Innovative Aviation Training Services

TRIGONOMETRY
Lecturer: Engr. R. R. Renigen

I. Trigonometric Functions of an Acute Angle

a c
SinA = Csc A =
c a

b c
CosA = Sec A =
c b

a b
tan A = cot A =
b a

Problems:

Draw the right triangle whose sides have the following values, and find the six trigonometric functions of the angle A:

1. a = 2, b = 3.

2. a = 2, c =3.

3. a = 8, b = 15.

4. A yardstick, held vertically on a level surface, casts a shadow 1 foot 8 inches long. Find the tangent of the
angle that the rays of the sun make with the horizontal.

5. An airplane is descending 225 feet per 1,000 feet of horizontal distance covered. What is the cosine of the
angle that its path of descent makes with the horizontal?

II. Solution of Triangles

A. Right Triangle

Relation between sides (Pythagorean Theorem): c 2 = a 2 + b 2

Relation between angles: A + B = 90 o

B = 90 o − A

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 a
SinA = Cos B = Cos (90 0 − A) =
c
b
Cos A = Sin B = Sin (90 0 − A) =
c
a
tan A = cot B = cot (90 0 − A) =
b
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Area of a Triangle: Area = ab (in square units)
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Problems:

Solve the following triangles, in which C = 90O.

1. A = 35O, c = 5.

2. a = 23, b = 17.

3. B = 56O, c = 84.
x
4. If tan B = find CosB ?
1− x2
Ans. CosB = 1 − x 2
2ab
5. If Cos A = 2 find csc A ?
a + b2
a2 + b2
Ans. CscA = 2
a − b2
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6. Solvefor θ in Cos 6θ =
csc (3θ + 9 )
Ans.θ = 9 0
1
7. Solve for θ in Cos 4θ =
csc (2θ + 6)
Ans.θ = 14 0

8. Find the value of A if tan 4 A = cot 6 A

Ans. A = 9 0

9. If Sin 2A = Cos 4B, find the value of A + 2B in degrees.

Ans. A + 2 B = 45 0

10. If cot 2A = tan 3A, find the value of A in degrees.

Ans. A = 180

11. Find the value of A + 2B in degrees if Sin 3A = Cos 6B.

Ans. A + 2B = 300

12. The cosine of a certain angle is equal to the sine of twice the angle. Determine the angle in degrees.
Ans. θ = 300

4 4 Sin A − Cos A
13. If tan A = , what is the value of ?
5 3Cos A + Sin A
4 SinA − CosA
Ans. = 0.579
3CosA + SinA

5Sin x − 3Cos x 5Sin x − 3Cos x

14. If 2 cot x = 1, what is the value of ? Ans. = 1.4
2 Sin x + Cos x 2 Sin x + Cos x

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15. If Sin ( x + y ) = 0.819152 and Sin ( x − y ) = 0.422618, find the value of Sin x Cos y.
Ans. Sin x Cos y = 0.62

16. A flagpole broken over by the wind forms a right triangle with the ground. If the angle which the broken
part makes with the ground is 50O, and the distance from the tip of the pole to the foot is 55 feet, how tall
was the pole?

17. If a ladder 40 feet long is placed so as to reach a window 30 feet high, what angle does it make with the
level ground, and how far is the foot from the base of the building?

B. Isosceles Triangles and Polygons

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Area of a Triangle: Area = bh (in square units)
2

1
Area of Polygon: Area = bhn (in square units)
2

Where:

n = no. of sides

C. Oblique Triangles

Case I: Two angles and a side given

Case II: Two sides and the angle opposite one of them given

Case III: Two sides and the included angle given

Case IV: Three sides given

Oblique Triangles may be solved by:

A. Law of sines

a b c
= =
sin A sin B sin C

The sides of a triangle are proportional to the sines of the opposite angles.

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 B. Law of cosines

a 2 = b 2 + c 2 − 2 bc cos A

b 2 = a 2 + c 2 − 2ac cos B

c 2 = a 2 + b 2 − 2ab cos C

The square of any side of a triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides minus twice the
product of these two sides times the cosine of the angle between them.

