PLANE AND SPHERICAL TRIGONOMETRY

Angles and Its Measure: o Oblique Triangle is a triangle without a 90°. These
Angle is the space between intersecting rays or lines. The triangles are classified into:
point of intersection is called vertex. Angles are positive  Acute Triangles are triangles with one interior
when measured counterclockwise (ccw) and negative in angle equal to 90°.
clockwise (cw) direction.  Obtuse Triangles are triangles in which one of the
interior angle is more than 90° but less than 180°.
 Equiangular triangle if interior angles are equal.
 For Sides as reference:
A. Isosceles Triangle is a triangle with two sides
equal.
Units used in Measuring angles: B. Scalene Triangle if none of the sides are equal.
1 revolution = 360 degrees C. Equilateral Triangle if all sides are equal.
= 2π radians Equilateral Triangles are also equiangular.
= 400 grads
= 400 gons Schwarz’s inequality (Also Cauchy-Schwarz
= 6400 mils inequality):
The sum of any two sides of any triangle is greater
than the third side. That is,
Names Angle Equivalent in a+b>c
b+c>a
Degrees
a+c>b
Also: The positive difference between two sides is
Zero angle θ = 0°
smaller than the third side.
Acute angle 0° < θ < 90°
That is,
Right angle θ = 90°
|a – b| < c; |b – c| < a; |a – c| < b
Obtuse angle 90° < θ < 180°
ANGLES OF DEPRESSION AND ELEVATION
Straight Angle θ = 180°

Reflex angle 180° < θ < 360°

Full Angle or Perigon θ = 360°

An angle of depression is the angle from the

Sum of Angles: horizontal down to the line of sight from the observer to an
A  B  90 object below.
A and B are complementary angles The angle of elevation is the angle from the
horizontal up to the line of sight from the observer to an
    180 object above. The angle of elevation is equal to the angle
 and  are supplementary angles of depression (Θ = β).

    360
 and  are explementary (or conjugate) angles Observer is
here on top

Note: The following expressions are usually used to some

problems: Angle of depression, θ

Complement of A = 90°- A
Supplement of B = 180° - B Observer
Explement of C = 360° - C is here
below β, Angle of
elevation
Classifications of Triangles:
Triangles are classified in terms of their interior angles and
the sides.
 For Angles as reference:
o Right Triangle is a triangle with one interior angle
equal to 90°

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 1

RIGHT TRIANGLES TANGENT & COTANGENT RELATIONS:
sin 
tan  
cos 
cos 
cot  
sin 

PYTHAGOREAN RELATIONS:
SOLUTION OF RIGHT TRIANGLES: sin 2   cos 2   1
Pythagorean Theorem: The square of the hypotenuse 1  cot 2   csc 2 
(c) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two legs
(a and b). In equation, tan 2   1  sec 2 
c2  a2  b2

SIX TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS: NEGATIVE RELATIONS:

opposite side a sin      sin 
sin    cos    cos 
hypotenuse c
tan      tan 
cos  
adjacent side b
 cot      cot 
hypotenuse c sec    sec 
csc     csc 
opposite side a
tan   
adjacent side b
adjacent side b ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION FORMULAS:
cot    sin      sin  cos   cos  sin 
opposite side a
cos     cos  cos   sin  sin 
hypotenuse c tan   tan 
sec    tan     
adjacent side b 1  tan  tan 
cot  cot   1
hypotenuse c cot     
csc    cot   cot 
opposite side a
DOUBLE ANGLE FORMULAS:
TRIGONOMETRIC IDENTITIES
sin 2  2 sin  cos 
CO-FUNCTION RELATIONS: cos 2  cos 2   sin 2 

sin 90     cos  cos 2  2 cos 2   1

cos90     sin  cos 2  1  2 sin 2 
tan 90     cot  2 tan 
tan 2 
cot 90     tan  1  tan 2 
sec90     csc  cot 2   1
cot 2 
2 cot 
csc90     sec 
HALF-ANGLE FORMULAS:

