SECTION 4.

2 Trigonometric Functions of Acute Angles 329

4.2 Trigonometric Functions of Acute Angles

What you’ll learn about
Right Triangle Trigonometry
t Right Triangle Trigonometry
Recall that geometric figures are similar if they have the same shape even though they
t Two Famous Triangles
may have different sizes. Having the same shape means that the angles of one are con-
t Evaluating Trigonometric Functions gruent to the angles of the other and their corresponding sides are proportional.
with a Calculator Similarity is the basis for many applications, including scale drawings, maps, and right
t Common Calculator Errors when triangle trigonometry, which is the topic of this section.
Evaluating Trig Functions
t Applications of Right Triangle
Two triangles are similar if the angles of one are congruent to the angles of the other.
Trigonometry For two right triangles we need only know that an acute angle of one is equal to an
acute angle of the other for the triangles to be similar. Thus a single acute angle u of a
... and why right triangle determines six distinct ratios of side lengths. Each ratio can be considered
The many applications of right a function of u as u takes on values from 0° to 90° or from 0 rad to p/2 rad. We wish to
triangle trigonometry gave the study these functions of acute angles more closely.
subject its name.
To bring the power of coordinate geometry into the picture, we will often put our acute
angles in standard position in the xy-plane, with the vertex at the origin, one ray along
the positive x-axis, and the other ray extending into the first quadrant. (See Figure 4.7.)

5
4
3
2
1
θ x
–2 –1 1 2 3 4 5 6
–1

FIGURE 4.7 An acute angle u in standard position, with one ray along the positive x-axis
and the other extending into the first quadrant.

The six ratios of side lengths in a right triangle are the six trigonometric functions
(often abbreviated as trig functions) of the acute angle u. We will define them here
with reference to the right ∆ABC as labeled in Figure 4.8. The abbreviations opp, adj,
and hyp refer to the lengths of the side opposite u, the side adjacent to u, and the hypot-
enuse, respectively.

B DEFINITION Trigonometric Functions

e
nus
Opposite

pot
e Let u be an acute angle in the right ∆ABC (Figure 4.8). Then
Hy

sine 1u2 = sin u = cosecant 1u2 = csc u =

θ opp hyp
A Adjacent C hyp opp

cosine 1u2 = cos u = secant 1u2 = sec u =

FIGURE 4.8 The triangle referenced in our adj hyp
definition of the trigonometric functions. hyp adj

tangent 1u2 = tan u = cotangent 1u2 = cot u =

opp adj
adj opp
330 CHAPTER 4 Trigonometric Functions

Function Reminder EXPLORATION 1 Exploring Trigonometric Functions

Both sin u and sin1u2 represent a function of
the variable u. Neither notation implies multipli- There are twice as many trigonometric functions as there are triangle sides that
cation by u. The notation sin1u2 is just like the define them, so we can already explore some ways in which the trigonometric
notation ƒ1x2, and the notation sin u is a widely functions relate to each other. Doing this Exploration will help you learn which
accepted shorthand. The same note applies to all ratios are which.
six trigonometric functions.
1. Each of the six trig functions can be paired to another that is its reciprocal.
Find the three pairs of reciprocals.
2. Which trig function can be written as the quotient sin u/cos u
3. Which trig function can be written as the quotient csc u/cot u
4. What is the (simplified) product of all six trig functions multiplied together?
5. Which two trig functions must be less than 1 for any acute angle u?
(Hint: What is always the longest side of a right triangle?)

Two Famous Triangles

Evaluating trigonometric functions of particular angles used to require trig tables or
slide rules; now it requires only a calculator. However, the side ratios for some angles
that appear in right triangles can be found geometrically. Every student of trigonometry
should be able to find these special ratios without a calculator.