Area of a Triangle (in square units):

1
Area = ab sin C
2

1
Area = ac sin B
2

1
Area = bc sin A
2
Problems:
Solve the following triangles:

1. A = 30O, B = 80O, a = 15.

2. A = 35O, b = 17, c = 32.

3. B = 100O, C = 30O, b= 75.

4. The sides of a triangle are a = 18.3 m and c = 28.5 m. The angle opposite side c is 115.80. Determine the
length of side b?
Ans. b = 15.3 m

5. The sides of a triangle are b = 51.6 m and c = 38.5 m. The angle opposite side b is 120.40. Find the
dimension of a in meters.
Ans. a = 20 m

6. In triangle ABC, angle A = 450 and angle C = 700. Find the opposite angle A.
Ans. a = 30.1 m

7. Determine the third interior angle, aside from the smallest and the biggest of the triangle whose sides are
12 cm, 24 cm and 16 cm long.
Ans. A = 36.30

8. The perimeter of triangle ABC is 300 m. A = 360, B = 580 and C = 860. Determine the side opposite the
biggest angle.
Ans. c = 123 m

9. At a certain horizontal distance from the foot of a vertical cliff, the angle of elevation of the top of
a flagpole 50 feet tall standing on the edge of the cliff is 40O. From the same position, the angle of
elevation of the foot of the pole is 35O. How high is the cliff?

10. At a certain point, the angle of elevation of the top of a flagpole, which stands on level ground, is
35O. Seventy-five feet nearer the pole, the angle of elevation is 50O. How high is the pole?
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Application in Vectors

A. For right triangle

F 2 = Fx2 + Fy2
Fy F Fx = F cos θ

Fy = F sin θ

F = resultant
θ
Fx and Fy = components of F
O Fx

B. For Oblique Triangles (parallelogram law)

R 2 = Q2 + T2

T R R = resultant

Q and T = components of F

O Q

Problems:

1. The westward and southward components of the velocity of a ship are 6.7 knots and 12.5 knots
respectively. Find the speed of the ship and the direction in which it is sailing.

2. A force of 150 pounds is acting at an angle of 55O with the horizontal. Find its vertical and
horizontal components.

III. Trigonometric Formulas and Identities

A. Fundamental relations among functions

1. Reciprocal Relations:

sin θ csc θ = 1

cos θ sec θ = 1

tan θ cot θ = 1
2. Pythagorean Relations:

sin 2 θ + cos 2 θ = 1

tan 2 θ + 1 = sec 2 θ

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 1 + cot 2 θ = csc 2 θ

3. Ratio Relations:

sin θ
tan θ =
cos θ

cos θ
cot θ =
sin θ

Problems:

Find the other functions of θ if

1. sin θ = ½

2. tan θ = -2/5

3. cot θ = 5/2

4. csc θ = 3

5. sec θ = -2

B. Functions of the sum and the difference of two angles

sin( θ + φ) = sin θ cos φ + cos θ sin φ

1 1
sin θ + sin φ = 2 sin ( θ + φ) cos ( θ − φ)
2 2

sin( θ − φ) = sin θ cos φ − cos θ sin φ

1 1
sin θ − sin φ = 2 cos ( θ + φ) sin ( θ − φ)
2 2

cos( θ + φ) = cos θ cos φ − sin θ sin φ

1 1
cos θ + cos φ = 2 cos ( θ + φ) cos ( θ − φ)
2 2

cos( θ − φ) = cos θ cos φ + sin θ sin φ

1 1
cos θ − cos φ = −2 sin ( θ + φ) sin ( θ − φ)
2 2

tan θ + tan φ
tan( θ + φ) =
1 − tan θ tan φ

tan θ − tan φ
tan( θ − φ) =
1 + tan θ tan φ
cot θ cot φ − 1
cot( θ + φ) =
cot φ + cot θ

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 cot θ cot φ + 1
cot( θ − φ) =
cot φ − cot θ

Problems:
1. Find cos 75O, tan 75O.
2. Find sin 105O, cot 105O.
3. Simplify sin (θ + 30O) + cos (θ + 60O).
4. Simplify sin (θ + 60O) + cos (θ -30O).
5. Given sin θ = 3/5, sin ϕ = 5/15, θ and ϕ both acute. Find sin (θ + ϕ).

