MODULE 1

TRIGONOMETRY

Table of Contents
Introduction
 Angles
 Trigonometric functions of an acute angle
 Applications and solving right triangles
 Trigonometric functions of any angle
 Logarithms
 Oblique triangles
 Trigonometric identities
 Radian measure
 Spherical trigonometry

Introduction
Trigonometry is the study of the relations between the sides and
angles of triangles. The word “trigonometry” is derived from the Greek words
trigono (τρ´ιγωνo), meaning “triangle”, and metro (µǫτρω´ ), meaning “measure”.
The first traces of trigonometry appeared more than 4000 years ago in Asia and
Egypt, where the ancients used it as a means of measurement. Trigonometry is
the basis for work in engineering, physics, and many branches of mathematics.

Angles
Recall the following definitions from elementary geometry:
(a) An angle is acute if it is between 0o and 90o .
(b) An angle is a right angle if it equals 90o .
(c) An angle is obtuse if it is between 90o and 180o .
(d) An angle is a straight angle if it equals 180o .

In elementary geometry, angles are always considered to be positive and

not larger than 360o . For now we will only consider such angles. The following
definitions will be used throughout the module:
[a] Two acute angles are complementary if their sum equals 90o . In other
words, if 0o ≤ ∠ A , ∠B ≤ 90o then ∠ A and ∠B are complementary if ∠ A
+∠B = 90o .
[b] Two angles between 0oand 180o are supplementary if their sum equals
180o . In other words, if 0o ≤ ∠ A , ∠B ≤ 180o then ∠ A and ∠B are
supplementary if ∠ A +∠B = 180o .
[c] Two angles between 0◦ and 360oare conjugate (or explementary) if their
sum equals 360o . In other words, if 0o ≤ ∠ A , ∠B ≤ 360o then ∠ A and ∠B
are conjugate if ∠ A+∠B = 360o .

Instead of using the angle notation ∠ A to denote an angle, we will

sometimes use just a capital letter by itself (e.g. A, B, C) or a lowercase
 variable name (e.g. x, y, t). It is also common to use letters (either
uppercase or lowercase) from the Greek alphabet such as α, ϴ, Φ,β, etc.
In elementary geometry you learned that the sum of the angles in a triangle
equals 180o , and that an isosceles triangle is a triangle with two sides of
equal length. Recall that in a right triangle one of the angles is a right angle.
Thus, in a right triangle one of the angles is 90o and the other two angles
are acute angles whose sum is 90o (i.e. the other two angles are
complementary angles).
Example:
For each triangle below, determine the unknown angle[s].

Figure 1
Solution: For triangle △ ABC, A = 35o and C = 20o , and we know that A +B +C =
180o , so 35o + B + 20o = 180o ⇒ B = 180o – 35o – 20o ⇒ B = 125o.
For the right triangle △DEF, E = 53o and F = 90o , and we know that the two acute
angles D and E are complementary, so D + E = 90o⇒ D = 90o – 53o ⇒ D = 37o .
For triangle △ XY Z, the angles are in terms of an unknown number α, but we do
know that X +Y + Z = 180o , which we can use to solve for α and then use that to
solve for X, Y, and Z: α + 3α + α = 180o ⇒ 5α = 180o⇒ α = 36o ⇒ X = 36o , Y =
3×36o= 108o, Z = 36o.

In a right triangle, the side opposite the right angle is called the hypotenuse, and
the other two sides are called its legs. For example, in figure shown, the right
angle is C, the hypotenuse is the line segment AB, which has length c, and BC and
AC are the legs, with lengths a and b, respectively. The hypotenuse is always the
longest side of a right triangle.

Figure 2

By knowing the lengths of two sides of a right triangle, the length of the third side
can be determined by using the Pythagorean Theorem:

[Pythagorean Theorem: The square of the length of the hypotenuse of a right

triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of its legs. ]
Thus, if a right triangle has a hypotenuse of length c and legs of lengths a and b, as
in Figure 2, then the Pythagorean Theorem says:

a 2 + b2 = c 2
Example:
For each of the right triangle below, determine the unknown side.