EXAMPLE 1 Evaluating Trigonometric Functions of 45°

Find the values of all six trigonometric functions for an angle of 45°.
2 SOLUTION A 45° angle occurs in an isosceles right triangle, with angles
1 45°-45° -90° (see Figure 4.9).
45° Since the size of the triangle does not matter, we set the length of the two equal legs
1 to 1. The hypotenuse, by the Pythagorean Theorem, is 21 + 1 = 22. Applying
the definitions, we have
FIGURE 4.9 An isosceles right triangle.
(Example 1) opp 1 22 hyp 22
sin 45° = = = csc 45° = =
hyp 22 2 opp 1
adj 1 22 hyp 22
cos 45° = = = sec 45° = =
hyp 22 2 adj 1
opp 1 adj 1
tan 45° = = = 1 cot 45° = = = 1
adj 1 opp 1
Now try Exercise 1.

Whenever two sides of a right triangle are known, the third side can be found using the
Pythagorean Theorem. All six trigonometric functions of either acute angle can then be
found. We illustrate this in Example 2 with another well-known triangle.

EXAMPLE 2 Evaluating Trigonometric Functions of 30°

Find the values of all six trigonometric functions for an angle of 30°.
SOLUTION A 30° angle occurs in a 30°-60°-90° triangle, which can be con-
structed from an equilateral (60°-60°-60°) triangle by constructing an altitude to
any side. Since size does not matter, start with an equilateral triangle with sides
2 units long. The altitude splits it into two congruent 30°-60°-90° triangles, each
with hypotenuse 2 and smaller leg 1. By the Pythagorean Theorem, the longer leg
has length 222 - 12 = 23. (See Figure 4.10.)
 SECTION 4.2 Trigonometric Functions of Acute Angles 331

We apply the definitions of the trigonometric functions to get:

1
opp 1 hyp 2
3 sin 30° = = csc 30° = = = 2
1 hyp 2 opp 1
30° 60°
adj 23 hyp 2 223
2 cos 30° = = sec 30° = = =
hyp 2 adj 23 3
FIGURE 4.10 An altitude to any side of an
equilateral triangle creates two congruent opp 1 23 adj 23
30°– 60°–90° triangles. If each side of the tan 30° = = = cot 30° = =
adj 23 3 opp 1
equilateral triangle has length 2, then the two
30°– 60°–90° triangles have sides of length 2, Now try Exercise 3.
1, and 23. (Example 2)

EXPLORATION 2 Evaluating Trigonometric Functions of 60°

1. Find the values of all six trigonometric functions for an angle of 60°. Note that
most of the preliminary work has been done in Example 2.
2. Compare the six function values for 60° with the six function values for 30°.
What do you notice?
3. We will eventually learn a rule that relates trigonometric functions of any
angle with trigonometric functions of the complementary angle. (Recall from
geometry that 30° and 60° are complementary because they add up to 90°.)
Based on this exploration, can you predict what that rule will be? (Hint: The
“co” in cosine, cotangent, and cosecant actually comes from “complement.”)

Example 3 illustrates that knowing one trigonometric ratio in a right triangle is suffi-
cient for finding all the others.

EXAMPLE 3 Using One Trigonometric Ratio to Find Them All

6
5 Let u be an acute angle such that sin u = 5/6. Evaluate the other five trigonometric
functions of u.
θ
x SOLUTION Sketch a triangle showing an acute angle u. Label the opposite side 5
and the hypotenuse 6. (See Figure 4.11.) Since sin u = 5/6, this must be our angle!
FIGURE 4.11 How to create an acute angle Now we need the other side of the triangle (labeled x in the figure).
u such that sin u = 5/6. (Example 3)
From the Pythagorean Theorem it follows that x2 + 52 = 62 , so x = 236 - 25 =
211. Applying the definitions,
opp 5 hyp 6
sin u = = csc u = = = 1.2
hyp 6 opp 5
adj 211 hyp 6 6211
cos u = = sec u = = =
hyp 6 adj 211 11
A Word About Radical Fractions
5211 opp 5 5211 adj 211
There was a time when was considered tan u = = = cot u = =
11 adj 211 11 opp 5
5 Now try Exercise 9.
“simpler” than because it was easier to
211
approximate, but today they are just equivalent
expressions for the same irrational number. Evaluating Trigonometric Functions with a Calculator
With technology, either form leads easily to an
approximation of 1.508. We leave the answers in Using a calculator for the evaluation step enables you to concentrate all your problem-
exact form here because we want you to practice solving skills on the modeling step, which is where the real trigonometry occurs. The
problems of this type without a calculator. danger is that your calculator will try to evaluate what you ask it to evaluate, even if
332 CHAPTER 4 Trigonometric Functions

