Unit 1

Trigonometry

 To ensure success in this course be sure to keep up with your homework and ask
for help when needed.
 If you are absent check our class website at: ycdsb.elearningontario.ca for missing
notes.

Day Section Homework

1 Getting Started Workbook P. 2
2 1.1 - Sides of a Right Triangle P. 9 # 2alt, 3alt, 4, 6, 7
3 1.2 - Angles in Right Triangles P.15 # 3alt, 4, 6alt, 7
4 1.3 - The Sine Law P. 25 # 3, 5, 7, 9
5 Mid-Chapter Review + Quiz P. 29 # 1 – 5
6 1.4 - The Cosine law P. 35 # 3, 4, 5, 8
7 1.5 - Choosing between Sine Law and Cosine Law P. 42 # 2a, 3, 5, 6
8 1.6 - Solving Real-World Problems Workbook P. 16
9 1.7 - Review P. 47 # 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9
10 Test

Self-Evaluation:
How well do you think you performed in the following categories on a scale of 1 – 4:
(1) Needs Improvement, (2) Satisfactory, (3) Good, (4) Excellent

Responsibility Organization Independent Work Collaboration Initiative Self-Regulation

 Fulfils  Devises and  Independently  Accepts various roles and  Looks for and  Sets own individual
responsibilities and follows a plan monitors, assesses, and an equitable share of work in acts on new ideas goals and monitors
commitments and process for revises plans to complete a group and opportunities progress towards
within the learning completing work tasks and meet goals.  Responds positively to for learning. achieving them.
environment. and tasks.  Uses class time the ideas, opinions, values,  Demonstrates  Seeks clarification or
 Completes and  Establishes appropriately to complete and traditions of the capacity for assistance when
submits class work, priorities and tasks. others. innovation and a needed.
homework, and manages time to  Follows instructions  Builds healthy peer-to- willingness to take  Assesses and reflects
assignments complete tasks with minimal supervision. peer relationships through risks. critically on own
according to and achieve personal and  Demonstrates strengths, needs, and
agreed-upon goals. media-assisted interactions. curiosity and interests.
timelines.  Identifies,  Works with others to interest in learning.  Identifies learning
 Takes gathers, resolve conflicts and build  Approaches new opportunities, choices,
responsibility for evaluates, and consensus to achieve group tasks with a and strategies to meet
and manages own uses information, goals. positive attitude. personal needs and
behaviour. technology, and  Shares information,  Recognizes and achieve goals.
resources to resources, and expertise, advocates  Perseveres and makes
complete tasks. and promotes critical appropriately for an effort when
thinking to solve problems the rights of self responding to
and make decisions. and challenges.
others
MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

Getting Started - Introduction to Primary Trigonometric Ratios

Trigonometric Ratios on a Scientific Calculator

The values of the three primary trigonometric ratios can be found using a scientific calculator.
*Be sure that the calculator is in DEGREE mode for angle calculations.

1. Determine the value of each ratio using your calculator. Round to 4 decimal places.

sin 250 =

a) sin 250 = _________ b) cos 560 = _________ c) tan 780 = _________

d) sin 150 = _________ e) cos 400 = _________ f) tan 20 = _________

g) sin 530 = _________ h) cos 660 = _________ i) tan 600 = _________

2. Determine the size of the angle to the nearest degree.

*Press 2nd function or shift before hitting the appropriate trigonometric button to get an angle measurement.
3
2ND sin =
4

3
a) sin A = b) cos B = 0.2397 c) tan C = 1.5012
4

∠ A = _________ ∠ B = _________ ∠ C = _________

d) sin A = 0.1051 e) cos B = 0.5135 f) tan C = 1.0018

∠ A = _________ ∠ B = _________ ∠ C = _________

g) sin A = 0.2397 h) cos B = 0.3998 i) tan C = 1.8661

∠ A = _________ ∠ B = _________ ∠ C = _________

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

1.1 Sides of a Right Triangle

Egyptians used trigonometry in land surveying and the building of pyramids?

Greeks used trigonometry in the study of astronomy?

