+5478 In trigonometry, you use the basic sine, cosine, and tangent of angles in a triangle (the most basic is a right triangle)
The sine of an angle (A) would be the opposite side over the hypotenuse, the cosine of the angle would be the adjacent side over the hypotenuse, and the tangent of the angle would be the opposite side over the adjacent side.
Therefore, if you know the sine, cosine, or tangent of an angle, you can solve for the unknown side.
For example, if in the triangle below angle A is 60 degrees, and you know that the hypotenuse h is 2, you would use the sine of 60.
sin(60) = a /2
a = 1.732050807568, or square root of 3
In cases that are not conveniently right triangles, you can use the Law of Sines and Law of Cosines to solve a triangle (find all its missing sides and angles)
Here is a page that can explain this better:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/trig-solving-triangles.html
+5478 In trigonometry, you use the basic sine, cosine, and tangent of angles in a triangle (the most basic is a right triangle)
The sine of an angle (A) would be the opposite side over the hypotenuse, the cosine of the angle would be the adjacent side over the hypotenuse, and the tangent of the angle would be the opposite side over the adjacent side.
Therefore, if you know the sine, cosine, or tangent of an angle, you can solve for the unknown side.
For example, if in the triangle below angle A is 60 degrees, and you know that the hypotenuse h is 2, you would use the sine of 60.
sin(60) = a /2
a = 1.732050807568, or square root of 3
In cases that are not conveniently right triangles, you can use the Law of Sines and Law of Cosines to solve a triangle (find all its missing sides and angles)
Here is a page that can explain this better:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/trig-solving-triangles.html
