Chapter 6

Basic Trigonometry and the Unit Circle

In This Chapter
䊳 Working with the six trigonometric ratios
䊳 Making use of right triangles to solve word problems
䊳 Using the unit circle to find points, angles, and right triangle ratios
䊳 Isolating trig terms to solve trig equations
䊳 Calculating arc lengths

A h . . . trigonometry, the math of triangles! Invented by the ancient Greeks, trigonometry

is used to solve problems in navigation, astronomy, and surveying. Think of a sailor
lost at sea. All he has to do is triangulate his position against two other objects, such as two
stars, and calculate his position using — you guessed it — trigonometry!

In this chapter, we review the basics of right triangle trigonometry. Then we show you how to
apply it to the unit circle, a very useful tool for graphically representing trigonometric ratios
and relationships. From there, you can solve trig equations. Finally, we combine these con-
cepts so that you can apply them to arcs. The ancient Greeks didn’t know what they started
with trigonometry, but the modern applications are endless!

It’s All Right-Triangle Trig — Finding

the Six Trigonometric Ratios
Dude! Did you see that? He just did a 2π on his board! Huh? Oh . . . we mean a 360. In geom-
etry, angles are measured in degrees (°), with 360° describing a full circle on a coordinate
plane (or skateboard). However, in pre-calculus, you also use another measure for angles:
radians. Radians, from the word radius, are usually designated without a symbol. Because
both radians and degrees are used often in pre-calc, you see both used here.

To convert radians to degrees and vice versa, you use the fact that 360° = 2π radians, or
180° = π radians. Therefore, to convert degrees to radians, you simply multiply by the ratio
π
⁄180°. Similarly, to convert radians to degrees, you can multiply by the ratio 180°⁄π.

When solving right triangles or finding all the sides and angles (θ), it’s important to remem-
ber the six basic trigonometric ratios: sine (sinθ), cosine (cosθ), tangent (tanθ), cosecant
(cscθ), secant (secθ), and cotangent (cotθ). The first three are the most important to remem-
ber, as the second three are inverses of the first. In other words, sinθ = 1⁄cscθ, cosθ = 1⁄secθ, and
tanθ = 1⁄cotθ.
108 Part II: Trig Is the Key: Basic Review, the Unit Circle, and Graphs

Acronyms! We love ‘em . . . LOL — otherwise known as Laugh Out Loud! One of the
most famous acronyms in math is SOHCAHTOA. It helps you remember the first three
trigonometric ratios:

Sine = Opposite
Hypotenuse
Cosine = Adjacent hypotenuse opposite
Hypotenuse
Tangent = Opposite
Adjacent adjacent

Q. Given ∆KLM in Figure 6-1, find sin∠K. Q. Solve ∆RST (see Figure 6-2).

M R

Figure 6-1:
5 2
Finding Figure 6-2:
sin∠K in Solving
∆KLM. L K ∆RST. T S
3 3

A. sin∠K = 5 34 . Because sin∠K = opp⁄hyp, A. RT = 13 , ∠T = 33.7°, and ∠R = 56.3°.

34
you first need to find the hypotenuse. To Remember, solving a triangle means finding
do this, you need to use the Pythagorean all the angles and sides. So you start by
Theorem, which says that (leg)2 + (leg)2 = using the Pythagorean Theorem to find the
(hypotenuse)2. Using this, you find that hypotenuse: 22 + 32 = (hyp)2, hyp = 13 .
32 + 52 = (hyp)2, and therefore 34 = (hyp)2,
Next, use any trigonometric ratio to find an
so the hypotenuse is 34 . Plugging this
5 angle. You can use sin∠T = 2 . To get
into your sine ratio, you get sin∠K = . 13
34 the angle by itself, you use the fact that the
But if you recall what we review in Chapter 2, inverse operation of sin is sin–1, or arcsine.
you need to rationalize this fraction.
⎛ ⎞
Doing so, you get sin∠K = 5 34 . Thus, you get ∠T = sin–1 ⎜ 2 ⎟ , which
34 ⎝ 13 ⎠
you can find using your calculator to be
33.7°. Or, if you want to use radians, ∠T is
0.59. We prefer degrees for now. Lastly,
using the fact that the angles of a triangle
add up to 180°, you can find ∠R:
180 – (90 + 33.7°) = 56.3°.
 Chapter 6: Basic Trigonometry and the Unit Circle 109
1. Find cosA in ∆ABC. 2. Solve ∆DEF.

