Trigonometry Workbook

Part 1: Right Angle Triangles...........................................................................................2

Angles (Section 4.1)......................................................................................................2
Standard Position of an Angle...................................................................................3
Defining the Trigonometric Functions (Section 4.2)......................................................4
Evaluating the Trigonometric Functions....................................................................4
Values of the Trigonometric Functions (Section 4.3)....................................................6
The right triangle (Section 4.4)......................................................................................7
Procedure for Solving a Right Triangle......................................................................8
Trigonometric Functions of Any Angle (Section 8.2).....................................................9
Reference Angles......................................................................................................9
Part 2: Beyond 90 Degrees............................................................................................11
Signs of the trigonometric functions (Section 8.1).......................................................11
Trigonometric Functions of Any Angle (Section 8.2)...................................................13
Radian Measure of an Angle......................................................................................14
Graphs of Trigonometric Functions (Section 10.1).....................................................15
Answers to Examples.....................................................................................................17

1
 Trigonometry

Part 1: Right Angle Triangles

Angles (Section 4.1)
An angle is generated by rotating a ray about its fixed end point from an initial position
to a terminal position.

If the rotation of the terminal side from the initial position is

A counter clockwise, the angle is defined as positive.
vertex

θ1 If the rotation of the terminal side from the initial

θ2 B C position is clockwise, the angle is defined as
negative.

θ1 and θ2 are co-terminal angles.

Adding a full circle (360°) will also bring you back to a co-terminal angle.
Subtracting a full circle will accomplish the same thing.

We can think of all this in the xy -plane, where the initial position is the positive part of
the x -axis.

Example 1: Determine three co-terminal angles to 120°.

2
Trigonometry

3
Trigonometry

Standard Position of an Angle

In the xy -plane, we define an angle in standard position as an angle for which the initial
position is the positive x -axis.There are four quadrants in the coordinate plane, defined
as follows:

Quadrant 2 Quadrant 1

Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4

Example 2: The terminal point of an angle

of 60° falls in quadrant ____.

The terminal point of an angle of 130° falls

in quadrant ____.

The terminal point of an angle of 225° falls

in quadrant ____.

The terminal point of an angle of 340° falls

in quadrant ____.

The terminal point of an angle of -120° falls

in quadrant ____.

The terminal point of an angle of 90° falls on the y-axis. This is an example of a
quadrantal angle.

4
Trigonometry

Defining the Trigonometric Functions (Section 4.2)

Similar triangles: The corresponding angles of similar
triangles are equal, and the corresponding sides are
proportional.

We can use the properties of similar triangles to define

the primary trigonometric function, as well as the reciprocal trigonometric functions.

Trigonometric Functions Reciprocal Trigonometic

Functions

y r
sine ofθ :sin θ= cosecant ofθ :csc θ=
r y

x r
cosine ofθ :cos θ= secant of θ : secθ=
r x

y x
tangent ofθ : tanθ= cotangent ofθ :cot θ=
x y

Evaluating the Trigonometric Functions

Trigonometric functions allow us to calculate sides or angles of right triangles. We’ll
often also use the Pythagorean Theorem.

Recall:

2 2 2
c =a + b

5
Trigonometry

Example 3: Find the values of each of the trigonometric functions, given that θ is an
angle in standard position with the terminal side passing through the point (3, 4).

Example 4: Find the values of the trigonometric functions, given that θ is an angle in
standard position with the terminal side passing through the point (5, 12).

3
Example 5: Given that sin θ= and that θ is in the first quadrant, find cos θ and tanθ .
7

Example 6: Given that tanθ=2, write the trigonometric functions.

6
Trigonometry

Values of the Trigonometric Functions (Section 4.3)

We can also find approximate solutions to trigonometric functions by putting them into
our calculator. The values of the trigonometric functions have been programmed into
your calculator.

Example 7: Find the value of the following using a calculator.

a) sin(65° )=¿ b) tan(35.5 °)=¿ c) cos (89.5 °)=¿

Not only are we able to find values of the trigonometric functions if we know the angle,
we can also find the angle if we know the value of the function. To do this, we need to
find the inverse function.

In general, the inverse of a function undoes the process that the function performs.

