Trigonometry Class Notes
Level: High School / Early College
Topic Focus: Angles, Trig Ratios, Identities, Applications
Page 1 — Introduction & Basic Ratios
Trigonometry studies angles and sides of triangles and their relationships.
sinθ=OppositeHypotenuse,cosθ=AdjacentHypotenuse,tanθ=Opposi
teAdjacent\sin \theta = \frac{\text{Opposite}}{\
text{Hypotenuse}}, \quad \cos \theta = \frac{\text{Adjacent}}{\
text{Hypotenuse}}, \quad \tan \theta = \frac{\text{Opposite}}{\
text{Adjacent}}sinθ=HypotenuseOpposite
,cosθ=HypotenuseAdjacent,tanθ=AdjacentOpposite
cscθ=1sinθ,secθ=1cosθ,cotθ=1tanθ\csc \theta = \frac{1}{\sin \
theta}, \quad \sec \theta = \frac{1}{\cos \theta}, \quad \cot \theta
= \frac{1}{\tan \theta}cscθ=sinθ1,secθ=cosθ1,cotθ=tanθ1
✏️Example 1:
If opposite = 3, hypotenuse = 5 → sinθ=3/5\sin \theta = 3/5sinθ=3/5
Page 2 — Identities & Formulas
sin2θ+cos2θ=1,1+tan2θ=sec2θ\sin^2 \theta + \cos^2 \theta = 1, \
quad 1 + \tan^2 \theta = \sec^2 \
thetasin2θ+cos2θ=1,1+tan2θ=sec2θ
sin(A±B)=sinAcosB±cosAsinB\sin(A \pm B) = \sin A \cos B \pm \cos
A \sin Bsin(A±B)=sinAcosB±cosAsinB
cos(A±B)=cosAcosB∓sinAsinB\cos(A \pm B) = \cos A \cos B \mp \
sin A \sin Bcos(A±B)=cosAcosB∓sinAsinB
✏️Example 2:
cos75°=cos(45+30)=cos45cos30−sin45sin30=6−24\cos 75° = \cos(45+30) = \cos 45 \
cos 30 - \sin 45 \sin 30 = \frac{\sqrt{6}-\sqrt{2}}
{4}cos75°=cos(45+30)=cos45cos30−sin45sin30=46−2
Page 3 — Applications & Tips
Given one side and one angle, find other sides using sin,cos,tan\sin, \cos, \
tansin,cos,tan
✏️Example 3:
Right triangle: hypotenuse = 10, angle = 30°
Opposite=10sin30°=5,Adjacent=10cos30°≈8.66\text{Opposite} =
10 \sin 30° = 5, \quad \text{Adjacent} = 10 \cos 30° \approx
8.66Opposite=10sin30°=5,Adjacent=10cos30°≈8.66
Always label sides (Opposite, Adjacent, Hypotenuse)
Check units (degrees vs radians)
Use calculator only when necessary; learn basic values
✅ Summary Formulas
sin2θ+cos2θ=1,tanθ=sinθcosθ\sin^2 \theta + \cos^2 \theta = 1, \
quad \tan \theta = \frac{\sin \theta}{\cos \
theta}sin2θ+cos2θ=1,tanθ=cosθsinθ
Expanded Trigonometry Class
Notes
Page 1 — Introduction & Basic Ratios
1.1 What is Trigonometry?
Trigonometry studies angles and sides of triangles and their relationships.
Applications: navigation, physics, engineering, astronomy.