Solve It Solve It

B 4 C D
25˚

e f
41

F E
11
A

3. Find ∠Q in ∆QRS (round to the nearest 4. Find the six trigonometric ratios of ∠R in
tenth). ∆QRS from question 3.

Solve It Solve It

13 12

R S
110 Part II: Trig Is the Key: Basic Review, the Unit Circle, and Graphs

Solving Word Problems with Right Triangles

Uh-oh! The dreaded word problems! Don’t let these scare you. We’ve got some easy
steps to help you through them. First, as with most word problems in math, we sug-
gest you draw a picture. That way you can visualize the problem and it’s not as scary.
Second, remember that these are just right triangles. Therefore, all you have to do is
use what you already know about right triangles to solve the problems. Simple!

Angle of elevation and angle of depression (see Figure 6-3) are two terms that come up
often in right triangle word problems. They just refer to whether the angle rises from
the horizon, angle of elevation, or falls from the horizon, angle of depression.

Figure 6-3:
The ups and
downs:
Angle of elevation
angle of ele-
vation and Angle of depression
angle of
depression.

Q. When the sun is at an angle of elevation of Step two, recall what you know about right
32°, a building casts a shadow that’s 152 triangles. Because you want to find the
feet from its base. What is the height of the building’s height, which is opposite the
building? angle, and you have the shadow length,
which is adjacent to the angle, you can use
A. The building is approximately 95 feet tall. the tangent ratio. Setting up your ratio, you
Okay, remember your steps. Step one, draw get tan32° = x⁄152, or x = 152 · tan32. Using a
a picture: calculator, you find that the building height
is approximately 95 feet.

32˚
152
 Chapter 6: Basic Trigonometry and the Unit Circle 111

Q. Two boat captains whose boats are in a

straight line from a lighthouse look up to
the top of the lighthouse at the same time.
The captain of boat A sees the top of the
40-foot lighthouse from an angle of eleva- 40
tion of 45°, while the captain of boat B sees
the top of the lighthouse from an angle of
elevation of 30°. How far are the boats from
each other, to the nearest foot?
45˚ 30˚
A. The boats are 29 feet apart. Ooh . . . this is O a A B
a tricky one! But don’t let it scare you — b
it’s completely doable! First, remember to
draw a picture. In this case, you may want From the picture, you can see that to find
to draw three: one for the lighthouse and the distance between the boats, you need
both boats, and two separate pictures each to find the distance that each boat is from
with one boat: the base of the lighthouse and subtract boat
A’s distance from the distance of boat B.
Because the angle of elevation is 45° for
boat A, you can set up the trigonometric
ratio: tan45° = 40⁄a. Solving for a, you find that
the distance from boat A to the base of the
lighthouse is 40 feet. Similarly, you can set
up a trigonometric ratio for boat B’s dis-
tance: tan30° = 40⁄b. Solving, you get that
b = 69 feet. Subtracting these two distances,
you find that the distance between the
boats is 29 feet. Whew!

5. Romero wants to deliver a rose to his girl- 6. Sam needs to cross a river. He spies a bridge
friend, Jules, who is sitting on her balcony directly ahead of him. Looking across the
24 feet above the street. If Romero has a river, he sees that he’s 27° below the bridge
28-foot ladder, at what angle must he place from the other side. How far must he walk
the bottom of the ladder to reach his love, on his side of the river to reach the bridge
Jules? if the bridge length is 40 feet?

