THE SIX TRIGONOMETRIC RATIOS: SINE, COSINE, TANGENT, SECANT, COSECANT,
AND COTANGENT
Trigonometric ratios are the ratios of two sides of any right triangle. These ratios provide a way of relating
the sides and angles of a right triangle since they depend on angle measures. The six functions are sine
(sin), cosine (cos), tangent (tan), cosecant (csc), secant (sec), and cotangent (cot). 𝜃 (theta) is used to
label a non-right angle.
Notice that the ratios at the right are reciprocals of the ratios on the left.
For easier recall, use the mnemonic:
SOH-CAH-TOA CHO-SHA-CAO
Sin Ɵ = Opp/Hyp Csc Ɵ = Hyp/Opp
Cos Ɵ = Adj/Hyp Sec Ɵ = Hyp/Adj
Tan Ɵ = Opp/Adj Cot Ɵ = Adj/Opp
Given a right triangle below (𝜃 is used to label a non-right angle):
Considering angle 𝜃, side a becomes the opposite side and side b as the adjacent side. Of course, side c is
the hypotenuse. Thus,
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑐
𝑠𝑖𝑛 θ = = 𝑐𝑠𝑐 θ = =
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑐 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑐
𝑐𝑜𝑠 θ = = 𝑠𝑒𝑐 θ = =
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑐 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏
𝑡𝑎𝑛 θ = = 𝑐𝑜𝑡 θ = =
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎
EXAMPLE:
Given the right triangle ACB:
1. sin B 4. csc B
2. cos B 5. sec B
3. tan B 6. cot B
With respect to angle B, 3 is the length of the opposite side, 4 is the length of the adjacent side, and c
represents the hypotenuse. The length of side c can be determined using the Pythagorean Theorem.
𝑐 = √32 + 42 1. 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝐵 =
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒
=
3
4. 𝑐𝑠𝑐 𝐵 =
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒
=
5
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 5 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 3
𝑐 = √9 + 16 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 4 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 5
2. 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝐵 = = 5. 𝑠𝑒𝑐 𝐵 = =
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 5 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 4
𝑐 = √25 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 3 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 4
𝑐=5 3. 𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝐵 = = 6. 𝑐𝑜𝑡 𝐵 = =
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 4 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 3
FINDING THE TRIGONOMETRIC RATIOS OF SPECIAL RIGHT TRIANGLES
There are two "special" right triangles that will continually appear throughout your study of math: the
30º-60º-90º triangle and the 45º-45º-90º triangle. The special nature of these triangles is their ability to
yield exact answers instead of decimal approximations when dealing with trigonometric functions.
45° - 45° - 90° Right Triangle Theorem
In a 45° - 45° - 90° triangle,
2
The legs are congruent l= h
2
2
Each leg is times the hypotenuse h= 2 l
2
The length of the hypotenuse is 2 times the length of a leg
30° - 60° - 90° Right Triangle Theorem
In a 30° - 60° - 90° triangle,
The length of the hypotenuse is twice 3
1
The shorter leg is the hypotenuse
h = 2s s= 3
l
2 1
3 2
s= h l= 3 s
The shorter leg is times the longer leg
3
The length of the longer leg is 3 times the length of the shorter leg
Let’s try to solve all the trigonometric ratios of every acute angle of the special right triangle, starting with the
45° - 45° - 90° right triangle. Since the only acute angle in this triangle is 45°, let’s solve for all the
trigonometric ratios of 45°.
Let x be the leg of the 45° − 45° − 90°
triangle.
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥 1 √2 √2 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑥√2
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟒𝟓° = = = ∙ == 𝒄𝒔𝒄𝟒𝟓° = = = √2
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑥√2 √2 √2 2 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥 1 √2 √2 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑥√2
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟒𝟓° = = = ∙ == 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝟒𝟓° = = = √2
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑥√2 √2 √2 2 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥
𝒕𝒂𝒏𝟒𝟓° = = =1 𝒄𝒐𝒕𝟒𝟓° = = =1
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥
Next, we will proceed with the 30º-60º-90º triangle, which contains both 30º and 60º angles as special
angles.
Let x be the shorter leg of the 45° − 45° − 90°
triangle.
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥 1 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟑𝟎° = = = 𝒄𝒔𝒄𝟑𝟎° = = =2
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥 2 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥√3 √3 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥 2 √3 2√3
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟑𝟎° = = = 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝟑𝟎° = = = ∗ =
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥 2 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥√3 √3 √3 3
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥 1 √3 √3 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥√3
𝒕𝒂𝒏𝟑𝟎° = = = ∗ = 𝒄𝒐𝒕𝟑𝟎° = = = √3
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥√3 √3 √3 3 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥
Now, let’s solve for the trigonometric ratios of 60°.
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥√3 √3 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥 2 √3 2√3
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟔𝟎° = = = 𝒄𝒔𝒄𝟔𝟎° = = = ∗ =
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥 2 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥√3 √3 √3 3
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥 1 ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟔𝟎° = = = 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝟔𝟎° = = =2
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 2𝑥 2 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥√3 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥 1 √3 √3
𝒕𝒂𝒏𝟔𝟎° = = = √3 𝒄𝒐𝒕𝟔𝟎° = = = ∗ =
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑥√3 √3 √3 3
In summary, this is the table of the values for all special angles.
Trigonometric Ratios of the Special Angles
Ɵ sine cosine tangent cosecant secant cotangent
2 2
45° 1 2 2 1
2 2
1 √3 √3 2√3
30° 2 √3
2 2 3 3
√3 1 2√3 √3
60° √3 2
2 2 3 3
ANGLES OF ELEVATION AND ANGLES OF DEPRESSION
If a person stands and looks up at an object, the angle of elevation is the angle between the
horizontal line of sight and the object.
If a person stands and looks down at an object, the angle of depression is the angle between the
horizontal line of sight and the object.
The observer’s line of sight refers to the imaginary line that connects the eye of the observer to the
object being observed. The horizontal line, on the other hand, is the imaginary line that is always parallel
to the horizontal ground.
ANGLES OF ELEVATION ANGLES OF DEPRESSION
the line of sight is above the the line of sight is below the
horizontal line horizontal line
the object is above the observer the object is below the observer
To further illustrate these two angles, see the picture below:
EXAMPLE:
Observe the following illustration, and then identify what is being asked.
1. Segments that represent the line of sight
2. the angle of elevation
3. the angle of depression
Answer:
1. AB (object: bird); CB (object: hot air balloon)
2. 2 and 4
3. 1 and 3
Notice the position of 4 (angle of elevation) and 3 (angle of depression). These two angles form a pair
of angles called alternate interior angles. In geometry, alternate interior angles are congruent. Therefore,
corresponding angles of elevation and of depression are congruent.