RECIPROCAL RELATIONS:  1  cos   if θ/2 is in I or II Quadrant 

sin   
1 1
sin   cot   2 2 - if θ/2 is in III or IV Quadrant
csc  tan  
cos  
1  cos   if θ/2 is in I or IV Quadrant
 
2 2 - if θ/2 is in II or III Quadrant 
1 1  1  cos   if θ/2 is in I or III Quadrant 
cos  sec   tan
2

1  cos 

- if θ/2 is in II or IV Quadrant

sec  cos
 sin  1  cos 
1 1 tan    csc  cot 
tan   csc   2 1  cos  sin 
cot  sin 

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 2

 SOLUTIONS TO OBLIQUE TRIANGLES
MULTIPLE ANGLE FORMULAS: An oblique triangle is one which does not contain a right
sin 3  3 sin   4 sin 3  angle such that it contains either two acute angles and one
obtuse or three acute angles.
cos 3  4 cos 3   3 cos  There are four cases that occur in the solution of oblique
3 tan   tan 3  triangles:
tan 3 
1  3 tan 2 
Case I. Given two angles and one side
sin 4  4 sin  cos   8 sin 3  cos 
Case II. Given two sides and an angle opposite to one of
cos 4  8 cos 4   8 cos 2   1 them
Case III. Given two sides and included angle
4 tan   4 tan 3 
tan 4  Case IV. Given the three sides
1  6 tan 2   tan 4 
The above cases can be solved using any (or a
POWERS OF TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS: combination) of the following laws:
sin 2  
1
1  cos 2 
2
SINE LAW
sin 3   3 sin   sin 3 
1
In any triangle, the ratio of the side and the sine of the
4 opposite angle is constant
cos 2   1  cos 2 
1 a b c
2  
sin A sin B sin C
cos 3   3 cos   cos 3 
1
4 Note: The ratio a/sinA is equal to the diameter of the circle
circumscribing the triangle.
PRODUCT FORMULAS:
COSINE LAW
sin  cos  
1
sin(    )  sin(    ) In any triangle the square of any side is equal to the sum
2 of the squares of the other two sides less twice the product
cos  cos   cos(   )  cos(   )
1 of these sides and the cosine of their included angle.
2 a 2  b 2  c 2  2bc cos A
sin  sin   cos(   )  cos(   )
1
b 2  a 2  c 2  2ac cos B
2
c 2  a 2  b 2  2ab cos A
GRAPHS OF TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS

y-axis SPHERICAL TRIGONOMETRY

y = sin x
x-axis SPHERICAL TRIGONOMETRY is the branch of
π 2π 3π mathematics which focuses on the measurement of
triangles on the spheres. It is principally used in navigation
and astronomy.
y-axis
y = cos x
x-axis
π/ 3π 5π

Equation of the Sine Wave and its properties:

The general equation is: y  f ( x)  A sin( Bx  C )  D
where:
A is the Amplitude
B is the Angular Velocity
C is the Phase Shift
D is the Average Value
2
T is the Time Period (or simply, Period)
B
1 B
f   is the Frequency
T 2

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 3

RIGHT SPHERICAL TRIANGLE where: sin Ac= cos A and cos Bc = sin B

A right spherical triangle is a triangle on the sphere OBLIQUE SPHERICAL TRIANGLE

having at least one interior angle equal to 90°. The
formulas of right spherical triangle can be derived from An oblique spherical triangle is a triangle having no
right angle. There are six cases that arise from these
Napier’s Rules I and II.
triangles.

CASE I: Given three angles.