Solve It Solve It
112 Part II: Trig Is the Key: Basic Review, the Unit Circle, and Graphs

7. Paul, a 6-foot-tall man, is holding the end of 8. To hold up a 100-foot pole, two guide wires
a kite string 5 feet above the ground. The are put up on opposite sides of the pole.
string of the kite is 75 feet long at 35° of ele- One wire makes a 36° angle with the
vation. Paulette, Paul’s 5-foot-tall daughter, ground and the other makes a 47° angle
is directly underneath the kite. How far with the ground. How far apart are the
above Paulette’s head is the kite? bases of the wires?

Solve It Solve It

Unit Circle and the Coordinate Plane:

Finding Points and Angles
The unit circle is a very useful tool in pre-calculus. The information it provides can help
you solve problems very quickly. Essentially, the unit circle is a circle with a radius (r) of
one unit, centered on the origin of a coordinate plane. If you think of the trigonometric
ratios you’ve been dealing with in terms of x and y values, where x is adjacent to the
angle, y is opposite the angle, and r is the hypotenuse, that allows you to make a right
triangle by using a point on the unit circle and the x-axis. This is often called point-in-
plane, and it results in an alternate definition of the six trigonometric ratios:

⻬ sinθ = y⁄r ⻬ cscθ = r⁄y

⻬ cosθ = x⁄r ⻬ secθ = r⁄x
⻬ tanθ = ⁄xy
⻬ cotθ = x⁄y

When graphing on a coordinate plane, it’s important how you measure your angles. In
pre-calculus, the angle always begins on the positive side of the x-axis, called the initial
side. Any angle in this position is in standard position. The angle can extend to any-
where on the plane, ending on what’s called the terminal side. Any angles that have dif-
ferent measures but have the same terminal side are called co-terminal angles. These
can be found by adding or subtracting 360° or 2π to any angle.

From the initial side, an angle that moves in the counterclockwise direction has a positive
measure, and an angle that moves in the clockwise direction has a negative measure.
 Chapter 6: Basic Trigonometry and the Unit Circle 113

Q. Find three co-terminal angles of 520°. Q. Evaluate the six trigonometric ratios of the
point (2, –3).
A. Sample answers: 160°, –200°, and 880°,
but other answers are possible. To get A. sinθ = −3 13 , cosθ = 2 3 , tanθ = –3⁄2,
these, you simply add or subtract multi- 13 13
ples of 360° from 520°. 520° – 360° = 160°;
520° – 2 · 360° = –200°; and 520° + 360° = 13 , secθ = 13 , cotθ = 2⁄–3.
cscθ =
880°. −3 2
Start by finding the radius using the
Pythagorean Theorem: 22 +(–3)2 = r2, 4 + 9 =
r2, 2
13 = r , 13 = r. Then, simply plug
into the trigonometric ratios given x = 2,
y = –3, and r = 13 . Don’t forget to rational-
ize any radicals in the denominator!

sinθ = −3 = −3 13 , cosθ = 2 = 2 13 ,
13 13 13 13

tanθ = –3⁄2, cscθ = 13 , secθ = 13 ,

−3 2
cotθ = 2⁄–3.

9. Find three co-terminal angles of π . 10. Find two positive co-terminal angles of
5
–775°.
Solve It
Solve It
114 Part II: Trig Is the Key: Basic Review, the Unit Circle, and Graphs

11. Evaluate the six trigonometric ratios of the 12. Evaluate the six trigonometric ratios of the
point (3, 4). point (–5, –7).

Solve It Solve It

13. Evaluate the six trigonometric ratios of the 14. Evaluate the six trigonometric ratios of the
point (–2, 2 3 ). point (6, −3 5 ).

Solve It Solve It
 Chapter 6: Basic Trigonometry and the Unit Circle 117
17. Evaluate the six trigonometric ratios of 18. Find θ when tanθ = 3 and 0° < θ < 360°.
330°. 3
Solve It
Solve It

Solving Trig Equations

Solving trigonometric equations is just like solving regular algebraic equations, with a
twist! The twist is the trigonometric term. Now, instead of isolating the variable, you
need to isolate the trigonometric term. From there, you can use the handy unit circle
to find your solution. For a complete unit circle, check out the Cheat Sheet in the front
of this book.

