Lecture 6

Trigonometric Values of
Special Angles, Solving
Right Triangles, Angle of
Elevation and Depression,
Bearing

PowerPoint Presentation created by

Engr. Paulo E. Tindogan
Trinity University of Asia
 Trigonometric Values of Special
Angles

Recall:

60°
45°
2 2
1 1

45° 30°
1 3
Trigonometric Values of Special
Angles

θ 30º 45º 60º

sin θ 1 1

2 3
2 2 2 2

cos θ 3 1

2 1
2 2 2 2

tan θ 1

3
1.00 3
3 3
 Trigonometric Values of Special
Angles

 Summary
Using Calculators to Evaluate
Trigonometric Function Values

 A scientific calculator holds the ratio

information for sine (sin), cosine (cos) and
tangent (tan) for all angles

 To get the value(ratio) of a given angle, use

the sin, cos and tan keys in your calculator
Example

Use a calculator to find the values of

a. cos 22o
b. tan 81o
c. csc 37o
d. sin 45o
e. sec 68o 22’
Using Calculators to Evaluate
Trigonometric Function Values

 It can also be used in reverse, finding an

angle from a value(ratio)

 To do this we use the sin-1, cos-1 and tan-1

function keys
Example

Use a calculator to find x. Round your answer

to nearest degree
a. cos x = 0.8734
b. tan x = 2.752
c. sin x = 0.7739
 Solving Right Triangles

 To solve a triangle find all of the remaining

measurements for the missing angles and
sides.
 Use common sense. You don’t have to use
trig for every part. It is okay to subtract angle
measurements from 180o to find a missing
angle or use the Pythagorean Theorem to
find a missing side.
Example

1. Find a, b and θ.

2. Find a, b, and α.
Example

3. Find a, α and β.
Applications

1. A ladder, which has length 6 m, leans

against a vertical wall. The angle between
the ladder and the horizontal ground is 65o.
How far is the foot of the ladder from the
wall?
2. A ramp has length 6 m and is at an angle of
50o above the horizontal. How high is the
top of the ramp?
Angle of Elevation

The angle of elevation of an object as seen by an observer is the

angle between the horizontal and the line from the object to the
observer's eye

α
Horizontal eye
level
Angle of Depression
If the object is below the level of the observer, then the angle between
the horizontal and the observer's line of sight is called the angle of
depression
Horizontal eye level
α
Example

1. A campsite is 12.88 miles from a point directly

below Mt. Adams. If the angle of elevation is
15.5o from the camp to the top of the mountain,
how high is the mountain?
2. At a point 60.7 feet from the base of a building,
the angle of elevation from that point to the top
is 64.75o. How tall is the building?
Example

3. A person stands at the window of a building so that his

eyes are 12.6 m above the level ground in the vicinity of
the building. An object is 58.5 m away from the building
on a line directly beneath the person. Compute the
angle of depression of the person’s line of sight to the
object on the ground.
4. An airplane is flying at a height of 2 miles above the
ground. The distance along the ground from the
airplane to the airport is 5 miles. What is the angle of
depression from the airplane to the airport?
Bearings

 Bearings involve right triangles and are used

to navigate. There are two main methods of
expressing bearings:
1. Single angle bearings are always measured in a
clockwise direction from due north
2. North-south bearings always start with N or S
and are measured off of a North-south line with
acute angles going east or west so many
degrees so they end with E or W.
Bearings

First method:
N N N

α
α
α

45o 135o 330o

Bearings

Second method:
N N

α
α
α

N 45o E S 45o E N 30o W

Example

1. A boat sails from a certain port in the

direction N30ºW. After the boat has sailed
20 km, how far is it west of the port?

2. A cyclist travels 10 km south, then 8 km

east. Find the cyclist's bearing from her
starting point to the nearest degree.
Example

3. Gus walks for 12.2 km in the direction 123° from

camp S and then for 8.9 km in the direction 226° to
camp F. Find: (a.) the distance (b.) the bearing of F
from S.
4. A yacht starts from a point A and sails on a bearing
of 038◦ for 3000 m. It then alters its course to a
bearing of 318◦, and after sailing for 3300 m it
reaches a point B. a) Find the distance AB, correct
to the nearest metre.b) Find the bearing of B from
A, correct to the nearest degree.
END
Seatwork
Assignment

Use short bond paper. Computerized.

#49 p. 57
#51, 52 p. 58
# 63 to 68 p. 59
#75 p. 60