Posted by Aaron on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 3:58pm.
as an example make a right-angled triangle ABC with AB=5, BC=4 and AC=3
(notice 3^2 + 4^2 = 5^2)
relative to angle B, AC is the opposite, and BC is the adjacent, and AB is the hypotenuse.
the ratio AB/BC = opposite/adjacent is called the tangent of an angle.
in this case tangent B = 3/4 = .75
to get angle B depends on your calculuator.
I have a "Sharp" in front of me, and there is a 2ndF key at the top left
so to get my angle I press
2ndF
tan
.75
=
and I get 36.87º
to get angle A, you simple take the difference between that angle and 90º, since angle C = 90
to find the tangent of the angle, press
tan
36.87
=
you should get very close to .75,
(we won't get .75 itself, since we rounded off our previous result)
google 'trig ratios' and you should get the other two definitions
also look up SOHCAHTOA
Related Questions
Math sin/cos - On a piece of paper draw and label a right triangle using the ...
trig - h t t p : / / i m g 4 0 . i m a g e s h a c k . u s / c o n t e n t . p h...
trigonometric functions - im compeletely lost with the trigonometric functions...
trig - use an inverse trig function to write è as a function of x (There ...
trigonometry - in triangle abc, angle c is a right angle, AC=8,Bc=15 and AB=17 a...
math - Triangle ABD in the diagram has a right angle A and sides AD = 4.9cm and ...
Algebra2--- - 1. An artist is designing triangular mirrors. Determine the number...
Algebra 2 .. - 1. An artist is designing triangular mirrors. Determine the ...
Algebra 2.... - 1. An artist is designing triangular mirrors. Determine the ...
Evaluation-repost - Reposting because it has gone down to the second page! ...
For Further Reading
