LECTURE TEN

TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS
Lecture Outline
10. 1 Introduction
10.2 Objectives
10.3 The Trigonometric Ratios
10.4 The Angle of Elevation and Angle of Depression
10.5 Properties of Cosines and Sines
10.6 The Unit Circle
10.7 The Laws of Cosines and Sines
10.8 Summary
10.9 References

10.1 Introduction
The word trigonometry is derived from Greek words meaning “triangle
measure.” In this lecture we start with the study of right triangle
relationships and then move to the study of all triangles.

10.2 Objectives
At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
1. Use trigonometric ratios to determine the height of an
object, distance between objects.
2. Determine the angle of elevation and angle of
depression
3. Apply the laws of cosines and sines in solving practical
problems
4. Determine the coordinates of an object rotated around
a unit circle using cosines and sines

10.3 The trigonometric ratios

To study the right triangle relationships we start by posing a question.
Suppose a flag pole casts a 12 ft shadow when the sun is at an angle of
490 on the ground. What is the height of the pole?
Problems such as this can be solved using trigonometry. Consider the
right triangles ABC and A’B’C’, with < A  < A’

'
B
B

C C
'
'
A A

By the AA similarly theorem, these triangles are similar, so that the

ratio of the lengths of corresponding sides are equal. In particular,
' ' ' '
BC A B
=
BC AB
Thus
' '
B C BC
' '
=
A B AB
Let us now take a closer look as these ratios:
' ' '
BC length of leg opposite ∠ A
' '
= ' ' '
A B length of hypotenuse of Δ A B C
and

BC length of leg opposite ∠ A

=
AB length of hypotenuse of Δ ABC

In all right triangles with an angle congruent to ∠ A , the ratio of the

length of the leg opposite that angle to the length of the hypotenuse of
the triangle is same. Likewise, in these triangles, any other ratio of
sides is constant. These ratios are called trigonometric ratios.
There are six possible ratios, but only three are important and are
defined in this lecture. The Greek letter θ of (theta) is customary used
to refer to either the angle or its measure.

Definitions
In a right triangle with acute angle θ

Hypotenuse Leg opposite

θ
Leg adjacent to θ

Sine of θ = Length of leg opposite θ

Length of hypotenuse

Cosine of θ = Length of leg adjacent to θ

Length of hypotenuse

Tangent of θ = Length of leg opposite θ

Length of leg adjacent to θ

We follow the practice began by Euler, and use abbreviations Sin θ,

Cos θ and Tan θ to stand for the above ratios.
These definitions are abbreviated as follows:
opposite opp
Sinθ= =
hypotenuse hyp
adjacent adj
Cos θ= =
hypotenuse hyp
opposite opp
tanθ= =
adjacent adj
Example 10.1
In the question posed at the start, let us find the height of the flag
pole.
We know the 490 angle and the adjacent leg. What we need to find is
the opposite leg.
Consequently, we use the tangent ratio to set up the equation.
opp
tan 490 =
adj
x
=
12
Therefore
12 x tan 490 = x
So that
x=12 x 1.150 ¿ 13.8

So the flag pole is approximately 13.8 ft high.

Example 10.2
A rocket with a range of 200 km is launched at sea with a bearing of
300. (A bearing is the angle measured clockwise from due north)
a) How far north of its original position will the rocket land?
b) How far east of its original position will the rocket land?
Let the original position be Q and the landing position L. We construct
right angle triangle QPL
 P L

hyp N

W E
200 km

300
S

a) The leg adjacent to ∠Q , QP is needed and the hypotenuse QL is

known. Using the cosine ratio
adj QP
CosQ= =
hyp QL
Substituting
QP
Cos 300 =
200
Therefore
QP = 200 cos 30 0
= 200 x 0.866
= 173.21 km
Thus the rocket should land 173km north of its original position.

b) The leg opposite ∠Q , PL, is needed. The hypotenuse QL is known.

Use the sine of∠Q .

opp PL
sin Q= =
hyp QL

PL
sin 300 =
200
Therefore
 PL = 200 Sin 300
= 200 x 0.5
= 100km
The rocket should land 100km east of the original position.

Activity 10.1

1. A ship sails 340 kilometers on a bearing of 750

a. How far north of its original position is the ship?
b. How far east of its original position is the ship.
2. Refer to the following figure
Find the length of x and z

10

360

x
z

3. A 20 ft ladder is placed against a wall at an angle of

500 with the ground. How far from the base of the wall
is the bottom of the ladder?

10.4 The Angle of Elevation and Angle Depression

The angle of elevation of the sun is the angle between the line of sight
to the sun and the horizontal.

☼
α
 24ft

15ft

Example 10.3
A 24 foot high tower casts a 15 foot shadow. What is the angle elevation of the sun?
Let θ be the angle of elevation, you are given the lengths of the sides
opposite and adjacent to θ so you use the tangent ratio.

opp 24
tanθ= = =1 . 6
adj 15

Using the calculator find an angle θ whose tangent equals 1.6. Use the
inverse key that is θ = tan-11.6
= 57.990
= 580
Thus the angle of elevation is about 580

Related to the angle of elevation is the angle of depression. This is the

angle denoted by α. From the diagram we see that θ and α area
alternate interior angles and must be congruent. So the angle of
elevation is equal to the angle of depression.

