Sardis Secondary School Chilliwack

Name: ____________________

Math 10

Chapter 2

Date: ___/___/___

The Tangent Ratio:

Goal: to develop the tangent ratio and relate it to the angle of inclination of a line

2.1 TANGENT RATIO:

If < is an acute angle in a right triangle, then:

tan A =

<
<

Determining the Tangent Ratios for Angles:

You can use your TRIG TABLE or
You can use a scientific calculator to find an angle when you know its tangent.
The tan-1 operation does this.
Shift tan

REMEMBER

or 2ndF tan

Calculator MUST be in
DEGREE mode!

E x a m p l e 1:
Using the Tan Ratio to Determine the Measure of
an Angle.
Determine tan D and tan F.
tan D = _______ .

D =________.

tan F = _______ .

F =________.

If tan A = 2.0503,

A = ________.

If tan Y = 0.6494,

E x a m p l e 2:
Find the missing angle:
Find the missing angle:

Y = __________.

2.2 Angle of Inclination:

This is the ACUTE angle that a line makes with the horizontal.

2.3 Using the Tan Ratio to determine the Angle of Inclination:

E x a m p l e 1:
The latitude of Fort Smith, NWT, is approximately 60. Determine whether
this design for a solar panel is the best for Fort Smith. Justify your answer.

E x a m p l e 2:
A support cable is anchored to the ground 5 m from the base of a telephone pole. The cable is 19 m
long. It is attached near the top of the pole. What angle, to the nearest degree, does the cable make
with the ground?

E x a m p l e 3:
Use the Tangent Ratio to find the missing angle and hypotenuse of each.
a)
b)
c)

25

19

10

11

HWK (Text book Pages 75-77): # 3-20

2.4 Sides from the Tangent Ratio.

Goal: Apply the tangent ratio to calculate lengths of sides of triangles
Direct Measurement:

When we use a measuring instrument (e.g. Ruler, protractor) to determine a

length or an angle.

Indirect Measurement:

When we use math concepts (e.g. Trig, Pythagoras) to calculate a length or an

angle.

We can use the Tan Ratio as a tool to calculate the length of a side of a right triangle indirectly.
Steps:
1) Use the Tan Ratio = (

) to write an equation.

2) When we know the measure of an angle (that is NOT the 90 angle!) and the length of one of
the legs (not the hypotenuse), solve the equation to determine the length of the other leg.
Note: when solving a question where you have two equal fractions..
Multiply the pair, divide by the spare!
Ex 1:

4
5

Ex 2:

5 = (4 6)

4
3.8

10

= (10 3.8) 4
= 9.5

Divide by 5 both sides.

= (4 6) / 5
= 4.8

Check your understanding :

1. Determine the length of EF to the nearest cm.

2.

Determine the length of AB to the nearest cm.

2.5 Using the Tan Ratio to Solve an Indirect Measurement Problem:

1. A searchlight beam shines vertically on a cloud. At a horizontal distance of 250 m from the searchlight, the
angle between the ground and the line of sight to the cloud is 75. Determine the height of the cloud to
the nearest metre.

2. At a horizontal distance of 200 m from the base of an observation tower,the angle between the ground
and the line of sight to the top of the tower is 8.How high is the tower to the nearest metre? The diagram
is not drawn to scale.

HWK Textbook) Pages 82-83: # 3 to 14

Measuring an inaccessible height activity. ( See your activity sheet)

1.

The Sine and Cosine Ratios:

The Sine Ratio:

If < A is an acute angle in a right triangle, then
Sin A =

<

The Cosine Ratio:

If < A is an acute angle in a right triangle, then
Cos A =

<

REMEMBER

S O H-C A H-T O A

 3.1 Determining the Sine and Cosine of an Angle:

E x a m p l e 1:
a) In DEF, identify the side opposite D and the side adjacent to D.
b) Determine sin D and cos D to the nearest hundredth.

E x a m p l e 2:
a) In GHJ, identify the side opposite G and the side adjacent to G.
b) Determine sin G and cos G to the nearest hundredth.

3.2 Using Sine or Cosine to Determine the Measure of an Angle:

E x a m p l e 3:
Determine the measures of G and H to the nearest tenth of a degree.

