trigonometric ratio of an angle θ is the same for every right triangle containing the angle.

Study Questions

1 Sketch a figure that illustrates why cos25 is the same for every right triangle with a 25 angle.

2 Sketch a figure that illustrates why cosθ decreases as θ increases from 0 to 90.

3 Which trigonometric ratio would you use to find the hypotenuse of a right triangle if you knew one acute angle and the side opposite that angle?

4 Does your calculator give you the exact decimal values for the trigonometric ratios of acute angles?

Skills

Practice each skill in the Homework Problems listed.

1 Use measurements to calculate the trigonometric ratios for acute angles #1-10, 57-60

2 Use trigonometric ratios to find unknown sides of right triangles #11-26

3 Solve problems using trigonometric ratios #27-34, 41-46

4 Use trig ratios to write equations relating the sides of a right triangle #35-40

5 Use relationships among the trigonometric ratios #47-56, 61-68

Homework 2.2

1. Here are two right triangles with a 65 angle.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.17.05 PM.png

a Measure the sides AB and BC with a ruler. Use the lengths to estimate sin65.

b Measure the sides AD and DE with a ruler. Use the lengths to estimate sin65.

c Use your calculator to look up sin65. Compare your answers. How close were your estimates?

2. Use the figure in Problem 1 to calculate two estimates each for the cosine and tangent of 65. Compare your estimates to your calculator’s values for cos65 and tan65.

3. Here are two right triangles with a 40 angle.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.20.04 PM.png

a Measure the sides AB and AC with a ruler.
Use the lengths to estimate cos40.

b Measure the sides AD and AE with a ruler. Use the lengths to estimate cos40.

c Use your calculator to look up cos40. Compare your answers. How close were your estimates?

4. Use the figure in Problem 2 to calculate two estimates each for the cosine and tangent of 40. Compare your estimates to your calculator's values for sin40 and tan40.

For the right triangles in Problems 5-10,

a Find the length of the unknown side.

b Find the sine, cosine, and tangent of θ. Round your answers to four decimal places.

5. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.23.38 PM.png

6. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.23.55 PM.png

7. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.24.10 PM.png

8. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.24.19 PM.png

9. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.24.31 PM.png

10. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.24.42 PM.png

For Problems 11–16,

a Sketch and label the sides of a right triangle with angle θ.

b Sketch and label another right triangle with angle θ and longer sides.

11. cosθ=35

12. tanθ=72

13. tanθ=114

14. sinθ=49

15. sinθ=19

16. cosθ=78

For Problems 17–22, use one of the three trigonometric ratios to find the unknown side of the triangle. Round your answer to hundredths.

17. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.32.41 PM.png

18. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.32.50 PM.png

19. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.33.00 PM.png

20. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.33.11 PM.png

21. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.33.23 PM.png

22. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.33.33 PM.png

For Problems 23–26, sketch and label a right triangle with the given properties.

23. One angle is 40, the side opposite that angle is 8 inches

24. One angle is 65, the side adjacent to that angle is 30 yards

25. One angle is 28, the hypotenuse is 56 feet

26. One leg is 15 meters, the hypotenuse is 18 meters

For Problems 27–34,

a Sketch a right triangle that illustrates the situation. Label your sketch with the given information.

b Choose the appropriate trig ratio and write an equation, then solve the problem.

27. To measure the height of cloud cover, airport controllers fix a searchlight to shine a vertical beam on the clouds. The searchlight is 120 yards from the office. A technician in the office measures the angle of elevation to the light on the cloud cover at 54.8. What is the height of the cloud cover?

28. To measure the distance across a canyon, Evel first sights an interesting rock directly opposite on the other side. He then walks 200 yards down the rim of the canyon and sights the rock again, this time at an angle of 18.5 from the canyon rim. What is the width of the canyon?

29. A salvage ship is searching for the wreck of a pirate vessel on the ocean floor. Using sonar, they locate the wreck at an angle of depression of 36.2. The depth of the ocean at their location is 260 feet. How far should they move so that they are directly above the wrecked vessel?

30. Ramps for wheelchairs should be no steeper than an angle of 6. How much horizontal distance should be allowed for a ramp that rises 5 feet in height?

31. The radio signal from a weather balloon indicates that it is 1500 meters from a meteorologist on the ground. The angle of elevation to the balloon is 48. What is the balloon's altitude?

32. According to Chinese legend, around 200 BC the general Han Xin used a kite to determine the distance from his location to an enemy palace. He then dug a secret tunnel which emerged inside the palace. When the kite was directly above the palace, its angle of elevation was 27 and the string to the kite was 1850 feet long. How far did Han Xin’s troops have to dig?