Reference Angle

The reference angle is one of the ____ acute angles (less than 90°). The 90° angle will never be the
reference angle.

Names of the 3 Sides

Hypotenuse (hyp): The longest side, always across form the right angle

Opposite side (opp): The side across from the reference angle in a right angle triangle

Adjacent side (adj): The short side that is connected to the reference angle

The Primary Trigonometric Ratios

opposite adjacent opposite

sin A = cos A = tan A =
hypotenuse hypotenuse adjacent

The phrase SOH CAH TOA can be used a memory device that helps visualize the relationship
between the ratios. Each letter represents the ratios in order.

S: Sine C: Cosine T: Tangent O: Opposite A: Adjacent H:Hypontenuse

Label the sides according to the marked reference angele…

A
A
θ

θ B C
B C

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

Example 1: Find the missing/indicated side:

A
∠ A = 55°, c = 25 m  find a
c
b

C a B

Example 2: Find the missing/indicated side:

A
∠ A = 75°, b = 52 m  find a

c b

B C
a

Example 3: Given the following diagram solve for the lengths of the missing sides.
B 250 m C
25°

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 MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

1.2 Angles of a Right Triangle

KEY TERMS

Angle of Elevation Angle of Depression

Definition

Angle of Elevation is the angle from the Angle of Depression is the angle from the horizontal
horizontal looking up to some object. looking down to some object.

horizontal
angle of depression
Diagram

angle of elevation

horizontal

Angle of Elevation = Angle of Depression

Example 1: Find the measure of ∠ A. B

12 cm
5 cm

A C

Example 2: Calculate the angle of elevation of the shuttle, from an observer located 8km away,
when the shuttle reaches a height of 3km.

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

Example 3: Safety by-laws state that for a ladder to be stable, the angle of the base of the ladder
makes with the ground should be between 70o and 800. A safety inspector at a construction site
notices a painter on a 10m ladder that is leaning against a wall. The base of the ladder is 1.5m away
from the wall. Does the inspector have cause to be concerned?

Example 4: In construction, the pitch of a roof may be given as “7 – 12” in feet. This means the
maximum height if the roof is 7 ft and the distance from the midpoint of the base of the roof to the
outer wall is 12ft. Calculate the angle of inclination/elevation.

7ft

12 ft

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

1.2 The Sine Law

To “solve” a triangle means to find all the missing measures

How to Label an Oblique Triangle

Angles – labelled with CAPTIAL letters

Sides – labelled with lowercase letters ACROSS from their corresponding angles

B C

THE LAW OF SINES: To use the Sine Law we need to know:

(1) two sides and one angle (across/opposite of one of the known sides) or
(2) two angles and any side

For a triangle labeled as shown above, the sine law can be written as:
sin A sin B sin C a b c
= = OR = =
a b c sin A sin B sin C

Example 1: In ∆ABC, ∠B = 48°, ∠C = 25°, b = 36 cm and. Find the measure of side c.

25°

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

Example 2: In ∆ABC, ∠B = 35°, a= 64 m and b = 42 m. Find the measure of ∠A.

Example 3: In ∆DEF ∠D = 750 , ∠E = 340 and d = 21.2cm. Solve the following triangle.

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

1.4 The Cosine Law

The Sine Law may not be sufficient for solving all acute triangles. For instance, in ∆ABC below, try
to find a using the Sine Law.
A

sin A sin B sin C

= = 12cm
a b c

60°
B C
26cm

The Cosine Law to find missing SIDES

For a triangle labeled as shown above, the cosine law can be written as:

a2 = b2 + c2 – 2bc cosA
b2 = a2 + c2 – 2ac cosB
c2 = a2 + b2 – 2ab cosC

Example 1: Find the length of c to 1 decimal place.

A

12cm

60°
B C
26cm

Example 2: Now use the Cosine Law to find f in ∆DEF.

D
f
10m

48°
E
F
9m

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

When you know the lengths of three sides of a triangle, you can use the cosine law to determine the
measurement of any angle in the triangle. BE SURE TO USE ORDER OF OPERATIONS WHEN
SIMPLIFYING.

