Trigonometry is an integral part of mathematics that most of the students are scared of. It makes an important part of the career-related to engineering and architecture. Therefore, it is crucial to get an understanding of the topic well. It plays an important role in modern engineering, architecture, design, navigation, and many other related fields. Trigonometry is an easy and interesting subject. However, students find it hard. Let us understand what exactly is trigonometry and why students find it hard to understand. Moreover, you can learn trigonometry in a simple way through Cuemath.
What is Trigonometry?
As the name suggests, Trigonometry is all about the measurement of triangles. It gets made up of two words, ‘trigonon’ means triangle and ‘metron’ means to measure. Trigonometry studies the relation between angles and sides of triangles. Sine, Cos, and Tan are the main functions of trigonometry. It is the field of mathematics, which has many applications in real life. It is a very vast subject linked not only to geometry but also to different branches of maths, especially infinite series, logarithms, complex numbers, and calculus. The trigonometry field made an appearance in Greece for the first time in the third century. But many parts of it got lost, so it got redeveloped by Indian scholars.
Examples of Trigonometry
Is Trigonometry Really Difficult?
Well, the answer is clearly no. Then why do students find it difficult? It is because they see the scope of trigonometry limited to their academics only. They are not able to relate it to real life, which makes them lose interest in the subject and finally makes them feel it hard to understand. Mathematics is one such subject through which many real-life problems can be understood and solved, and so is the case with Trigonometry. Basically, it’s a crucial subject, which has many real-life applications. There are mainly three functions in trigonometry, which are sine, cos, and tan. It is the core of trigonometry. If you understand this, then you can easily solve the problems of trigonometry.
Real-Life Examples of Trigonometry
To understand the concept well, and to relate it to real-life scenarios, consider the below examples:
How to Learn Trigonometry?
First of all, to learn Trigonometry, understand the right-angled triangle and different parts of a right-angled triangle such as base, perpendicular, and hypotenuse. The right-angled triangle is the triangle having one of the angles as 90 degrees. In the right-angled triangle, there is a base, the perpendicular, and the hypotenuse. Perpendicular makes a 90-degree angle with the base, and the hypotenuse is the side of the triangle, opposite to the right angle. Then understand the Pythagoras theorem, and after you go for the six ratios. Out of these six ratios, you have to understand the basic three ratios sine, cosine, and tangent. The remaining three ratios can be derivable from these three basic ratios.
As an example, Sin θ = Perpendicular / Hypotenuse
So, when we have to calculate the sine of the angle, then we need to look for the perpendicular and hypotenuse values.
Similarly, Cos θ = Adjacent / Hypotenuse
Tan θ = Perpendicular / Adjacent
Here, perpendicular, adjacent, and hypotenuse are parts of the right-angled triangle. Trigonometry is about the triangles and not just about the right-angled triangle, so learn the other ratios, i.e., Cotangent, Cosecant, and Secant.
Cot θ = Adjacent / Perpendicular
Csc θ = Hypotenuse / Perpendicular
Sec θ = Hypotenuse / Adjacent
As soon as you get comfortable with the six ratios of trigonometry, you can try to understand trigonometric ratios for different angles viz. 0, 30, 45, 60, and 90.
Unit Circle
The unit circle is the special circle around which the whole trigonometry works. The Unit Circle has a center at 0 and has a radius of 1. This is because it is easy to find the sine, cosine, and tangent when the radius is 1. Also, it is denoted by the equation x2 + y2 = 1. Here, x2 is the Sin(x), and y2 is the Cos(x).
How to Make Trigonometry Easy?
In order to get a proper understanding of trigonometry, it is important to get the basic concept first. Once you understand, learn the step-by-step approach to solve the problems, and then you need to practice more and more problems. Try to practice different types of problems. The more you practice the problems, the more you will get a grasp on the topic. Once you get an understanding of the topic, solve the difficult problems. In this way, you will understand the concept and change your mindset from hard to easy.
Summary
Trigonometry is the study of triangles, angles, and other properties of the triangles. With trigonometry, you can understand and visualize the relations between the triangles. I hope now you have understood that trigonometry is not hard actually, and how you can relate it to real life. You can even learn trigonometry and get math exam tips from Cuemath. Similarly, you can learn the different concepts of maths and become a pro in the subject.
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