Trigonometric Ratios

The trigonometric ratios are functions used to measure the sides of right-angled triangles.
There are three main parts to a right-angled triangle. These are:

 The hypotenuse, shown by the diagram as side ‘c’ is the side opposite to the right
angle and is always the longest side in the triangle.
 The opposite side to angle ∠ A as shown in the diagram is side ‘a’. The opposite side
varies depending on the angle chosen. It is clear that side ‘a’ is directly opposite
angle ∠ A .
 The adjacent side is the side next to the angle in question. It is important that we do
not confuse the hypotenuse for the adjacent side. In this diagram, side ‘b’ is the
adjacent side to angle ∠ A .
Knowing these parts of the triangle is crucial to understanding the trigonometric ratios that
follow

The Three Basic Ratios

There are three main trigonometric ratios. These are:
 sine (short form ‘sin’)
 cosine (short form ‘cos’)
 tangent (short form ‘tan’)
They constitute different ratios in a triangle, let us explore each of them.
1) The sine of an angle in a triangle is given by the measure of the opposite side divided
by the measure of the hypotenuse. In other words,
Opposite Side
sin θ= where θ is the angle used.
Hypotenuse
2) The cosine of an angle in a triangle is given by the measure of the adjacent side
divided by the measure of the hypotenuse. In other words,
A Side
cos θ= where θ is the angle used.
Hypotenuse
3) The tangent of any angle in a triangle is given by the measure of the opposite side
divided by the measure of the adjacent side. In other words,
Opposite side
tanθ= where θ is the angle used.
Adjacent side
To remember these ratios, a helpful acronym that can be used is,
SOH−CAH−TOA
Where,
 SOH stands for sin = O/H (Opposite over hypotenuse)
 CAH stands for cos = A/H (Adjacent over hypotenuse)
 TOA stands for tan = O/A (Opposite over adjacent)
The other three ratios
There are three more ratios which constitute the reciprocals of the three aforementioned
ratios. These are,
 cotangent (short form ‘cot’), reciprocal of tangent
 secant (short form ‘sec’), reciprocal of cosine
 cosecant( short form ‘csc’) reciprocal of sine
These ratios are, in simple terms, the exact opposite of the basic ratios. To clarify,
Adjacent side A
 cot θ= =
Opposite side O
Hypotenuse H
 sec θ= =
Adjacent side A
Hypotenuse H
 csc θ= =
Opposite side O

Finding sides using these ratios