33. A cable car on a ski lift traverses a horizontal distance of 1800 meters at an angle of 38. How long is the cable?

34. Zelda is building the loft on her summer cottage. At its central point, the height of the loft is 8 feet, and the pitch of the roof should be 24. How long should the rafters be?

For Problems 35–40, use a trig ratio to write an equation for x in terms of θ.

35. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.41.29 PM.png

36. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.41.41 PM.png

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For Problems 41–44, find the altitude of the triangle. Round your answer to two decimal places.

41. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.43.41 PM.png

42. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.43.51 PM.png

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For Problems 45 and 46, find the length of the chord AB. Round your answer to two decimal places.

45. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.47.40 PM.png

46. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.47.50 PM.png

For Problems 47–50, fill in the table.

47. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.48.42 PM.png

sin cos tan
θ      
ϕ      

48. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.48.53 PM.png

sin cos tan
θ      
ϕ      

49. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.49.06 PM.png

sin cos tan
θ      
ϕ      

50. Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 4.49.16 PM.png

sin cos tan
θ      
ϕ      

51.

a In each of the figures for Problems 47-50, what is the relationship between the angles θ and ϕ?

b Study the tables for Problems 47-50. What do you notice about the values of sine and cosine for the angles θ and ϕ? Explain why this is true.

52. There is a relationship between the tangent, the sine, and the cosine of any angle. Study the tables for Problems 47-50 to discover this relationship. Write your answer as an equation.

53.

Screen Shot 2022-09-13 at 5.00.18 PM.png

a Use the figure to explain what happens to tanθ as θ increases, and why.

b Use the figure to explain what happens to cosθ as θ increases, and why.

54.

a Fill in the table for values of tanθ. Round your answers to four decimal places.

θ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
tanθ                  

b Fill in the table for values of tanθ. Round your answers to three decimal places.

θ 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89
tanθ                  

c What happens to tanθ as θ increases?

d What value does your calculator give for tan90? Why?

55. Explain why it makes sense that sin0=0 and sin90=1. Use a figure to illustrate your explanation.

56. Explain why it makes sense that cos0=1 and cos90=0. Use a figure to illustrate your explanation

For Problems 57–60, explain why the trigonometric ratio is not correct.

57. sinθ=59

Screen Shot 2022-09-15 at 4.28.19 PM.png

58. tanθ=47

Screen Shot 2022-09-15 at 4.39.04 PM.png

59. cosθ=2120

Screen Shot 2022-09-15 at 4.39.45 PM.png

60. sinθ=810

Screen Shot 2022-09-15 at 4.40.30 PM.png

For Problems 61–64, sketch and label a right triangle, then fill in the blank.

61.

a If sinθ=0.2358, then cos(90θ)=_______.
b If cosα=311, then _______ (90α)=311.
c If sin42=n, then cos_______=n.
d If cos13=z, then sin_______=z.

62.

a If cosβ=27, then sin(90β)=_______.
b If sinϕ=0.693, then _______(90ϕ)=0.693.
c If cos87=p, then sin_______=p.
d If sin59=w, then cos_______=w.

63.

a If sinϕ=513 and cosϕ=1213, then tanϕ=_______.
b If cosβ=110, and sinβ=310, then tanβ=_______.
c If tanB=25 and cosB=53, then sinB=_______.
d If sinW=37 and tanW=32, then cosW=_______.

64.

a If cosθ=210 and sinθ=35, then tanθ=_______.
b If sinα=24, and cosα=144, then tanα=_______.
c If tanA=73 and cosA=34, then sinA=_______.
d If sinV=105 and tanV=25, then cosV=_______.

65. Explain why the cosine of a 73 angle is always the same, no matter what size triangle the angle is in. Illustrate your explanation with a sketch.

66.

a Use your calculator to fill in a table of values for cosθ, rounded to hundredths.

θ 0 15 30 45 60 75 90
cosθ              

b If you plotted the points in your table, would they lie on a straight line? Why or why not?

67.

a What is the slope of the line through the origin and point P?

b What is the tangent of the angle θ?

c On the same grid, sketch an angle whose tangent is 85

Screen Shot 2022-09-16 at 7.48.48 AM.png

68.

a Use your calculator to complete the table. Rounded your answers to hundredths

θ 14 22 35 42 58 78
tanθ            

b Use the values of tanθ to sketch all the angles listed in the table. Locate the vertex of each angle at the origin, and the initial side along the positive x-axis.

Screen Shot 2022-09-16 at 7.52.09 AM.png


This page titled 2.1: Right Triangle Trigonometry is shared under a GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Katherine Yoshiwara via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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