Given what you already know about co-terminal angles, you know that any given equa-
tion may have an infinite number of solutions. Therefore, for these examples, you stick
with angles that are within one positive rotation of the unit circle 0 ≤ x ≤ 2π. But be
sure that you check for multiple solutions within that unit circle!
118 Part II: Trig Is the Key: Basic Review, the Unit Circle, and Graphs

Q. Solve 2sinx = 1 in terms of radians. Q. Solve 2cos2x – cosx = 1, giving answers in

terms of degrees.
A. x = π⁄6, or 5π⁄6. Because you already know
how to solve 2y = 1, you also know how to A. x = 0°, 120°, 240°, and 360°. Don’t let this
solve 2sinx = 1 — it’s sinx = 1⁄2. The question one trip you up! Just keep in mind your
is, what do you do with it from there? Well, amazing basic algebra skills. If you think of
now you need to find the angle or angles this as 2y2 – y = 1, you see that it’s a simple
that make the equation true. Here’s where quadratic that you need to try and factor,
that unit circle comes in handy! Remember- and then use the zero product property to
ing that sinθ = y, you can look at the unit solve: 2cos2x – cosx – 1 = 0 factors into
circle to find which angles have y = 1⁄2. The (2cosx + 1)(cosx – 1) = 0. Using the zero
two angles are π⁄6 and 5π⁄6. product property: 2cosx + 1 = 0, so 2cosx =
–1 and cosx = –1⁄2, or cosx – 1 = 0, so cosx =
1. Now it’s time to use those reference
angles! Ask yourself, when is cosx = –1⁄2?
Well, considering that cosθ = x on the unit
circle, it’s clear that your reference angle
( ) is 60°, and your answer falls in quad-
rants II and III. Therefore, the resulting
angles are in quad II (180° – 60° = 120°)
and quad III (180° + 60° = 240°). For your
second equation, cosx = 1 and x = 0° or 360°,
because the only place on the unit circle
that x = 1 is on the x-axis. Therefore, your
four solutions are 0°, 120°, 240°, and 360°.

19. Solve for θ in 3tanθ – 1 = 2. 20. Solve for θ in sin2θ = sinθ.

Solve It Solve It

21. Solve for θ in 2cos2θ – 1 = 0. 22. Solve for θ in 4sin2θ + 3 = 4.

Solve It Solve It
 Chapter 8

Basic Trig Identities

In This Chapter
䊳 Simplifying with reciprocal identities
䊳 Reducing using Pythagorean identities
䊳 Finding patterns with even-odd identities
䊳 Using co-function identities
䊳 Discovering periodicity identities
䊳 Solving trigonometric proofs

E ver want to pretend you were someone else — change your identity? Well, trig expres-
sions have the opportunity to do that all the time. In this chapter, we cover basic identi-
ties, or statements that are always true. We use these identities to simplify problems and
then to complete trigonometric proofs. Each section builds upon the previous one, so we
recommend you spend some time reviewing the identities in each section before jumping to
the end to practice proofs.

Using Reciprocal Identities to Simplify

Trig Expressions
We actually introduce some of these back in Chapter 6, but now we’re going to use reciprocal
identities to simplify more complicated trig expressions. Because these identities are all
review, we also include the ratios of tangent and cotangent — the ratio identities that we
introduce in Chapter 6. The reciprocal (and ratio) identities are:

Because each pair of expressions is mathematically equivalent, you can substitute one for
another in a given expression and watch things simplify. Typically, changing a given expres-
sion to all sines and cosines causes a whole lot of canceling! Try it and see . . . we dare you!
146 Part III: Advanced Trig: Identities, Theorems, and Applications

Q. Use reciprocal identities to rewrite .

A. The answer is 1. Start by using reciprocal and ratio identities to rewrite secx and tanx in terms of
sine and cosine (we dared you). Next, use your knowledge of fractions to rewrite the expression
as a division problem. Then, multiply by the reciprocal and cancel where you can. Here’s what it
should look like:

1. Simplify cotx · secx. 2. Simplify sinx · secx.

Solve It Solve It

3. Simplify sin3x · csc2x + tanx · cosx. 4. Simplify .

Solve It Solve It