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Trigonometric Ratios in a Right Triangle

representación gráfica de seno en el triángulo ABC

Sine

The sine of angle B is the ratio between the side opposite the angle and the hypotenuse. It is denoted by sin B.

sinB=opposite leghypotenuse=ba\sin B = \frac{\text{opposite leg}}{\text{hypotenuse}} = \frac{b}{a}
representación gráfica de coseno en el triángulo ABC

Cosine

The cosine of angle B is the ratio between the side adjacent or contiguous to the angle and the hypotenuse. It is denoted by cos B.

cosB=adjacent leghypotenuse=cacos B = \frac{\text{adjacent leg}}{\text{hypotenuse}} = \frac{c}{a}
representación gráfica de tangente en el triángulo ABC

Tangent

The tangent of angle B is the ratio between the side opposite the angle and the side adjacent to the angle. It is denoted by tan B.

tanB=sinBcosB=opposite legadjacent leg=bctan B = \frac{\sin B}{\cos B} = \frac{\text{opposite leg}}{\text{adjacent leg}} = \frac{b}{c}

Cosecant

The cosecant of angle B is the reciprocal ratio of the sine of B.

It is denoted by csc B or cosec B.

cscB=1sinB=hypotenuseopposite leg=abcsc B = \frac{1}{\sin B} = \frac{\text{hypotenuse}}{\text{opposite leg}} = \frac{a}{b}

Secant

The secant of angle B is the reciprocal ratio of the cosine of B.

It is denoted by sec B.

secB=1cosB=hypotenuseadjacent leg=acsec B = \frac{1}{\cos B} = \frac{\text{hypotenuse}}{\text{adjacent leg}} = \frac{a}{c}
Cotangente definicion

Cotangent

The cotangent of angle B is the reciprocal ratio of the tangent of B.

It is denoted by cot B.

cotB=1tanB=cosBsinB=adjacentopposite=cbcot B = \frac{1}{\tan B} = \frac{\cos B}{\sin B} = \frac{\text{adjacent}}{\text{opposite}} = \frac{c}{b}

SOH-CAH-TOA: An Easy Way to Remember

SOH-CAH-TOA is an acronym used to memorize the definitions of the most important trigonometric ratios: sine, cosine, and tangent. The following table explains its meaning.

For the other trigonometric ratios, instead of creating another acronym, it is easier to learn the fact that cosecant, secant, and cotangent are multiplicative inverses of sine, cosine, and tangent, respectively. The following table details this.

Trigonometric Ratios in a Circle

A goniometric circle or unit circle is one that has its center at the origin of coordinates and its radius is one unit.

If we consider a right triangle inside the circle where the radius forms the hypotenuse and one of the legs lies on the X-axis, we obtain a figure like the following.

circulo trigonometrico
We calculate the sine and cosine of angle

We conclude that:

The sine is the y-coordinate of P, that is, of the point on the circle.

The cosine is the x-coordinate of P, that is, of the point on the circle.

Another fact we can deduce is that the values of sine and cosine are between 1 and -1.

-1 ≤ sen α ≤ 1

-1 ≤ cos α ≤ 1

It should be noted that the reason trigonometric functions are considered on the circle is to be able to handle larger angles. For example, for a right triangle we couldn't determine what is, because we cannot construct a right triangle with a 150° angle.

Funciones trigonometricas para angulos obtusos
The unit circle allows me to make that calculation. What we do is:
1 Locate the 150° angle formed from the X-axis in a counterclockwise direction.
2 Consider the point on the circle formed by the angle.

  • The y-coordinate of that point is the sine.
  • The x-coordinate is the cosine.

For the other trigonometric ratios, we consider the following figure:

interpretacion geometrica de las razones trigonometricas

QOP and TOS are similar triangles. Then,

QOP and T'OS′ are similar triangles. Then,

Using the definitions of trigonometric ratios and the relationships between similar triangles we obtain:

Signs of Trigonometric Ratios

In the unit circle, the coordinate axes delimit four quadrants that are numbered counterclockwise. Recall that if we consider an angle and take the right triangle inside the circle generated by that angle, the sign of the sine or cosine of this angle will depend on which quadrant the triangle is located in.

signos del seno y coseno

Table of Trigonometric Ratios

tabla de razones trigonométricas con angulos destacados

Pythagorean Relationships Between Trigonometric Ratios

Explanation:

circulo trigonometrico
Since the triangle considered inside the circle is a right triangle, it follows that:



In the image, the legs (a and b) correspond to the values x and y, and the hypotenuse to the radius, that is, 1.


Thus
Since x is the x-coordinate and y is the y-coordinate, we know that these values correspond to cosine and sine respectively. Therefore:


By dividing the previous equation by we obtain



If instead we had divided by we would have obtained


Relationships Between Trigonometric Ratios of Certain Angles

Complementary Angles

Two angles are said to be complementary if their sum is 90°, that is, a right angle.

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y ángulos complementarios

Supplementary Angles

Two angles are said to be supplementary if their sum is 180°.

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y angulos suplementarios

Angles That Differ by 180°

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y angulos que difieren por 180 grados

Opposite Angles

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y angulos opuestos

Negative Angles

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y angulos negativos

Greater Than 360º

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y ángulos mayores de 360 grados

Angles That Differ by 90º

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y Ángulos que difieren en 90º

Angles That Sum to 270º

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y Ángulos que suman en 270

Angles That Differ by 270º

representación gráfica de circulo circunscrito y ángulos que diferen en 270 grados

Trigonometric Ratios of Sum and Difference of Angles

Trigonometric Ratios of Double Angles

Trigonometric Ratios of Half Angles

Transformations of Sums into Products

Transformations of Products into Sums

Exercises for Calculating Sine, Cosine, and Tangent

1

Calculate the sine, cosine and tangent of :

Solution

1 Sine

 

 

2 Cosine

 

 

3 Tangent

 

2

Calculate the sine, cosine and tangent of :

Solution

1 Sine

 

 

2 Cosine

 

 

3 Tangent

 

3

Calculate the sine, cosine and tangent of :

Solution

1 Sine

 

 

2 Cosine

 

 

3 Tangent

 

4

Calculate the sine, cosine and tangent of :

Solution

1 Sine

 

 

2 Cosine

 

 

3 Tangent

 

5

Calculate the sine, cosine and tangent of :

Solution

1 Sine

 

 

2 Cosine

 

 

3 Tangent

 

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Agostina Babbo

Agostina Babbo is an English and Italian to Spanish translator and writer, specializing in product localization, legal content for tech, and team sports—particularly handball and e-sports. With a degree in Public Translation from the University of Buenos Aires and a Master's in Translation and New Technologies from ISTRAD/Universidad de Madrid, she brings both linguistic expertise and technical insight to her work.