1.2 Right Triangle Ratios
sinθ=OppositeHypotenuse,cosθ=AdjacentHypotenuse,tanθ=Opposi
teAdjacent\sin \theta = \frac{\text{Opposite}}{\
text{Hypotenuse}}, \quad \cos \theta = \frac{\text{Adjacent}}{\
text{Hypotenuse}}, \quad \tan \theta = \frac{\text{Opposite}}{\
text{Adjacent}}sinθ=HypotenuseOpposite
,cosθ=HypotenuseAdjacent,tanθ=AdjacentOpposite
1.3 Reciprocal Ratios
cscθ=1sinθ,secθ=1cosθ,cotθ=1tanθ\csc \theta = \frac{1}{\sin \
theta}, \quad \sec \theta = \frac{1}{\cos \theta}, \quad \cot \theta
= \frac{1}{\tan \theta}cscθ=sinθ1,secθ=cosθ1,cotθ=tanθ1
1.4 Important Angles
Angl
sin cos tan
e
0° 0 1 0
√3/ 1/
30° 1/2
2 √3
√2/ √2/
45° 1
2 2
√3/
60° 1/2 √3
2
90° 1 0 ∞
✏️Example 1:
Right triangle: opposite = 3, hypotenuse = 5 → sin θ = 3/5
Page 2 — Identities & Formulas
2.1 Pythagorean Identities
sin2θ+cos2θ=1\sin^2 \theta + \cos^2 \theta = 1sin2θ+cos2θ=1
1+tan2θ=sec2θ,1+cot2θ=csc2θ1 + \tan^2 \theta = \sec^2 \theta, \
quad 1 + \cot^2 \theta = \csc^2 \
theta1+tan2θ=sec2θ,1+cot2θ=csc2θ
2.2 Angle Sum & Difference
sin(A±B)=sinAcosB±cosAsinB\sin(A \pm B) = \sin A \cos B \pm \cos
A \sin Bsin(A±B)=sinAcosB±cosAsinB
cos(A±B)=cosAcosB∓sinAsinB\cos(A \pm B) = \cos A \cos B \mp \
sin A \sin Bcos(A±B)=cosAcosB∓sinAsinB
tan(A±B)=tanA±tanB1∓tanAtanB\tan(A \pm B) = \frac{\tan A \pm \
tan B}{1 \mp \tan A \tan B}tan(A±B)=1∓tanAtanBtanA±tanB
2.3 Double & Half Angle Formulas
sin2A=2sinAcosA,cos2A=cos2A−sin2A\sin 2A = 2 \sin A \cos A, \
quad \cos 2A = \cos^2 A - \sin^2
Asin2A=2sinAcosA,cos2A=cos2A−sin2A tan2A=2tanA1−tan2A\tan
2A = \frac{2 \tan A}{1 - \tan^2 A}tan2A=1−tan2A2tanA
✏️Example 2:
cos75°=cos(45+30)=cos45cos30−sin45sin30=6−24\cos 75° = \cos(45 + 30) = \cos
45 \cos 30 - \sin 45 \sin 30 = \frac{\sqrt{6} - \sqrt{2}}
{4}cos75°=cos(45+30)=cos45cos30−sin45sin30=46−2
Page 3 — Applications & Advanced
Topics
3.1 Solving Triangles
Given sides and/or angles, use:
SOH CAH TOA for right triangles
Law of Sines: asinA=bsinB=csinC\frac{a}{\sin A} = \frac{b}{\sin B} = \
frac{c}{\sin C}sinAa=sinBb=sinCc
Law of Cosines: c2=a2+b2−2abcosCc^2 = a^2 + b^2 - 2ab \cos
Cc2=a2+b2−2abcosC
3.2 Example 3: Right Triangle
Hypotenuse = 10, angle = 30°
Opposite=10sin30°=5,Adjacent=10cos30°≈8.66\text{Opposite} =
10 \sin 30° = 5, \quad \text{Adjacent} = 10 \cos 30° \approx
8.66Opposite=10sin30°=5,Adjacent=10cos30°≈8.66
3.3 Example 4: Oblique Triangle
A = 50°, B = 60°, side a = 10 → side b using Law of Sines
asinA=bsinB⇒b=sin60°sin50°⋅10≈11.2\frac{a}{\sin A} = \frac{b}
{\sin B} \Rightarrow b = \frac{\sin 60°}{\sin 50°} \cdot 10 \approx
11.2sinAa=sinBb⇒b=sin50°sin60°⋅10≈11.2
3.4 Tips & Common Mistakes
Always label sides (O, A, H)
Check calculator mode (degrees/radians)
Use exact values when possible for √2, √3, 1/2
✅ Summary Formulas:
SOH CAH TOA
sin2θ+cos2θ=1\sin^2 \theta + \cos^2 \theta = 1sin2θ+cos2θ=1
Law of Sines & Law of Cosines