We have the following property:

−1
If sin θ=x then θ=sin x
−1
and if cos θ=x then θ=cos x
−1
and if tanθ=x then θ=tan x

Example 8: Find the angle such that cos θ=0.3527 , given that θ is in the first quadrant.

Example 9: Find θ for the following, given that θ is in the first quadrant.

a) sin θ=0.9114 b) cos θ=0.3261

c) tanθ=2.470 d) sin θ=0.45

7
Trigonometry

The right triangle (Section 4.4)

We can express the trigonometric functions of an acute angle in a right triangle in terms
of the sides of the triangle. Let’s look at triangle ABC .

By placing the vertex of angle A at the origin and the vertex of angle C on the positive x
-axis, we have the following rations (from trig. functions):

sin A=¿ ¿

cos A=¿ ¿

tan A=¿ ¿

But what about angle B?

We can generalize our definitions of the trigonometric functions of an acute angle of a

right triangle by refering to the sides in terms of their relationship to a given angle.

opposite opp o
sin A=¿ = = ¿
hypotenuse hyp h

adjacent adj a
cos A= = =
hypotenuse hyp h

opposite opp o
tan A=¿ = = ¿
hypotenuse hyp h

We use the mnemonic “soh cah toa” to remember this.

This means we can solve right triangles (find all angles and sides of the triangle) without
placing the angle in standard position.

8
Trigonometry

We know that a triangle has 3 sides and 3 angles. If one side and any other two of
these 6 parts are known, we can find the remaining sides and angles.

Example 10: Write the trigonometric functions for ∠ A and ∠ B for the following triangle.

Procedure for Solving a Right Triangle

1) Draw a right triangle and label the known and unknown sides and angles.

2) Express each of the three unknown parts in terms of the known parts and solve for
the unknown parts.

3) Check the results.

→ sum of all angles = 180°
→ Pythagorean Theorem for sides

Note: The longest side is ALWAYS opposite the largest angle, and the shortest side is
ALWAYS opposite the smallest angle.

Example 11: Given the following figure, find α, a and b.

9
Trigonometry

Example 12: Solve the right triangle with A=50° and b=6.7 .

Example 13: Solve the right triangle.

Trigonometric Functions of Any Angle (Section 8.2)

Reference Angles

sin 30 °=¿ ¿

sin 150 °=¿ ¿

sin 210 °=¿ ¿

sin 330 °=¿ ¿

10
Trigonometry

Solve for θ1∧θ 2:

Example 14: Find an angle in each quadrant that has a reference angle of θ=14 ° .

11
 Trigonometry

Part 2: Beyond 90 Degrees

Signs of the trigonometric functions (Section 8.1)
In previous sections, we looked at right-angle triangles, and first-quadrant angles in
standard position and we found that all trigonometric functions were positive. What
happens when we have angles that are not in quadrant 1? Write the trigonometric
functions for each angle in standard position. Is the sign positive or negative?

Quadrant 2 Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2 Quadrant 1

Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4 Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4

Quadrant 2 Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2 Quadrant 1

12 Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4
Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4
Trigonometry

Summary:

Example 15: Determine whether the following are positive or negative.

a) sin 140 ° b) tan185 ° c) sin 200 °

Example 16: For the given values, determine the quadrant(s) in which the terminal sides
of the angles lie.

a) tanθ=−0.750 b) cos θ=0.866 c) csc θ=−2.866

Example 17: Determine the quadrant in which the terminal side of the angle lies, given
the conditions.

a) cos θ >0 , sin θ<0 b) cot θ> 0 ,cos θ<0 c) tanθ >0 , sin θ<0

13
Trigonometry

Trigonometric Functions of Any Angle (Section 8.2)

Example 18: Find θ for 0 ° ≤θ ≤ 360 ° for the following.

a) sin θ=0.225 b) tanθ=2.05

c) sin θ=−0.5736 d) cos θ=−0.422

Example 19: Find θ for 0 ° ≤θ ≤ 360 ° for the following.

a) tanθ=0.932 , sin θ<0 b) sin θ=−0.192 , tan θ<0

Radian Measure of an Angle

14
Trigonometry

To this point, we have measured all angles in degrees. Another measure of angles is in
radians, which are defined in terms of an arc of a circle. A radian is the angle made
when we take the radius, and wrap it along the edge of the circle.

