Questions

ADV: Trigonometry (Adv), T1 Trigonometry and Measure of Angles

(Adv) 1. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2008 HSC 6a
3D Trigonometry (Y11) From a point due south of a tower, the angle of elevation of the top of the tower , is 23°. From
another point , on a bearing of 120° from the tower, the angle of elevation of is 32°. The
Teacher: Denis Vlismas
distance is 200 metres.
Exam Equivalent Time: 27 minutes (based on HSC allocation of 1.5 minutes approx. per
mark)

T1 Trigonometry and Measure of Angles

T1
Basic
Trigonometry
1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7%

Trig Ratios, Sine and Cosine Rules *Analytics based on the average
3D Trigonometry contribution to the 2ADV HSC
Bearings exams over the past decade.
Circular Measure i. Copy or trace the diagram into your writing booklet, adding the given information to your diagram.
(1 mark)

ii. Hence find the height of the tower. Give your answer to the nearest metre. (3 marks)

HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTION
T1 Trigonometry and Measure of Angles is a mixture of content that previously
belonged to the Standard 2, Mathematics and Ext1 courses. Our analysis has it
accounting for an estimated 6.3% of past papers.
This topic has been split into four sub-topics for analysis purposes: 1-Trig Ratios, Sine
and Cosine Rules (2.5%), 2- 3D Trigonometry (0.7%), 3-Bearings (1.3%) and 4-Circular
Measure (1.8%).
This analysis looks at the sub-topic 3D Trigonometry (previously Ext1 content).

HSC ANALYSIS - What to expect and common pitfalls

3D Trigonometry has been reallocated from Ext1 to Advanced in the new syllabus.
Although this topic has not historically been tested regularly (last examined in 2015),
3D Trig deserves attention because when it has appeared, mark allocations have
been substantial and difficulty high (note database questions are taken from the Ext1
past HSC exams).
Students should cover the challenging T1 SM-Bank 1 to gauge the highest level of
difficulty this topic can present.
2. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2010 HSC 5a 3. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2015 HSC 12c
A boat is sailing due north from a point towards a point on the shore line. A person walks 2000 metres due north along a road from point to point . The point is due
east of a mountain , where is the top of the mountain. The point is directly below point
The shore line runs from west to east.
and is on the same horizontal plane as the road. The height of the mountain above point is
In the diagram, represents a tree on a cliff vertically above , and represents a landmark on metres.
the shore. The distance is 1 km.
From point , the angle of elevation to the top of the mountain is 15°.
From the point is on a bearing of 020°, and the angle of elevation to is 3°.
From point , the angle of elevation to the top of the mountain is 13°.
After sailing for some time the boat reaches a point , from which the angle of elevation to is
30°.

i. Show that . (1 mark)

ii. Hence, find the value of . (2 marks)

4. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2004 HSC 3d

i. Show that . (3 marks)

ii. Find the distance . Give your answer to 1 decimal place. (1 mark)

The length of each edge of the cube is 2 metres. A circle is drawn on the face
so that it touches all four edges of the face. The centre of the circle is and the diagonal
meets the circle at and .
i. Explain why . (1 mark)

ii. Show that metres. (1 mark)

iii. Calculate the size of to the nearest degree. (1 mark)

5. Trigonometry, 2ADV T1 SM-Bank 1 Worked Solutions
A tower is built on flat ground.
Three tourists, , and are observing the tower from ground level. 1. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2008 HSC 6a
is due north of the tower, is due east and is on the line of sight from and and between i.
them.
The angles of elevation to the top of the tower from , and are 26°, 28° and 30°, respectively.
What is the bearing of from the tower? (4 marks)

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ii.
2. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2010 HSC 5a

i.

ii.
3. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2015 HSC 12c
i.

ii.
4. Trigonometry, 2ADV’ T1 2004 HSC 3d

i.

ii.
 5. Trigonometry, 2ADV T1 SM-Bank 1

iii.
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