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5.0: Prelude to Applications of Trigonometry

Last updated

Jun 14, 2021
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- 5: Applications of Trigonometry - Oblique Triangles and Polar Coordinates
- 5.1: Non-right Triangles - Law of Sines

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The world’s largest tree by volume, named General Sherman, stands $274.9$ feet tall and resides in Northern California. Just how do scientists know its true height? A common way to measure the height involves determining the angle of elevation, which is formed by the tree and the ground at a point some distance away from the base of the tree. This method is much more practical than climbing the tree and dropping a very long tape measure.

Figure $\PageIndex{1}$ : General Sherman, the world’s largest living tree. (credit: Mike Baird, Flickr)

In this chapter, we will explore applications of trigonometry that will enable us to solve many different kinds of problems, including finding the height of a tree. We extend topics we introduced in Trigonometric Functions and investigate applications more deeply and meaningfully.

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