02+Applications+of+right+triangle+trigonometry

Applications of RTT

Dylan H. & David K.

1. When one knows only one of the acute angles of a right triangle and the length of one of the sides, one can solve for the length of the two other sides using trigonometric functions of the given angle. The vertex of a triangle is displayed by an upper case letter, while the side that is opposite of that vertex has a lower case letter (vertex A is a, vertex B is b, vertex C is c). In right triangle trigonometry, there are six functions of theta: sin, cos, tan, csc, sec, and cot. There are special types of right triangles when dealing with a (45-45-90) or a (30-60-90). In a (45-45-90), two sides are equal and in the (30-60-90) all sides are different. Also applying to right triangle trigonometry are the angles of elevation and depression. If you are looking at a point in the air, such as the top of a building, the angle that your line of sight makes with a line parallel to the ground is called the angle of elevation. If you are looking at a point on the ground, such as a car from the top of a building, the angle that your line of sight makes with a parallel to the ground is called the angle of depression. In right triangle trigonometry, the goal of the math is to discover the value of a missing angle or side length using the six trigonometric functions.

2.Rules: 1. Angle of depression and angle of elvation have the same measure. 2. When given the angle of depression remember it is the angle outside of the triangle so you need to subtract it from 90 to find the angle inside the triangle.

3a.You are measuring the height of a tree. You are standing 21 feet away from the base of the tree. You measure the angle of elevation from a point on the ground to the top of the tree to be 68 degrees. Estimate the height of the tree. (19.47 feet) 3b. You are climbing up a 21 foot ladder that is leaning up against a house that is 30 feet tall. What is the angle of elevation the ladder makes with the ground? 3c. A young child is playing in a treehouse. The child is watching his friend play in the sandbox below at an angle of depression of 14 degrees. The treehouse is not directly above the sandbox and stands 24 feet above the ground. How far from the base of the tree is the child in the sandbox? (23.29ft)



4. http://www.algebralab.org/lessons/lesson.aspx?file=Trigonometry_TrigApplications.xml

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/High_School_Trigonometry/Applications_of_Right_Triangle_Trigonometry

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Solving-Right-Triangles.topicArticleId-11658,articleId-11571.html