you ask it to evaluate the wrong thing. If you make a mistake, you might be lucky and
see an error message. In most cases you will unfortunately see an answer that you will
assume is correct but is actually wrong. We list the most common calculator errors as-
sociated with evaluating trigonometric functions.

Common Calculator Errors when Evaluating

Trig Functions
sin(10) 1. Using the Calculator in the Wrong Angle Mode (Degrees/Radians)
This error is so common that everyone encounters it once in a while. You just hope
–.5440211109
to recognize it when it occurs. For example, suppose we are doing a problem in
which we need to evaluate the sine of 10°. Our calculator shows us the screen in
Figure 4.12.
Why is the answer negative? Our first instinct should be to check the mode.
Sure enough, it is in Radian mode. Changing to Degree mode, we get sin1102 =
0.1736481777, which is a reasonable answer. (That still leaves open the question
FIGURE 4.12 Wrong mode for finding of why the sine of 10 rad is negative, but that is a topic for the next section.) We
sin 110°2. will revisit the mode problem later when we look at trigonometric graphs.

2. Using the Inverse Trig Keys to Evaluate cot, sec, and csc There are no
(tan(30))–1 buttons on most calculators for cotangent, secant, and cosecant. The reason is
1.732050808 because they can be easily evaluated by finding reciprocals of tangent, cosine, and
sine, respectively. For example, Figure 4.13 shows the correct way to evaluate the
cotangent of 30°.
There is also a key on the calculator for “TAN -1 ”—but this is not the cotangent
function! Remember that an exponent of -1 on a function is never used to denote
a reciprocal; it is always used to denote the inverse function. We will study the
inverse trigonometric functions in a later section, but meanwhile you can see that
FIGURE 4.13 Finding cot 130°2. it is a bad way to evaluate cot (30) (Figure 4.14).

3. Using Function Shorthand That the Calculator Does Not Recognize

tan–1(30) This error is less dangerous because it usually results in an error message.
88.09084757 We will often abbreviate powers of trig functions, writing (for example)
“sin3 u - cos3 u” instead of the more cumbersome “1sin 1u223 - 1cos 1u223 .”
The calculator does not recognize the shorthand notation and interprets it as a
syntax error.

4. Not Closing Parentheses This general algebraic error is easy to make on

calculators that automatically open a parenthesis pair whenever you type a func-
FIGURE 4.14 This is not cot 130°2. tion key. Check your calculator by pressing the SIN key. If the screen displays
“sin (” instead of just “sin” then you have such a calculator. The danger arises
because the calculator will automatically close the parenthesis pair at the end of
sin(30) a command if you have forgotten to do so. That is fine if you want the parenthe-
.5 sis at the end of the command, but it is bad if you want it somewhere else. For
sin(30+2 example, if you want “sin 1302” and you type “sin 130”, you will get away with
.5299192642 it. But if you want “sin 1302 + 2” and you type “sin 130 + 2”, you will not
sin(30)+2 (Figure 4.15).
2.5
It is usually impossible to find an “exact” answer on a calculator, especially when
evaluating trigonometric functions. The actual values are usually irrational numbers
FIGURE 4.15 A correct and incorrect with nonterminating, nonrepeating decimal expansions. However, you can find some
way to find sin 130°2 + 2. exact answers if you know what you are looking for, as in Example 4.
 SECTION 4.2 Trigonometric Functions of Acute Angles 333

EXAMPLE 4 Getting an “Exact Answer” on a Calculator

Find the exact value of cos 30° on a calculator.