C. Functions of twice an angle

sin 2 θ = 2 sin θ cos θ

cos 2θ = cos 2 θ − sin 2 θ

2 tan θ
tan 2θ =
1 − tan 2 θ

cot 2 θ − 1
cot 2θ =
2 cot θ

D. Functions of half an angle

1 1 − cos θ
sin θ = ±
2 2

1 1 + cos θ
cos θ = ±
2 2

1 1 − cos θ
tan θ = ±
2 1 + cos θ

1 1 − cos θ
tan θ =
2 sin θ

1 sin θ
tan θ =
2 1 + cos θ

1 1 + cos θ
cot θ = ±
2 1 − cos θ

1 sin θ
cot θ =
2 1 − cos θ

1 1 + cos θ
cot θ =
2 sin θ

Problem:
1. A picture of height 5 feet hangs on the wall, with its lower edge 4 feet from the floor. At a
certain point on the floor, directly in front of the picture, the angle subtended by the picture
(that is, by its vertical dimension of 5 feet) is equal to the angle of elevation of the lower edge
of the picture. How far is this point from the wall?
2. Find the value of Sin (90+A).
Ans. Cos A
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3. Find the value of Cos (270+B).
Ans. –Cos B

Radian Measure/circular measure of angles

One radian is the measure of an angle which, if its vertex is placed at the center of a circle, intercepts on the
circumference an arc equal in length to the radius.

Relation between radian and degree

360 o = 2 π ( r )

180 o = π ( r ) = 3.1416 ( r )

π(r)
1o = = 0.017453 ( r )
180 o

180 o
1( r ) = = 57.3o
π(r )

Relation between arc and angle

By ratio and proportion:

θ s
=
1 r

s = rθ

Where:

s = length of the arc

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 r = radius of the circle
θ = central angle (in radians)

Angular Velocity

θ
ω=
t

θ = ωt
Where:

ω = angular velocity (in radian per unit time)

t = time

Therefore:

s = rθ = rωt

Linear Velocity

υt = rωt

υ = rω

Where:
υ = linear velocity

Area of Sector and of Segment

A sector of a circle is a portion of the circle bounded by two radii and their intercepted arc. In Figure
below, the area of sector AOB is given by:

1 1
Area of sector = rs = r 2 θ
2 2

A segment of a circle is a portion of the circle bounded by arc and its chord. The area of the sector
bounded by arc AB and chord AB in Figure below is obviously equal to the area of the sector AOB minus the area
of the triangle AOB. The area of the triangle AOB is given by:

1 2
Area of triangle AOB = r sin θ
2

Thus,
1 2
Area of segment = r ( θ − sin θ)
2
Where θ is in radians.

Problems:

1. Find the area of a sector having an angle of 0.75 radian in a circle whose radius is 6 inches.

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 Find the area of the corresponding segment.

2. The area of a sector of a circle is 705.6 square centimeters. If the angle of the sector is 0.45
radian, what is the radius of the circle?

3. The central angle subtended by the arc of a segment of a circle is 1.3 radians. The area of
the segment is 17 square inches. Find the radius of the circle.

V. Inverse Trigonometric Functions

If x = sin y, then y is an angle whose sine is x; in abbreviated form we write

y = arcsin x
or:

y = sin-1 x

The symbol sin-1x may be read “inverse sine of x” or “antisine of x” or, to emphasize its
meaning,” an angle whose sine is x”.

The other inverse trigonometric functions are:

arccos x or cos -1x

arctan x or tan -1x
arccot x or cot -1x
arcsec x or sec -1x
arccsc x or csc -1x
VI. Logarithms

The logarithm of number to a given base is the exponent of the power to which the base must be raised to yield
the number.

logb y = x , bx = y , (b > 0, ≠1; y > 0).

Types of logarithms:

1. Common logarithm - logarithm to the base 10.

Log y = x , 10x = y

2. Natural logarithm -logarithm to the base e.

logey = x , ex = y

or:

In y = x , ex = y

Laws of logarithms:

1. log b xy = log b x + log b y

x
2. log b = log b x − log b y
y

3. log b x m = m log b x

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4. log b b x = x

log b x
5. b =x

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