CASE II: Given three sides
CASE III: Given two angles and included sides.
Ac CASE IV: Given two sides and included angles
cc b CASE V: Given two angle and a side opposite to one of
them.
CASE VI: Given two sides and an angle opposite to one of
Bc a them

The above cases can be solved using Sine Law, Cosine Law
and Tangent Law:
RULE 1. Sin-Tan-Ad Rule: The sine of any middle part is
equal to the product of the tangents of the two adjacent
SINE LAW:
parts.
 If “a” is the middle part, then Bc and b are the
adjacent parts: sin a sin b sin c
 
sin A sin B sin C
sin a  tan( B c ) tan( b)
sin a  cot( B) tan( b) COSINE LAW FOR THE ANGLES
(A, B, C):
where: tan Bc = cot B cos A   cos B cos C  sin B sin C cos a
 If “Ac” is the middle part, then cc and b are the cos B   cos A cos C  sin A sin C cos b
adjacent parts: cos C   cos A cos B  sin A sin B cos c

sin Ac  tan( c c ) tan( b) COSINE LAW FOR THE SIDES

(a, b, c):
sin a  cot( c) tan( b)
where: tan cc = cot c and sin Ac = cos A cos a  cos b cos c  sin b sin c cos A
cos b  cos a cos c  sin a sin c cos B
RULE 2: Sin-Cos-Op Rule: The sine of any middle part is
equal to the product of the cosines of the two opposite cos c  cos a cos b  sin a sin b cos C
parts.
 If “a” is the middle part, then cc and Ac are the Note: The sum of the interior angles of any
opposite parts: spherical triangle is satisfied by:
180° < A + B + C < 540°
sin a  cos(c c ) cos( Ac )
sin a  sin( c) sin( A)
TANGENT LAW:
where: cos cc = sin c and cos Ac = sin A
 A B a b
tan   tan  
 c c
If “A ” is the middle part, then B and a are the  2   2 
opposite parts:
 A B a b
tan   tan  
sin Ac  cos( B c ) cos( a)  2   2 
cos A  sin( B) cos( a)

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 4

 AREA OF SPHERICAL TRIANGLE:
NAPIER’S ANALOGIES: R 2 E
 A B a b A
sin   tan   180
 2   2  Where: E = spherical excess
 A B
sin  
c
tan   E  A  B  C  180
 2  2
Spherical Defect (d):
a b  A B d  360  (a  b  c)
sin   tan  
 2   2 
THE TERRESTRIAL SPHERE (EARTH)
a b C
sin   cot 
 2  2 LATITUDE OR PARALLEL are small circles parallel to the
equator. These will serve as the angular elevation above or
below the equator. The North Pole is 90° above the
A sin( s  b) sin( s  c)
sin  equator and the south pole is 90° below the equator.
2 sin b sin c
B sin( s  a ) sin( s  c) LONGITUDE OR MERIDIANS are semicircles that run
sin  from the north and south poles and used to locate how far
2 sin a sin c east or west from Greenwich, England.
C sin( s  a) sin( s  b)
sin  PRIME MERIDIAN is the semi-circle running from the
2 sin a sin b north to south pole through Greenwich London. Opposite
the prime meridian is the International dateline (IDL).
 A B a b
cos  tan  
 2   2  INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE is an arbitrary line
established at about 180° meridian or exactly opposite the
 A B c
cos  tan   Prime Meridian. The dateline does not necessarily follow
 2  2 the meridian (semi-circle) precisely because it is actually
zigzags in order to avoid land masses and archipelagoes.

a b  A B BEARINGS are measurements from the north or south,

cos  tan   clockwise or counterclockwise. It is quadrantal in nature
 2   2 
such that a bearing should never exceed 90°.
a b C 
cos  cot  
 2  2 AZIMUTHS are clockwise angles usually measured from a
meridian line thus azimuths used either north or south as
A sin s sin( s  c)
cos  their reference.
2 sin b sin c
B sin s sin( s  c) AZIMUTH
cos 
2 sin a sin c
N N 50° E
C sin s sin( s  c) 55
cos  N 55° 5
2 sin a sin b 0°
a cos( S  B) cos( S  C )
cos  W E
2 sin B sin C

30°
Where:
abc S 30° E
s S
2
A B C N N
S
2 N 55° W 50°

W E

150°
305°
S
S

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 5

TRIGONOMETRY MATHEMATICS
PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) REE ONLINE REVIEW

Feel free to ask your lecturers if you have a question.

