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2014 01 17 Beautiful Triangles

The document discusses four similar right triangles located on a unit circle. All four triangles are similar because their corresponding angles are equal. The triangles illustrate relationships between trigonometric functions: the purple triangle relates sine and cosine, the blue triangle relates tangent and adjacent/opposite, and the red triangle relates cotangent and adjacent/opposite. Applying the Pythagorean theorem to each triangle yields four equations showing relationships between trig functions.

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12K views2 pages

2014 01 17 Beautiful Triangles

The document discusses four similar right triangles located on a unit circle. All four triangles are similar because their corresponding angles are equal. The triangles illustrate relationships between trigonometric functions: the purple triangle relates sine and cosine, the blue triangle relates tangent and adjacent/opposite, and the red triangle relates cotangent and adjacent/opposite. Applying the Pythagorean theorem to each triangle yields four equations showing relationships between trig functions.

Uploaded by

samjshah
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NAME

DATE

BAND

BEAUTIFUL TRIANGLES ADV PRECALCULUS | PACKER COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE

Youve seen this image before, but with only a single triangle the purple triangle. You know on the unit circle, the x-coordinate corresponds with the cosine of the angle, and the y-coordinate corresponds with the sine of the angle. From that simple purple triangle, you can see that we have (using the Pythagorean Theorem):

sin cos
2

But youve never seen that blue triangle or that red triangle. It turns out the lengths of the legs of the other triangles actually are those other trigonometric functions. Youre going to discover that, and start finding some neat trigonometric identities (like that Pythagorean Identity) visually. Look carefully at the diagram above. There are really four right triangles here:
The purple one (the one we are already familiar with) The blue one The red one The very very very large one

It turns out that all four of these triangles are similar.

Questions: 1. Why can I conclude that all four triangles are similar? What is the mathematical justification for that conclusion?

2. Since the four triangles are similar, lets look at each one separately so we can start seeing relationships among sides. You know all the sides of the purple triangle. Write those in. Now use similarity (and proportions) to help you find the side lengths for the other triangles. Hint: The blue triangle and red triangle each have a side length of 1. Label those first to help you.

Purple Triangle

Blue Triangle

Red Triangle

Very Large Triangle

3. Use the Pythagorean Theorem on all four triangles to come up with four equations. You dont need to simplify/expand. Purple Triangle: Blue Triangle: Red Triangle: Very Large Triangle:

sin cos
2

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