It takes 2 π times the measure of the radius to wrap around the whole circle.There are
therefore 2 π radians in 360° (and π radians in 180°).

Why use radians? Degrees are easier to use in everyday work, but radian are much
better for mathematics. We need to learn to convert between the two measures.

Example 20: Complete the following conversions. Reduce fractions when possible!

a) What is 85° in radians? Write your answer as a reduced fraction containing π .

b) Express 117° in radian measure as a reduced fraction containing π .

5π
c) Express radians in terms of degrees.
6

d) Express 1 .5 π radian in terms of degrees.

7π
e) Express radians in terms of degrees.
8

Example 21: Evaluate the following.

a) sin ( 10 ° )=¿ b) sin ( 10 ) =¿ c)sin ( )

2π
3
=¿

Graphs of Trigonometric Functions (Section 10.1)

15
Trigonometry

The Unit Circle y

θ −2 π −π 0 π 2π

sin θ

cos θ

16
Trigonometry

Basic features of the graphs of y=sinθ and y=cos θ:

1. The amplitude (half the distance between the maximum value and the minimum
value) is 1.
2. Both graphs have exactly the same shape (they are sinusoidal).
3. The graph of the cosine curve is shifted π /2 units to the left of the sine curve.
4. For both graphs, the value of y repeats every 2 π units ofθ . We therefore say that
the functions are periodic with period 2 π .
5. The functions have zeroes, maximum values, and minimum values when θ is a
multiple of π /2.

Important values for sketching y=a sin θand y=a cos θ .

1. The amplitude: |a|

2. The values of the function for each one-fourth period.

Reminder: Are you working in degrees or radians? Check!

Example 22: Complete the table of values and graph for y=−2sin θ for −2 π ≤ θ ≥ 2 π .

Example 23: Complete the table of values and graph for y=3 cos θ for
−2 π ≤ θ ≥ 2 π .

θ −2 π −π 0 π 2π

2 sin θ

−3 cos θ

17
Trigonometry

Answers to Examples
1. 480 ° ; 840 ° ;−240 ° ;−600 °

2. a) Quadrant 1 b) Quadrant 2 c) Quadrant 3 d) Quadrant 4 e) Quadrant 3

4 3 4 5 5 3
3. sin θ= ; cos θ= ; tan θ= ; sec θ= ; csc θ= ; cot θ=
5 5 3 3 4 4

12 5 12 13 13 5
4. sin θ= ; cos θ= ; tan θ= ; sec θ= ; csc θ= ; cot θ=
13 13 5 5 12 12

5. cos θ=
√ 40 ; tan θ= 3
7 √ 40

; cos θ= ; tanθ=2 ; sec θ=√ 5 ; cscθ= √ ; cot θ=

2 1 5 1
6. sin θ=
√5 √5 2 2

7. a) 0.906 b) 0.713 c) 8.7 × 10−3

8. θ=69.35 ° or θ=1.21rad

9. a) θ=65.69 ° or θ=1.147 rad b) θ=70.97 ° c) θ=67.95 ° d) θ=26.74 °

4 7 4 7 4 7
10. sin A= ; cos A= ; tan A= ; sin B= ; cos B= ; tan B=
√ 65 √ 65 7 √ 65 √65 4

11. α =55 ° ; a=3.5 ; b=6.1

12. B=40 °; c=10.42 ; a=7.98

13. a=55.67 ; A=44.42 ° ; B=45.58 °

14. θ1=14 °; θ 2=166 °; θ3 =194 ° ;θ 4=346°

15. a) positive b) positive c) negative

16. a) Q2 or Q4 b) Q1 or Q4 c) Q3 or Q4

17. a) Q4 b) Q3 c) Q3

18. a) 13 ° ; 167 ° b) 63.997 ° ; 243.997 ° c) 325 ° ; 215 ° d) 114.96 ° ; 245.04 °

19. a) 222.98 ° b) 348.93 °

17 13
20. a) π b) π c) 150 ° d) 270 ° e) 157.5 °
36 20
18
Trigonometry

21. a) 0.17 rad b) −0.54 rad c) 0.866 rad

19
Trigonometry

Graphs of trigonometric functions

y=sinθ y=cos θ

22. a) y=2sin θ b) y=−3 cos θ

20