E x a m p l e 4:
Determine the measures of K and M to the nearest tenth of a degree.

3.3 Using Sine or Cosine to Solve a Problem:

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E x a m p l e 5:
A water bomber is flying at an altitude of 5500 ft. The planes radar shows that it is 9000 ft from the target
site in a forest fire. What is the angle of elevation of the plane measured from the target site, to the
nearest degree?

E x a m p l e 6:
An observer is sitting on a dock watching a float plane in Vancouver harbour. At a certain time, the plane is
300 m above the water and 430 m from the observer. Determine the angle of elevation of the plane
measured from the observer, to the nearest degree.

HWK (Textbook Pages 95-96) Q.# 4-17

3.4 Using the sine and cosine ratios to determine the lengths of a leg.
E x a m p l e 7:
Determine the length of side AB to the nearest tenth of a centimeter.

E x a m p l e 8:
Determine the length of PQ to the nearest tenth of a centimetre.

E x a m p l e 9:
Determine the length of DE to the nearest tenth of a centimetre.

E x a m p l e 10:
Determine the length of JK to the nearest tenth of a centimetre.

E x a m p l e 11:
A surveyor made the measurements shown in the diagram.How could the
surveyor determine the distance from the transit to the survey pole to the
nearest hundredth of a metre?

E x a m p l e 12:
From a radar station, the angle of elevation of an approaching airplane is
32.5.The horizontal distance between the plane and the radar station is
35.6 km. How far is the plane from the radar station to the nearest tenth of
a kilometre?

E x a m p l e 13:
1.

2.

HWK (Textbook Pages 101-102): Q # 3-14

2.

Use a trigonometric ratio to solve real life problems involving a right triangle:

How do you SOLVE a triangle?

Use

The sum of the angles in any triangle is 180

Pythagoras
2 + 2 = 2

How do you solve a triangle without the picture of the triangle?

Draw and label the triangle, then solve!

Example: In right triangle, < = 90, = 8, = 9. solve this triangle. Give

measures to the nearest tenth.

E x a m p l e 1:
You are an air traffic controller communicating with a plane in flight that will soon land. The pilot tells
you he is flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet. You locate the airplane on your radar and tell the pilot
that 100,000 feet separate him from the beginning of the runway (that imaginary straight line is the
hypotenuse.) You must tell the pilot which angle of descent he must take to land his plane at the
beginning of the runway.

E x a m p l e 2:
You know a flat roof would be easiest to build, but it would look dull and would not allow for proper
drainage during rainstorms or snowmelt. A shed roof is best for drainage and allows the snow to slide
off; however, building this type of roof requires much more materials and expertise. You want to find
an economical yet practical design. You first consider a roof where a=2.9m and < =5.0 m. Find the
length of the hypotenuse?

E x a m p l e 3:
Michael is building a cabin at Cold Lake, AB. He has drawn a
diagram to design his roof truss. Determine the values of x,
y, and .

HWK (Textbook Pages 111-112): Q # 3-15

3.

Applications, Two Triangles:

E x a m p l e 1:
Calculate the length of CD to the nearest tenth of a centimetre.

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E x a m p l e 2:
Calculate the length of XY to the nearest tenth of a centimetre.

E x a m p l e 3:
From the top of a 20-m high building, a surveyor measured the
angle of elevation of the top of another building and the angle of
depression of the base of that building. The surveyor sketched
this plan of her measurements. Determine the height of the taller
building to the nearest tenth of a metre.

E x a m p l e 4:
Izzy and Ed positioned themselves 42 m apart on one side of a stream. Izzy recorded angles, as shown
below. Find the height of the cliff on the other side of the stream (nearest tenth).

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E x a m p l e 5:
A communications tower is 35 m tall. From a point due north of the
tower, Tannis measures the angle of elevation of the top of the
tower as 70. Her brother Leif, who is due east of the tower,
measures the angle of elevation of the top of the tower as 50.How
far apart are the students to the nearest metre? The diagram is not
drawn to scale.

HWK (Textbook Pages 118-121): Q # 3-15, 19.

Review : Pages 124-126
Practice test: Page 127
Cumulative review Page 131 Q# 14-22

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