Problem 1 (7 pts): Best to draw a right triangle labeling the two sides, hypotenuse and side opposite, and most importantly the angle q . Then determine the length of the side adjacent using the Pythagorean Theorem. The most common error was in identifying the correct location of q , followed by algebra errors using the Pythagorean Theorem.

Problems 2 and 3 (3 pts): The value of a trigonometric function is the ratio of two sides. This ratio has no units. The argument of the trigonometric function comes in one of two flavors. The first one was in degrees. The second one was in radians. Radian is the "default" flavor, as it has no distinguishing marks, just a real number. Your calculator must be in radian mode to get the correct value (unless of course you correctly rewrite the angle in degrees before evaluating the function). Sometimes people expect to see the Greek letter Pi when using radians. This is just another real number; so don't let the presence or absence of the letter Pi fool you.

Essential Trigonometry, Math Links

by Jack Tompkins