Unit 11

TRIGONOMETRY
Trigonometry is the study of triangles and their Finding Sides Given the Reference
properties. Numerous formulas have been derived from Angle
studying the three sides and three angles of a triangle.
Since the time of Hipparchus (140 B.C.E.), an ancient Examples:
Greek mathematician who is given the honor of being the Two ships leave the harbor at the same time. The first
founder of trigonometry, the discipline has evolved into a ship travels due north for 40 miles, and the second ship
method of solving problems that relate to the real world. travels due east. Give the answer to the nearest tenth.
Look at the following diagram for detailed information:

(a) How far apart are the ships?

(b) How far is the second ship from the harbor?

PART A
The three angle-side relationships or ratios that you will You have been given the value of the opposite side of
need to know for the GED Math Test are the sine, cosine, the reference angle u. You need to find the value of the
and tangent. We use the abbreviated form in the hypotenuse, which we will call x. So we need to use
formulas. the sine relationship.
Opposite O Opposite 5 40, u 5 37, x 5 ?
sinu 5 5
Hypotenuse H Opposite
sinu 5
Adjacent A Hypotenuse
cosu 5 5
Hypotenuse H 40
sin37° 5 ; multiply both sides by x to get
Opposite O x
tanu 5 5
Adjacent A x 3 sin37° 5 40; divide both sides by sin37° to
solve for x
You will also need to be able to find the reference angle
given the ratios. 40
x5

SD SD
sin37°
O O
sin21 [ arcsin 5u x 5 66.46 ' 66.5
H H
The two ships are approximately 66.5 miles apart.

cos21 SD
A
H
[ arccos SD
A
H
5u

tan21 SD
O
A
[ arctanSD
O
A
5u

A note of caution: Figures are not drawn to scale.

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 UNIT 11: TRI G O N O METRY

PART B Finding Angle(s) Given the Sides

By using the Pythagorean theorem a2 1 b2 5 c2, we get
Examples:
a2 1 ~40!2 5 ~66.5!2 Batman is standing 20 ft away from a 63-ft tall building
a2 5 ~66.5!2 2~40!2 and is contemplating a jump. Consider the given diagram.
a2 5 2822.25 Round answer to nearest whole degree.
a 5 =2822.25 5 53.12 ' 53.1 (a) What is the angle of elevation (reference
angle) created from the point where he is
standing to the roof of the building?
(b) What is the angle created by the building and
Batman’s line of sight?

The second ship is approximately 53.1 miles away from

the harbor.

ALTERNATE METHOD FOR PART B

You can also use the tangent relationship to find the
distance from the harbor. Let’s call it a.
PART A
You have to find the reference angle u given the informa-
tion on the opposite and adjacent sides of the triangle. We
can do this by using the inverse tangent ratio.
opposite 5 63, adjacent 5 20, u 5 ?

tan21SDO
A
5u
Opposite 5 40, u 5 37°, a 5 ?

tanu 5
Opposite
Adjacent
tan21 SD
63
20
5 72.3°'72°

The angle is approximately 72°.

40
tan37° 5 ; multiply both sides by a to get
a
a 3 tan37° 5 40; divide both sides by tan37° to
solve for a
40
a5
tan37°
a 5 53.08 ' 53.1

Can you think of yet another way to arrive at this answer?

Adjacent
If you are thinking of solving the cos37° 5 5 PART B
Hypotenuse
a From Part A, you have found the value of u or ∠A. You
relationship, you are absolutely correct! Try it. know that ∠C is 90° and that all the angles of a triangle
66.5
add up to 180°.
So, 180° 2(90° 1 72°) 5 18°
Or simply note that because ∠C is 90°, the other two
angles, ∠A and ∠B, are complementary angles, and
therefore, 90° 2 72° 5 18°.
So the angle created by Batman’s line of sight and
the building is 18°.

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Exercise 1 Application Problems

On the GED Test, you will sometimes be asked to find an
Directions: Given the necessary information, approximate answer rounded off to a specified position,
solve the following problems for the appropriate and at other times, you may be asked to provide an exact
variables. Use the diagram for reference. Round answer. An informal explanation for an exact answer is
the answers to the nearest tenth. that you need not calculate decimal values for expres-
sions that will give you irrational numbers for an answer.

Example:
A ladder is placed against a building. The distance from
the point where the tip of the ladder touches the building
to the ground is 8m. The angle created between the
ladder and the building is 40°. What is the length of the
ladder?

1. u 5 20°, b 5 45
2. u 5 51°, a 5 70
3. u 5 42°, c 5 100
4. a 5 43°, b 5 52
5. a 5 63°, a 5 72
METHOD I
6. a 5 70°, c 5 250 First find m∠A.
7. a 5 30, b 5 40 m∠A 5 180°2(90° 1 40°) 5 50
8. a 5 20, c 5 50 Or you can also think of ∠A and ∠B as complementary
9. b 5 82, c 5 175 angles, so 90° 2 40° 5 50°.
We can use m∠A 5 50° to be our reference angle.
10. b 5 15, c 5 23 We need to find x, which is the hypotenuse, and we have
Check your answers on page 422. been given the opposite. So we use the sine relationship.

8
sin50° 5
x
x 3 ~sin50°! 5 8
8
x5
sin50°
8
If the answer is left as x 5 , then we call it an exact
sin50°
answer. We do not need a calculator to arrive at this
answer. This would fall under a “set-up” category, and
you would choose from multiple answers.
On the other hand, if we go ahead and calculate the
approximate answer to two decimal places (hundredths),
then we have x 5 10.443 ' 10.44.
This means the ladder is approximately 10.44m
long. This problem requires a calculator and can be given
to you as a multiple-choice or alternate-format problem
where you will need to fill out the standard grid.