1. Which of the following is the opposite of pi/3?

A. 7pi/6 B. 5pi/4 C. 4pi/3 D. 9pi/8

2. What rotations between zero and 2 pi radians have the same effect as the rotation with the measure 405
degrees?
A. 25 deg B. 30 deg C. 45 deg D. 60 deg

3. What rotations between zero and 2 pi radians have the same effect as the rotation with the measure -5pi?
A. 2pi rad B. pi rad C. 4pi rad D. 3pi rad

4. The measure of 1 ½ revolutions counter-clockwise is

A. 540° B. 520° C. +90° D. -90°

5. The measure of 2.25 revolutions counterclockwise is:

A. – 835° B. – 810° C. 805° D. 810°

6. In what 2 quadrants may the angle “theta” terminate if tan theta is negative?
A. 2 and 4 B. 1 and 3 C. 3 and 4 D. 1 and 4

7. If cos theta = –3/4 and tan theta is negative, the value of sin theta is
A. –4/5 B. –(sqrt of 7)/4 C. (4sqrt. of 7)/7 D. (sqrt. of 7)/4

8. Simplify 1/(cscx + cot x) + 1/(csc x – cot x).

A. 2 cos x B. 2 secx C. 2 cscx D. 2 sinx

9. Simplify the expression: (sinB + cosBtanB) / cosB.

A. 2 tan B B. tan B + cos B C. tanB cos B D. 2 sin B cosB

10. If cos z = 2 find cos 2z.

A. -26 B. 14 C. 5 D. 7

11. Simplify (cos 0° + cos 1° + cos 2° + … + cos 90°)/(sin 0° + sin 1°+ sin 2° + … + sin 90°)
A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3

12. Find the angle whose supplement exceeds 6 times its complement by 20 degrees.
A. 20 deg B. 76 deg C. 104 deg D. 14 deg

13. Find the supplement of an angle whose compliment is 62°

A. 28° B. 118° C. 152° D. none of these

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 6

 14. A certain angle has a explement five times its compliment. Find the angle.
A. 67.5° B. 22.5° C. 45° D. 182.5°

15. The sum of the two interior angles of the triangle is equal to the third angle and the difference of the two angles
is equal to 2/3 of the third angle. Find the third angle.
A. 15° B. 75° C. 90° D. 120°

16. Sin (x – y) = 0.9659, sin x = 0.5. Find cos y.

A. 0.425 B. 0.816 C. 0.707 D. 1.0

17. If tan x = 1/2 , tan y = 1/3, what is the value of tan (x + y)?
A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4

18. How many degrees is 6400 mils?

A. 90 B. 180 C. 270 D. 360

19. Find the rectangular coordinates of the point with polar coordinates r = 3 and theta = pi/6.
A. (sq. rt. of 3)/2, 2/3 C. 3(sq. rt. of 2)/2, 2/3
B. B. 3(sq. rt. of 3)/2, 3/2 D. sq. rt. of 3, 3/2

20. A triangular fish pen has sides 30 cm, 50 cm and 60 cm. Find the acute angle opposite to the shortest side.
A. 90 deg B. 45 deg C. 30 deg D. 60 deg

21. Given the curve y = 3 cos 1/2 x. Find the amplitude and period.
A. 3, pi/2 B. 3, 2pi C. 3, 3pi/2 D. 3, 4pi

22. In the curve y = (1/2) tanx, what is the period?

A. Pi/2 B. 2 pi C. pi D. 2pi/3

23. A support wire is anchored 12 ft up from the base of a flagpole and the horizontal distance of the base of a
flagpole from the other end of the wire is 16 ft. Find the length of the supporting wire.
A. 34 ft B. 36 ft C. 20 ft D. 22 ft

24. A tree broken over the wind forms a right triangle with the ground. If the broken part makes an angle of 50
degrees with the ground and the top of the tree is now 20 ft from the base, how tall is the tree?
A. 46 ft B. 35 ft C. 50 ft D. 55 ft

25. A tree 120 ft tall casts a shadow 120 ft long. Find the angle of elevation of the sun in radian.
A. Pi/2 B. pi/4 C. pi/3 D. pi/6