Solution:

For triangle △ ABC, the Pythagorean Theorem says that a 2 + 4 2 = 5 2 ⇒ a 2 = 25 −

16 = 9 ⇒ a = 3 .
For triangle △DEF, the Pythagorean Theorem says that e 2 + 1 2 = 2 2 ⇒ e 2 = 4 − 1
= 3 ⇒ e = √3 .
For triangle △ XY Z, the Pythagorean Theorem says that 1 2 + 1 2 = z 2 ⇒ z 2 = 2 ⇒
z = √2 .
Exercises:
1. Find B if A = 15o and C = 50o.
2. Find A and B if C = 24o, A = α, and B = 2α.
3. Find A, B, and C if A = β and B = C = 4β.
4. A car goes 24 miles due north then 7 miles due east. What is the straight
distance between the car’s starting point and end point?
5. One end of a rope is attached to the top of a pole 100 ft high. If the rope
is 150 ft long, what is the maximum distance along the ground from the
base of the pole to where the other end can be attached? You may
assume that the pole is perpendicular to the ground.

Trigonometric functions of an acute angle

Consider a right triangle △ ABC, with the right angle at C and with lengths
a, b, and c, as in figure 2. For the acute angle A, call the leg BC its opposite side,
and call the leg AC its adjacent side. Recall that the hypotenuse of the triangle is
the side AB. The ratios of sides of a right triangle occur often enough in practical
applications to warrant their own names, so we define the six trigonometric
functions of A as follows:

Name of functions Abbreviation Definition

opposite side a
Sine A sinA = hypotenuse = c

adjacent side b
Cosine A cosA = hypotenuse = c
opposite side a
Tangent A tanA = adjacent side = b
adjacent side b
Cotangent A cotA = opposite side = c
 hypotenuse c
Secant A secA = adjacent side = b
hypotenuse c
Cosecant A cscA = opposite side = a

We will usually use the abbreviated names of the functions. Notice that the pairs
sin A and csc A, cos A and sec A, and tan A and cot A are reciprocals:
1 1 1
sinA =
cscA
cosA = secA tanA = cotA

1 1 1
cscA = sinA secA = cosA cotA = tanA

Example:
For the right triangle shown, find the values of the six trigonometric
functions of the acute angles A and B.

For angle A:
3 4 3 4 5 5
sinA = 5 , cosA = 5 , tanA = 4 , cotA = 3 , secA = 4 , cscA = 3

For angle B:
4 3 4 3 5 5
sinB = 5 , cosB = 5 , tanB = 3 , cotB = 4 , secB = 3 , cscB = 4

Cofunction Theorem:
If A and B are the complementary acute angles in a right triangle △ ABC,
then the following relations hold:
sin A = cos B sec A = csc B tan A = cot B
sin B = cos A sec B = csc A tan B = cot A
We say that the pairs of functions { sin,cos }, { sec,csc }, and {tan,cot} are
cofunctions.
Example:
Write each of the following numbers as trigonometric functions of an angle
less than 45o : (a) sin 65o ; (b) cos 78o; (c) tan 59o .
Solution:
(a) The complement of 65ois 90o – 65o= 25o and the cofunction of sin
is cos, so by the Cofunction Theorem we know that sin 65o = cos 25o.
(b) The complement of 78ois 90o −78o = 12oand the cofunction of cos
is sin, so cos 78o = sin 12o..
(c) The complement of 59ois 90o −59o = 31oand the cofunction of tan
is cot, so tan 59o = cot 31o.

Applications and Solving Right Triangles

A triangle is composed of six parts, the three sides and three angles. To solve a
triangle is to find the unknown parts from the parts that are given. In the case of a
right triangle this can always be done if we have given [besides the right angle]
two parts, at least one of which is a side.
In solving right triangles we make use of the six trigonometric functions and the
Pythagorean theorem. Of course we sometimes find it convenient to use the
relation of the two acute angles [their sum is 90o].
Example 1:
A wire is stretched from the top of a vertical pole standing on level
ground. The wire reaches to a point on the ground 10 feet from the foot of the
pole, and makes an angle of 75o with the horizontal. Find the height of the pole
and the length of the wire.
Solution: BC is the length of the flagpole which is side a and
AB is the length of the wire which is side c. A is 75o and b is 10 feet. Using the
a
definition tanA = b , which contains the known parts A and b. We get
 a = b tan A = 10 tan 75 o = 37.321 feet [rounded off to 3
decimal places] → the height of the pole.
To solve for side c, we make use of Pythagorean theorem.
c = √ a2 +b 2 = √ 37.3212+10 2 = 38.638 feet → the length of the
wire.
It is recommended that all answers be checked by obtaining the solutions into
different ways.
Angles of elevation and depression:
The angle of elevation of an object which is above the eye of an observer is
the angle which the line of sight to the object makes with the horizontal. If the
object is below the eye of the observer, the angle which the line of sight makes
with the horizontal is called the angle of depression of the object.