Difference b/w sine, cosine, and tangent/ how to remember them all?
I can't think of a pneumonic or something to help me remember
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SOHCAHTOA.html
Try this ... or maybe it'll help you make up your own.
Sine, cosine, and tangent are trigonometric functions commonly used in mathematics to relate the angles of a right triangle to the lengths of its sides.
Here's a breakdown of each function:
1. Sine (sin): The sine of an angle is defined as the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle. In simple terms, it is the "up and down" ratio.
2. Cosine (cos): The cosine of an angle is defined as the ratio of the length of the adjacent side to the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle. In other words, it represents the "side to side" ratio.
3. Tangent (tan): The tangent of an angle is defined as the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the adjacent side of a right triangle. It can be seen as the "up and down" ratio divided by the "side to side" ratio.
To remember these functions, you can use the mnemonic SOHCAHTOA:
- Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse (SOH)
- Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse (CAH)
- Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent (TOA)
This mnemonic can be helpful in recalling the definitions of sine, cosine, and tangent. Another way to remember them is to visualize a right triangle and focus on their relationships to the sides and angles.
It's also important to note that these functions can be defined and used beyond right triangles in the context of the unit circle and trigonometric identities.