The Cosine Law to find missing ANGLES

We can use the cosine law in the above form and use algebra to isolate COSINE:

𝑏2 +𝑐 2 −𝑎2 𝑎2 +𝑐 2 −𝑏2 𝑎2 +𝑏2 −𝑐 2

cos 𝐴 = cos 𝐵 = cos 𝐶 =
2𝑏𝑐 2𝑎𝑐 2𝑎𝑏

Example 3: Determine the measure of angle B

A
30cm
23cm

B C
37cm

Example 4: A motorcross ramp is built for an upcoming race. The measures of for the sides are
shown. Calculate the angle of inclination of the ramp to the nearest degree.

19m
5m

18m

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

1.5 Choosing Between Sine Law and Cosine Law

When do we use each of the following formulas?

Pythagorean Theorem

Trigonometric Ratio (SOHCAHTOA)

Sine Law

Cosine Law

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

Recall:
◦ Pythagorean Theorem
◦ Trigonometric Ratio (SOH CAH TOA)
◦ Sine Law
◦ Cosine Law

Choose one of the above methods to solve the following six questions.

1) B 2) B
a
C
a
14 m 22 m
80°
56° A
43°
A 38 cm C

3) C 4) B
28 cm
23 cm 26 cm 37 cm
B
A
A 33 cm 53°
A
C A

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

A
5) A 6)

c
125 cm
123 cm

B C B
C 45 cm
65 cm

7) 8)

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

1.6 Solving Real World Problems

Problem 1

A cat, sitting in the top of a tree, spots a dog to its right and a firefighter to its left. From the
dog’s point of view, the angle of elevation to the cat is 65°. From the firefighter’s point of
view, the angle of elevation to the cat is 50°.

a) If the firefighter is 5 m from the base of the tree, how tall is the tree?

b) How far apart are firefighter and the dog?

Problem 2

Jill and her friends built an outdoor hockey rink. Their hockey goal line is 5 feet wide. Jill shoots a
puck from a point where the puck is 5 yards from one goal post and 6 yards from the other goal
post. Within what angle must Jill make her shot to hit the net?

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

Problem 3

Vincent is playing golf on Nintendo Wii. In his first shot, the ball travels 225 yd. but is 33° off
line, as shown in the diagram. Vincent hits his next shot directly towards the hole. It travels
121 yd. Will the ball reach the hole?

Problem 4

The CN Tower is 553m tall. You are admiring the tower from a distance. From you sight, the
angle of elevation to the top of the tower is 65°. How far are you from the tower?

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MBF3C Unit 1: Trigonometry Date: ____________

Homework
Round ∠ ’s to whole degrees. Length answers should be rounded to 1 decimal place
and include units.
1. The top of a lighthouse is 100 m above sea level. The angle of elevation from the
deck of the sailboat to the top of the lighthouse is 28°. Calculate the distance
between the sailboat and the lighthouse.

100

28°
B C

2. An archer shoots and gets a bulls-eye on the target. From the archer’s eye level the
angle of depression to the bulls-eye is 5°. The arrow is in the target 50 cm below the
archer’s eye level. Calculate the distance the arrow flew to hit the target (the dotted
line).

C
B 5°
50
A

For the following questions you will need to create your own diagrams. Draw
them carefully and refer to the written description to ensure you find the
correct solution.
3. Two islands A and B are 3 km apart. A third island C is located due south of A and
due west of B. From island B the angle between islands A and C is 33°. Calculate
how far island C is from island A and from island B.

4. The foot (bottom) of a ladder is placed 1.5 m from a wall. The ladder makes a 70°
angle with the level ground. Find the length of the ladder. (Round to one decimal
place.)

5. A tow truck raises the front end of a car 0.75 m above the ground. If the car is 2.8 m
long what angle does the car make with the ground?

6. A construction engineer determines that a straight road must rise vertically 45 m

over a 250 m distance measured along the surface of the road (this represents the
hypotenuse of the right triangle). Calculate the angle of elevation of the road.

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