Help with Maths question

[hj1981]

Just wondering if there are any mathameticians out there that can help me with a question!!!

[Tanya]

Might help if you ask the question

[hj1981]

LOL didnt want to scare anyone away cause it might actually turn into a few questions

1st question can someone please explain to me sin cos and tan - now i know how to find them but what i don't know is when to use each one - does that make any sense?

[butterfly_warrior]

Maths teacher at your service

When it comes to trig - SOHCAHTOA is your friend. I have my students write it down every time they see a trig question... What it helps you to remember is that Sine is Opposite over Hypotenuse, Cosine is Adjacent over Hypotenuse and Tangent is Opposite over Adjacent.

Does that answer your question?

I also find that it helps to figure out which one to use if you label the side of the triangle you are using with the letters O, A or H and that helps you see which one you need to use.

It's really hard doing this without diagrams! If anything's fuzzy, let me know and I'll do my best to clarify for you.

BW

[BabyQ]

AAAHHHHHH!!

SOHCAHTOA.....*memories of high school flood her head as she runs screaming out of the room*

[hj1981]

i understand SOHCAHTOA - but i dont understand when i got to use each one - for example - if a 6m ladder leans against a wall such that it makes an angle of 60degress - how far is the bottom of the ladder away from the wall?

i have the answer its an example question but i dont know how they come about choosing which one to choose? does that make sense?

[hj1981]

LOL thanks for your help BabyQ