26. Find the height of a tree if the angle of elevation of its top changes from 20 deg to 40 deg as the observer
advances 23 meters toward the base.
A. 14.78 m B. 13.78 m C. 15.78 m D. 16.78 m

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 7

 27. Two stones are 1 mile apart and are of the same level as the foot of the hill. The angles of depression of the two
stones viewed from the top of the hill are 5 degrees and 15 degrees respectively. Find the height of the hill.
A. 109.1 m B. 209.1 m C. 409.1 m D. 309.1 m

28. A photographer wants to take a picture of a 4 feet vase standing on a 3 feet pedestal. She wants to position the
camera at point c on the floor so that the angles subtended by the vase and the pedestal are the same size. How
far away from the foot of the pedestal should the camera be?
A. 8.1 ft B. 6.3 ft C. 7.9 ft D. 4.8 ft

29. Two cars A and B started at the same time from the same point and moved along straight line which intersects at
an angle of 60 degrees. If car A was moving at the rate of 50 kph and car B at the rate of 70 kph, how far apart
are they at the end of 45 minutes?
a. 46.84 km B. 78.3 km C. 48.64 km D. 73.8 km

30. A motorboat from south heading north with a velocity in still water of 15 mph. If the water is flowing due east at
4 mph, find the new bearing.
a. N 15 deg E B. N 16 deg E C. N 13 deg E D. N 12deg E

31. An airplane has an airspeed of 210 mph the bearing of N 30 deg E a wind is blowing due west at 30 mph. Find its
ground speed rounded to the nearest degree.
A. 201 B. 187 C. 197 D. 175

32. The sides of a right triangle are in arithmetic progression whose common difference is 6 cm. Its area is
A. 216 cm2 B. 270 cm2 C. 360 cm2 D. 144 cm2

33. Solve for θ: sin θ - sec θ + csc θ – tan2 θ = - 0.0866

A. 400 B. 410 C. 470 D. 430

34. Find the value of x in the equation csc x + cot x = 3

A. π/4 B. π/3 C. π/2 D. π/5

35. Given three angles A, B, and C whose sum is 180°. If Tan A + Tan B + Tan C = x, find the value of tan A x tan B
x tan C.
A. 1 – x B. sqrt. of x C. x/2 D. x

36. If sin 3A = cos 6B then:

A. A + B = 180° B. A + 2B = 30° C. A – 2B = 30° D. A + B = 30°

37. How many different value of x from 0° to 180° for the equation (2sin x – 1)(cosx + 1) = 0?
A. 3 B. 0 C. 1 D. 2

38. The hypotenuse of right triangle is 34 cm. Find the length of the shortest leg if it is 14 cm shorter than the other
leg.
A. 15 cm B. 16 cm C. 17 cm D. 18 cm

39. A truck travels from point M northward for 30 min. Then eastward for one hour, then shifted N 30° W. If the
constant speed is 40 kph, how far directly from M, in km will be it after 2 hours?
A. 43.5 B. 45.2 C. 47.9 D. 41.6

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 8

 40. Two sides of a triangle measures 6 cm and 8 cm and their included angle is 40°. Find the third side.
A. 5.144 cm B. 5.263 cm C. 4.256 cm D. 5.645 cm

41. Given a triangle: C = 100°, a = 15, b = 20. Find c:

A. 34 B. 27 C. 43 D. 35

42. How many possible triangles can be formed in angle A = 126 deg and side a = 20 cm and b = 25 cm?
A. 1 solution B. 2 solutions C. no solution D. 

43. In triangle ABC, angle C = 70°; angle A = 45°, AB = 40 m. What is the length of the median drawn from vertex A
to side BC?
A. 36.8 meters B. 37.1 meters C. 36.3 meters D. 37.4 meters

44. Given a triangle ABC whose angles are A = 40°, B = 95° and side b = 30 cm. Find the length of the bisector of
angle C.
A. 21.74 cm B. 22.35 cm C. 20.45 cm D. 20.98 cm

MATHEMATICS - TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEM SET 2 (LECTURE) Page 9