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 UNIT 11: TRI G O N O METRY

METHOD II Here, your exact answer is =34 miles, and the

You could do this problem using m∠B 5 40° as your problem can be done without a calculator.
reference angle. Then you would process the information However, 5.8, or roughly 6 miles, is the approxi-
as being adjacent, which has been given; we need to find mate answer, and you need a calculator to arrive at the
the hypotenuse. So under this scenario, we use the answer. This could fall under the category of an
cosine relationship. alternate-format question where you calculate the answer
and fill out a standard grid.

Solving Problems with a Calculator

Exercise 2
Directions: Choose the one best answer for each
item. You will need a calculator. Approximate all
answers to the nearest tenth.

8 1. A ship sails 90 kilometers due west from the

cos40° 5
x harbor. Another ship sails 120 miles due south. At
x 3 ~cos40°! 5 8 this point in time, how far apart are the ships?
8
x5 harbor
cos40°
x 5 10.443 ' 10.44
Note that the numerical answers are the same. The setup
appears different but provides the same numerical
answer. Remember, in any GED multiple-choice question,
there is always only one correct answer.

Example: (1) 79.4

Starting at a common point, Jack rides his bike 5 miles due (2) 150
south and Amala rides her bike 3 miles due east. Then they (3) 210
both stop for a break. What is the distance between them? (4) 6,300
Approximate answer to nearest whole number. (5) 22,500
2. The external fuel tank of the space shuttle, which
carries nearly a half million gallons of liquid hydro-
gen and liquid oxygen propellants, is 150 ft tall. If
the fuel tank makes an angle of 88° with your line of
sight, how far away from the shuttle are you?

Pythagorean theorem: a2 1 b2 5 c2

c2 5 ~5!2 5 ~3!2
c2 5 25 1 9
c2 5 34
c 5 =34 (1) 5.2
(2) 1,909
Or, after using a calculator, we get an approximate (3) 4,063
answer of c 5 5.8 ' 6. (4) 4,295.4
(5) Not enough information is given.

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3. You are standing 36 ft away from a 16-ft wall. Solving Set-up Problems
What is the angle of elevation of your line of
sight? Exercise 3
Directions: Choose the one best answer for each
item. No calculators permitted.

1. A radio tower is 110 ft tall. The shadow it casts is

200 ft. ∠A is the angle of elevation. Find the value
of ∠A.

(1) 24°
(2) 26.4°

radio tower
(3) 63.6°
(4) 66°
(5) Not enough information is given.
4. A cow cuts across a field to take a shortcut. She
covers 60 meters, and the path she takes makes an
angle of 35° with the adjacent side of the field.
How many meters less did the cow travel by
taking the short cut as opposed to walking around (1) u 5 tanS D
110
200
the two sides of the field?
(2) S D
u 5 tan21
200
110

(3) u 5 tanS D
200
110

(4) S D
u 5 sin21
110
200

(5) S D
u 5 tan21
110
200
(1) 23.5 2. Celine takes a shortcut through the parking lot.
(2) 34.4 She walks 180 meters. One of the sides of the
(3) 49.1 parking lot is 100 meters. What is the length of
(4) 83.5 the other side?
(5) Not enough information is given.
Check your answers on page 423.

(1) x 5 =1802 2 1002

(2) x 5 1802 1 1002
(3) x 5 (180 2 100)2
(4) x 5 (180 1 100)2

(5) x 5 sin21 S D
100
180

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 UNIT 11: TRI G O N O METRY

3. Spiderman scales down a tall building and runs Solving Alternate-Format Problems
150 yards from it. He then stops and measures the
angle of elevation to be 26°. How tall is the Exercise 4
building?
Directions: Choose the one best answer for each
item and fill out the standard grid. (Directions on

tall building
how to fill out the standard grid are in the
introduction of the Mathematics section). Calculator
permitted. Round answers on the last step to
nearest integer.

1. A flagpole casts a shadow of 33 ft. The angle of

elevation, ∠A, is 43°. What is the height of the
150 flagpole?
(1) x5
tan26°
(2) x 5 150 3 (cos26°)
(3) x 5 150 3 (tan26°)
tan26°
(4) x5
150
150
(5) x5
cos26°
4. Starship A and Starship B are allies who are in
formation. Starship A fires a torpedo at an alien
craft at a 45o angle with respect to Starship B. The
2. A child is looking up and waving at a helicopter
torpedo travels 1,500 kilometers and hits the alien
pilot. The angle of elevation is 60°, and the line of
vessel. How far apart are the two allied starships?
sight created between the child and the pilot is
(See diagram)
200 ft. What is the altitude of the helicopter?
alien starship B
vessel
1,
50
0

starship A
(1) x 5 1,500 3 (sin45°) 3. How many yards less will a goat walk if he takes a
(2) x 5 1,500 3 (cos45°) shortcut by cutting across a field with dimensions
1,500 of 300 yards by 200 yards?
(3) x5
cos45°
1,500
(4) x5
tan45°
(5) Not enough information is given.
Check your answers on page 423.

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4. A laser 60 ft away from a wall is fired at an angle

toward the wall. The distance it travels is 73 ft.
Find the angle at which it was fired.

Check your answers on page 423. wall

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