Six Trigonometric Functions



Outline for Playtime with an Applet

Type: Applet

Playtime:

Have students go into the computer lab and get on the internet. Then direct them to the following url:

Encourage kids to play with the applet, allowing them to drag the different trig functions around. This will allowing to get used to watching the changing values of sin, cosine, and tangent, and the other lesser used functions of cosecant, secant, and cotangent. Before allowing the students to view the applet, it would be a good idea to give a basic lecture on sine, cosine, and tangent if they have not encountered these values already.

ACTIVITY:

Six Trigonometric Functions

1. Make sure the sine, cosine, and tangent buttons have a check mark next to them in the applet.

2. Drag the point on the circle until the angle reads 30º. What is the value of:

a. sin (30º)__________

b. cos (30º)__________

c. tan (30º)__________

3. As you rotate the point toward 90º, what happens to the value of:

a. sin____________________________________________________________

b. cos____________________________________________________________

c. tan____________________________________________________________

4. Drag the point on the circle until the angle reads 60º. What is the value of:

a. sin (60º)__________

b. cos (60º)__________

c. tan (60º)__________

5. Drag the point on the circle until the angle reads 45º. Record the values of:

a. sin(45)_________

b. cos(45)_________

c. tan(45)_________

6. Using the values found in problem number five (5), take sin(45) and divide it by cos (45). What value do you obtain?________________

What is significant about the value?________________________________

7. Using what knowledge you have about tangent already, predict what will happen to the tangent value as the sin value approaches ± 1. Using the applet, see what happens to the tangent value when sin reaches ± 1. Was your prediction correct? What mathematically is tangent measuring?

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