SOLUTION As you see in Figure 4.16, the calculator gives the answer
0.8660254038. However, if we recognize 30° as one of our special angles (see
Example 2 in this section), we might recall that the exact answer can be written in
terms of a square root. We square our answer and get 0.75, which suggests that the
exact value of cos 30° is 23/4 = 23/2.
Now try Exercise 25.

cos(30)
.8660254038
Ans2
.75

FIGURE 4.16 Calculations for Example 4.

Applications of Right Triangle Trigonometry

A triangle has six “parts,” three angles and three sides, but you do not need to know all
six parts to determine a triangle up to congruence. In fact, three parts are usually suffi-
cient. The trigonometric functions take this observation a step further by giving us the
means for actually finding the rest of the parts once we have enough parts to establish
congruence. Using some of the parts of a triangle to solve for all the others is solving a
triangle.
We will learn about solving general triangles in Sections 5.5 and 5.6, but we can
already do some right triangle solving just by using the trigonometric ratios.

EXAMPLE 5 Solving a Right Triangle

A right triangle with a hypotenuse of 8 includes a 37° angle (Figure 4.17). Find the
8 measures of the other two angles and the lengths of the other two sides.
a

37°
SOLUTION Since it is a right triangle, one of the other angles is 90°. That leaves
b 180° - 90° - 37° = 53° for the third angle.
Referring to the labels in Figure 4.17, we have
FIGURE 4.17 Diagram for Example 5.
a b
sin 37° = cos 37° =
8 8
a = 8 sin 37° b = 8 cos 37°
a ≈ 4.81 b ≈ 6.39
Now try Exercise 55.

The real-world applications of triangle solving are many, reflecting the frequency with
which one encounters triangular shapes in everyday life.
334 CHAPTER 4 Trigonometric Functions

A Word About Rounding EXAMPLE 6 Finding the Height of a Building

Answers
Notice in Example 6 that we rounded the answer From a point 340 ft away from the base of the Peachtree Center Plaza in Atlanta,
to the nearest integer. In applied problems it is Georgia, the angle of elevation to the top of the building is 65°. (See Figure 4.18.)
illogical to give answers with more decimal Find the height h of the building.
places of accuracy than can be guaranteed for the
input values. An answer of 729.132 ft implies SOLUTION We need a ratio that will relate an angle to its opposite and adjacent
razor-sharp accuracy, whereas the reported dis- sides. The tangent function is the appropriate choice.
tance from the building (340 ft) implies a much
less precise measurement. (So does the angle of h
65°.) Indeed, an engineer following specific tan 65° =
340
rounding criteria based on “significant digits”
would probably report the answer to Example 6 h = 340 tan 65°
as 730 ft. We will not get too picky about h ≈ 729 ft Now try Exercise 61.
rounding, but we will try to be sensible.

65°

340 ft

FIGURE 4.18 Labeled diagram for Example 6.

QUICK REVIEW 4.2 (For help, go to Sections P.2 and 1.7.)

Exercise numbers with a gray background indicate problems In Exercises 5 and 6, convert units.
that the authors have designed to be solved without a calculator.
5. 8.4 ft to inches
In Exercises 1–4, use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for x.
6. 940 ft to miles
1. 2. In Exercises 7–10, solve the equation. State the correct unit.
x
x 8 a
5 7. 0.388 =
20.4 km
12 23.9 ft
5
8. 1.72 =
b
3. 4. 2.4 in. a
9. =
31.6 in. 13.3
10 4 x 5.9 8.66 cm
8 10. =
b 6.15 cm
2
x
 SECTION 4.2 Trigonometric Functions of Acute Angles 335

