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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : How To Find Negative Sine
What is the sine of the angle formed between the origin and the point if that angle is formed with one side of the angle beginning on the
-axis and then rotating counter-clockwise to
?
You can begin by imagining a little triangle in the fourth quadrant to find your reference angle. It would look like this:
Now, to find the sine of that angle, you will need to find the hypotenuse of the triangle. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, , where
and
are leg lengths and
is the length of the hypotenuse, the hypotenuse is
, or, for our data:
The sine of an angle is:
For our data, this is:
Since this is in the fourth quadrant, it is negative, because sine is negative in that quadrant.
Example Question #2981 : Act Math
What is the sine of the angle formed between the origin and the point if that angle is formed with one side of the angle beginning on the
-axis and then rotating counter-clockwise to
?
You can begin by imagining a little triangle in the third quadrant to find your reference angle. It would look like this:
Now, to find the sine of that angle, you will need to find the hypotenuse of the triangle. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, , where
and
are leg lengths and
is the length of the hypotenuse, the hypotenuse is
, or, for our data:
The sine of an angle is:
For our data, this is:
Since this is in the third quadrant, it is negative, because sine is negative in that quadrant.
Example Question #61 : Trigonometry
If , what is the value of
if
?
Recall that the triangle appears as follows in radians:
Now, the sine of is
. However, if you rationalize the denominator, you get:
Since , we know that
must be represent an angle in the third quadrant (where the sine function is negative). Adding its reference angle to
, we get:
Therefore, we know that:
, meaning that
Example Question #1 : How To Find Positive Sine
If , what is
? Round to the nearest hundredth.
Recall that the sine wave is symmetrical with respect to the origin. Therefore, for any value , the value for
is
. Therefore, if
is
, then for
, it will be
.
Example Question #1 : How To Find Positive Sine
In a right triangle, cos(A) = . What is sin(A)?
In a right triangle, for sides a and b, with c being the hypotenuse, . Thus if cos(A) is
, then c = 14, and the side adjacent to A is 11. Therefore, the side opposite of angle A is the square root of
, which is
Since sin is
, sin(A) is
.
Example Question #2985 : Act Math
What is the value of ?
As with all trigonometry problems, begin by considering how you could rearrange the question. They often have hidden easy ways out. So begin by noticing:
Now, you can treat like it is any standard denominator. Therefore:
Combine your fractions and get:
Now, from our trig identities, we know that , so we can say:
Now, for our triangle, the is
. Therefore,
Example Question #1 : How To Find Positive Sine
Solve for :
if
Recall that the standard triangle, in radians, looks like:
Since , you can tell that
.
Therefore, you can say that must equal
:
Solving for , you get:
Example Question #1 : How To Find A Missing Side With Sine
You have a 30-60-90 triangle. If the hypotenuse length is 8, what is the length of the side opposite the 30 degree angle?
4√2
3√3
4
4√3
3
4
sin(30º) = ½
sine = opposite / hypotenuse
½ = opposite / 8
Opposite = 8 * ½ = 4
Example Question #1 : How To Find A Missing Side With Sine
If a right triangle has a 30 degree angle, and the opposite leg of the 30 degree angle has a measure of 12, what is the value of the hypotenuse?
15
12 * 31/2
18
24
12 * 21/2
24
Use SOHCAHTOA. Sin(30) = 12/x, then 12/sin(30) = x = 24.
You can also determine the side with a measure of 12 is the smallest side in a 30:60:90 triangle. The hypotenuse would be twice the length of the smallest leg.
Example Question #1 : How To Find A Missing Side With Sine
The radius of the above circle is .
is the center of the circle.
. Find the length of chord
.
We can solve for the length of the chord by drawing a line the bisects the angle and the chord, shown below as .
In this circle, we can see the triangle has a hypotenuse equal to the radius of the circle (
), an angle
equal to half the angle made by the chord, and a side
that is half the length of the chord. By using the sine function, we can solve for
.
The length of the entire chord is twice the length of , so the entire chord length is
.
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