TRIG PORTFOLIO

Trigonometry has many applications outside the classroom.

Here are a few examples:

• It is used to determine the height of tall objects that are difficult to measure using other methods. For example, trig can be used to calculate the height of mountains.

• Trig can also be used to determine the distance a boat is from the shore. More specifically, sextants determine the angle between the horizon and the sun and with the help of a marine chronometer and some trig the position of the ship can be determined.

• It is used by oceanographers to find out the water level at different tides. The sine and cosine graphs can act as accurate models for the fluctuation in water levels as time progresses. With this information, the correlation between the position of the moon and the tides can be studied. Tide analysis can also be performed.

• Trig can be used to ascertain the distance between celestial bodies.

• In general the sine and cosine functions are models for many periodic functions. They help with understanding theory and can be applied to both sound and light.

• Architects use trig to calculate a variety of things from the structural load to sun shading and light angles.

 

Here is a more detailed explanation of one of the trig applications:

Sound waves are one application of trig. Sound waves are actually compression waves, but they are portrayed as transverse waves in order to make them easier to understand. These waves look like either sine or cosine waves. The properties of the waves have meanings as well. When the amplitude increases, so does the volume. The pitch varies with the frequency. When the frequency increases, so does the pitch. This has many applications in the real world, including the production of musical instruments.