SECTION 4.2 Exercises

In Exercises 1–8, find the values of all six trigonometric functions of p
the angle u. 27. csc a b
3
1. 2. p
28. tan a b
113 3
5 4 8
In Exercises 29–40, evaluate using a calculator. Be sure the calculator
θ is in the correct mode. Give answers correct to three decimal places.
θ
3 7 29. sin 74° 30. tan 8°
31. cos 19°23′ 32. tan 23°42′
3. θ
4.
13
p p
33. tan a b 34. sin a b
17
5 8
12 15
θ
12 15
35. sec 49° 36. csc 19°
37. cot 0.89 38. sec 1.24
5. 6.
p p
39. cot a b 40. csc a b
7 8 8 10
6
In Exercises 41–48, find the acute angle u that satisfies the given equa-
θ
tion. Give u in both degrees and radians. You should do these problems
11 θ without a calculator.
1 23
7. 8. 41. sin u = 42. sin u =
θ 2 2
11 13
1 22
43. cot u = 44. cos u =
23 2
θ 9
8 45. sec u = 2 46. cot u = 1

23 23
In Exercises 9–18, assume that u is an acute angle in a right triangle 47. tan u = 48. cos u =
3 2
satisfying the given conditions. Evaluate the remaining trigonometric
In Exercises 49–54, solve for the variable shown.
functions.
49. 50.
3 2
9. sin u = 10. sin u = x z
7 3 15
5 5 34° 39°
11. cos u = 12. cos u =
11 8 23
5 12
13. tan u = 14. tan u = 51. 52.
9 13 57°
y 14
11 12 x
15. cot u = 16. csc u =
3 5 43°
32
23 17
17. csc u = 18. sec u = 53. 54.
9 5 35°
x
In Exercises 19–24, evaluate without using a calculator. 6 50 66°
y
p p
19. sin a b 20. tan a b
3 4 In Exercises 55–58, solve the right ∆ABC for all of its unknown parts.
p p
21. cot a b 22. sec a b
B
6 3 β
c
p p
23. cos a b 24. csc a b
a
4 3 α
In Exercises 25–28, evaluate using a calculator. Give an exact value, C b A
not an approximate answer. (See Example 4.) 55. a = 20°; a = 12.3 56. a = 41°; c = 10
25. sec 45° 26. sin 60° 57. b = 55°; a = 15.58 58. a = 5; b = 59°
336 CHAPTER 4 Trigonometric Functions

59. Writing to Learn What is lim sin u? Explain your an- 65. Distance DaShanda’s team of surveyors had to find the
uS0
swer in terms of right triangles in which u gets smaller and distance AC across the lake at Montgomery County Park.
smaller. Field assistants positioned themselves at points A and C while
DaShanda set up an angle-measuring instrument at point B,
60. Writing to Learn What is lim cos u? Explain your
uS0 100 ft from C in a perpendicular direction. DaShanda
answer in terms of right triangles in which u gets smaller and measured ∠ABC as 75°12′42″. What is the distance AC?
smaller.
61. Height A guy wire from the top of the transmission tower at
WJBC forms a 75° angle with the ground at a 55-ft distance A
from the base of the tower. How tall is the tower?

C 100 ft B

66. Group Activity Garden Design Allen’s garden is in

the shape of a quarter-circle with radius 10 ft. He wishes to
75° plant his garden in four parallel strips, as shown in the diagram
55 ft on the left below, so that the four arcs along the circular edge
of the garden are all of equal length. After measuring four
equal arcs, he carefully measures the widths of the four strips
62. Height Kirsten places her surveyor’s telescope on the top of
and records his data in the table shown at the right below.
a tripod 5 ft above the ground. She measures an 8° elevation
above the horizontal to the top of a tree that is 120 ft away.
How tall is the tree?

8°
120 ft 5 ft
Strip Width
A 3.827 ft
63. Group Activity Area For locations between 20° and 60°
B 3.344 ft
north latitude a solar collector panel should be mounted so that
C 2.068 ft
its angle with the horizontal is 20 greater than the local latitude.
A B C D D 0.761 ft
Consequently, the solar panel mounted on the roof of Solar
Energy, Inc., in Atlanta (latitude 34°) forms a 54° angle with
the horizontal. The bottom edge of the 12-ft-long panel is rest- Alicia sees Allen’s data and realizes that he could have saved
ing on the roof, and the high edge is 5 ft above the roof. What is himself some work by figuring out the strip widths by trigo-
the total area of this rectangular collector panel? nometry. By checking his data with a calculator she is able to
correct two measurement errors he has made. Find Allen’s two
errors and correct them.