Example 10.4
A surveyor on top of a building finds that there is a 28 0 angle of
depression to the head of the 6 ft assistant. If the assistant is 40 ft
from the building, how tall is the building?

280
x

280
 A
6ft 40ft

The height of the building can be found by adding x to the 6ft height
of the assistant. To find x, use the tangent ratio because the adjacent
side is known and the opposite side is needed.
opp x
tan28 0 = =
adj 40
Therefore
x = 40 tan 280
= 40 x 0.5317
¿ 21.3
Thus the height of the building is x + 6 = 21.3 + 6 = 27.3ft.

Activity 10.2
1. Find the value of θ to the nearest degree
a) tan θ = 0.25
b) sin θ = 0.61
c) cos θ = 0.80
2. If a 36 ft tower costs a 6.2 ft shadow what is the angle
of elevation of the sun?
3. In the example 5 suppose the same assistant stands 50
ft from another building, and the angle of depression is
650. How tall is the new building.
4. To avoid a step descent, a plane flying 35,000 ft starts
to descend 150km from the airport. For the angle of
descent θ to be constant at what angle should the
plane descend.
10.5 Properties of Sines and Cosines
Let us now introduce ourselves to three important theorems that relate
sines and cosines. Consider triangle ABC with right angle C. Then
∠ A +∠ B=90 0 . So if ∠ A=θ , then ∠ B=90 0 −θ

90 0  
c a

A
 C
b

Note the following: that

opp a
sin θ= =
hyp c
adj a
cos(900 −θ )= =
hyp c
opp b
sin( 900 −θ)= =
hyp c
adj b
cosθ= =
hyp c

Thus we have proved the following theorem

Complements theorem:
For all θ between 00 and 900
sin θ = cos (90 0- θ)
and
cos θ = sin (90 0- θ)
 a b
sin θ= cos θ=
Secondly notice that because c and c

(sin θ) + (cos θ) =
2 2 c
+() ()
a 2 b 2 a2 b2 a 2 +b2
c
= 2 + 2=
c c c2
Since triangle ABC is a right triangle, by Pythagorean theorem a 2 +
b2=c2. Thus,
c2
2
=1
(sin θ)2 + (cos θ)2= c
This argument proves another theorem, called the Pythagorean
identity.

Theorem (Pythagorean identity)

For all θ between 00 and 900
(cos θ) 2+(sin θ)2 = 1

This theorem can be used to find the value of sin θ if only cos θ is
known, or vice versa: That is
(sin θ) 2 = 1-(cos θ)2
or
(cos θ) 2 = 1-(sin θ)2

Example 10.5
Suppose θ is an acute angle in a right triangle, and sin θ = 0.6. Find
cos θ
From the Pythagorean identity, you know that cos 2 θ + sin2 θ = 1
Substitute 0.6 for sin θ and solve for cos θ
Cos2 θ+(0.6)2=1
Cos2 θ+0.36=1

cos θ=√ 1−0 . 36

= √ 0 .64
 = 0.8
The following statement is true: For an acute angle, cos θ is always
positive, so cos θ=0.8

Activity 10.3

1. Assume that θ is an acute angle in a right triangle. Use

the Pythagorean identity to find cos θ if
a) sin θ =0.28

√3
b) sin θ = 2
2. a) Cos 40=sin _____?
b) sin72=cos _____?
3. a) Verify that:
i. Sin600 = 2sin300 cos300
ii. Sin840 = 2sin420 cos420
b) Generalize the result of part a and verify your
generalization with some other values.

10.6 The unit circle

In right triangle the acute angles measure between 0 0 and 900.
So the definitions of cosine and sine given above cannot apply to
measures greater than 900. However, rotations may have any
magnitude, positive or negative. So rotations can be used to define
cosines and sines in general.
The unit circle is the circle with center the origin and radius 1. If
the point (1,0) on the circle is rotated around the origin with a
magnitudeθ , then the image point (x,y) is also on the circle. The
coordinates of the image point can be found using sines and cosines.
 y

(x,y)

θ x
(1,0)
0

Example 10.6
What are the coordinates of the image of (1, 0) and 70 0 (R70)?

y
A=(x, y)

1
y
(1, 0)
700θ B x
0 x

Let A (x,y) be the image of (1,0) under R(70). Using the figure above
O Ā=1 , since the radius of the unit circle is 1. Draw a vertical line from

A to form a right angle with O Ā and the x – axis. Then ABO is a right
triangle with legs of length x and y and hypotenuse of length 1. Now
use the definition of sine and cosine.

0 adj x
cos70 = = =x
hyp 1
opp y
sin 700 = = =y
hyp 1
The first coordinate is cos 700 and the second coordinate is sin 70 0.
Thus (x,y) = (cos 700, sin 700)  (0.342, 0.940); that is the image of
(1,0) under R70 is
(0.342, 0.940).