Standardized Test Questions

5 ft
67. True or False If u is an angle in any triangle, then tan u is
54° 12 ft the length of the side opposite u divided by the length of the
side adjacent to u. Justify your answer.
64. Height The Chrysler Building in New York City was the 68. True or False If A and B are angles of a triangle such that
tallest building in the world at the time it was built. It casts a A 7 B, then cos A 7 cos B. Justify your answer.
shadow approximately 130 ft long on the street when the You should answer these questions without using a calculator.
Sun’s rays form an 82.9° angle with the Earth. How tall is the
69. Multiple Choice Which of the following expressions does
building?
not represent a real number?
(A) sin 30° (B) tan 45° (C) cos 90°
(D) csc 90° (E) sec 90°
 SECTION 4.2 Trigonometric Functions of Acute Angles 337

70. Multiple Choice If u is the smallest angle in a 3–4–5 right Explorations

triangle, then sin u =
75. Mirrors In the figure, a light ray shining from point A to
3 3 4 point P on the mirror will bounce to point B in such a way that
(A) . (B) . (C) .
5 4 5 the angle of incidence a will equal the angle of reflection b.
5 5 This is the law of reflection derived from physical experiments.
(D) . (E) . Both angles are measured from the normal line, which is perpen-
4 3
dicular to the mirror at the point of reflection P. If A is 2 m far-
71. Multiple Choice If a nonhorizontal line has slope sin u, it ther from the mirror than is B, and if a = 30° and AP = 5 m,
will be perpendicular to a line with slope what is the length PB?
(A) cos u. (B) - cos u. (C) csc u.
B
(D) - csc u. (E) - sin u.
72. Multiple Choice Which of the following trigonometric ra-
tios could not be p?
Normal β
P
α
(A) tan u (B) cos u (C) cot u

Mirror
(D) sec u (E) csc u
73. Trig Tables Before calculators became common classroom A
tools, students used trig tables to find trigonometric ratios.
Below is a simplified trig table for angles between 40° and 50°. 76. Pool On the pool table shown in the figure, where along the
Without using a calculator, can you determine which column portion CD of the railing should you direct ball A so that it will
gives sine values, which gives cosine values, and which gives bounce off CD and strike ball B? Assume that A obeys the law
tangent values? of reflection relative to rail CD.

C 30 in. D
Trig Tables for Sine, Cosine, and Tangent
10 in.
Angle ? ? ? 15 in.
40° 0.8391 0.6428 0.7660 B
42° 0.9004 0.6691 0.7431 A
44° 0.9657 0.6947 0.7193
46° 1.0355 0.7193 0.6947
48° 1.1106 0.7431 0.6691
50° 1.1917 0.7660 0.6428
Extending the Ideas
77. Using the labeling of the triangle below, prove that if u is an
acute angle in any right triangle, 1sin u22 + 1cos u22 = 1.
74. Trig Tables Below is a simplified trig table for angles be-
tween 30° and 40°. Without using a calculator, can you deter-
mine which column gives cotangent values, which gives secant
values, and which gives cosecant values? c
a

Trig Tables for Cotangent, Secant, and Cosecant θ

b
Angle ? ? ?
30° 1.1547 1.7321 2.0000 78. Using the labeling of the triangle below, prove that the area of
32° 1.1792 1.6003 1.8871 the triangle is equal to 11/22 ab sin u. (Hint: Start by drawing
34° 1.2062 1.4826 1.7883 the altitude to side b and finding its length.)
36° 1.2361 1.3764 1.7013
38° 1.2690 1.2799 1.6243 a c
40° 1.3054 1.1918 1.5557 θ
b