Definition:
Let θ be the magnitude of rotation. Then for any θ, the point (cos θ, sin
θ) is the image of (1, 0) under Rθ

Example 10.7
Find (a) sin900 (b) cos(-1800)
Solution
a) The image of (1,0) under R90 is (0,1). Because sin 90 0 is the y
coordinate of this image. Sin 900 =1

y
(0, 1)=(cos 900, sin 900)

900 (1, 0)
0 x

b) The image of (1,0) under R 180 is (-1,0). Since cos(-1800) is the x –

coordinate of this point. Cos (-1800) = -1
 y

(-1, 0) (1, 0)
-1800 x

Activity 10.4

1. Suppose A=(1, 0), B=(0, 1), C = (-1, 0) and

D=(0, -1). Which point is the image of (1,0)
under each of the following rotation
i) R450 ii) R540 iii) R(-720)

2. If 00  θ  3600
a) What is the largest possible value of cos θ
b) What is the smallest possible value of sin θ?

3. Find the exact value without using a calculator

a) Cos 4200
b) (sin 4050)2+(cos 405)2

10.7 The law of cosines and Sines

We now introduce ourselves to useful laws for both cosine and sine.

10.7.1 The Law of cosines

In the previous sections of this lecture we have learned to use
trigonometric ratios to find unknown sides or angles of right triangle.
We are now going to learn how to determine some unknown sides or
angles in any triangle.

C
Theorem (law of cosines) a
In any triangle ABC b
c2=a2 + b2 - 2ab cos C A B
We follow standard convention c
It is also true that
b2 = a2 +c2 -2ac cosB
a2 =b2 + c2 -2bc cosA

Example 10.8
The captain of a ship C spots two other ships on the ocean. Ship A is
about 5 km and ship B about 52km away. The angle between the two
sightings is 200. How far apart are ships A and B?
The solution is found as follows;
We use the low of cosines to find the difference between ships A and B.
Substituting into the law of cosine
c2 = a2+b2-2ab cos C C
c2 = (5.2)2 +(5)2– 2x5x5.2 cos 200 5
200
c2 = 27.04+25 - 52(0.940) A
c2 = 3.16 5.2 c

c= √ 3 .16
= 1.78km B

Example 10.9
A triangle has sides of length 4, 5 and 8.5 what is the measurement of
the largest angle?
 8.5

5 4
B

The largest angle is B. Using the law of cosine;

b2 = a2 – c2 – 2ac cos B
(8.5)2 = 52+42-2x5x 4 cos B
72.25 -25 - 16 =– 40 cos B
31.25 = -40 cos B
- 0.781 = cos B
Using the calculator find that B = 141.350

Activity 10.5

1. The water molecule H20 can be modeled by the figure

below. The angle between the oxygen – hydrogen
bonds is 1050. if the average distance between the
oxygen and hydrogen nuclei is p units, how far apart
on the average are the two hydrogen nuclei?
O

p 1050 p

H H
2. Two planes leave JKIA, one toward Mombasa and the
other toward Nanyuki. By approximately what angle
do their headings differ?

Mombasa
 640km 430km

JKIA

Nanyuki
520km

10.7.2 The law of sines

We apply the law of sines where only two angle are known only on side
of the triangle is known.

The law of sines A

In any triangle ABC c b
SinA SinB SinC
= =
a b c B a C

Example 10.10
Two fire fighters are stationed 25km apart at location S and T. On a
certain day, firefighters as S sees a fire F at an angle of 40 0 with the
line connecting the stations.
Firefighter at T sees the fire at an angle of 60 0. How far is the fire from
each firefighter’s station?
S
400 F

25 600

T
sin S sin F sin T
= =
FT ST SF
sin 40 sin 80 sin 80 sin 60
= =
s 25 25 t
25 sin 40 25(0 . 643)
s= = 25 sin 60 25(0 . 866)
sin 80 0 .985 t= =
=16 . 3 sin 80 (0 . 985 )

= 21.98
The fire is about 16 km from the firefighter T and about 22 km from
firefighter S.

Activity 10.5

1. Because surveyors cannot get to the inside center of a

mountain, its height must be measured in a more indirect
way as shown in this problem.

Height
of
380 mountain
A 250 C
150m B

a) Find the measure of ∠ ABD and ∠ ADB .

b) Find BD
c) Find DC, the height of the mountain.

0 0
2. In a triangle ABC, suppose you are given ∠ A=45 , ∠ B=60
and a = 24. Find the value of b.
10.7 Summary

In this lecture you have learned:

 How to apply the trigonometric ratios to determine the distance
traveled by an object, the distance between two objects and the
height of an object.
 How to determine the angle of elevation and angle of depression
 How to use sine and cosine to determine the coordinates of an
object rotated around a unit circle.

10.8 References
Advanced Algebra
Sharon L. Senk, Denisse R. Thompson, Steven S. Viktora, Rheta
Rubenstein, Judy Halvorson, James Flanders, Natalie Jakucyn, Gerald
Pillsbury and Zalman Usiskin

The University of Chicago school Mathematics Project