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  • theta:

theta is usually the letter given to any angle in the triangle (the letter theta is from the greek alphabet). usually in trigonometry you would use it when using SOHCAHTOA (sin=opposite/hypotenuse; cos=adjacent/hypotenuse; tan=opposite/adjacent) e.g. the sun is at an angle of 30°. if the shadow's length is 40m, find the length of the flagpole.

tan30=h/40

tanθ=opp/adj

40xtan30=h

h=23.09m

-'opposite' (opp)is the opposite side from the angle you are trying to find out

-'adjacent' (adj)is the side next to the angle you are trying to find out

-'hypotenuse' (hyp)is also next to the angle you are trying to find out, but it is also opposite the right angle and it is the longest side

  • x:

'x' is usually used to represent a length (either the base, height or hypotenuse). using SOHCAHTOA it would be either the opposite, adjacent or hypotenuse. using the example above x could substitute h

the difference is that theta is used for the angles and x is for the other measurements(length or distance). i don't think that there similar but thats just me...

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What is 4sin theta cos theta?

4Sin(x)Cos(x) = 2(2Sin(x)Cos(x)) = 2Sin(2x) ( A Trig. identity.


Verify that Cos theta cot theta plus sin theta equals csc theta?

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Why does sin theta squared plus cos theta squared equal 1?

Sin2(theta) + cos2(theta) = 1 for the same reason that the sides of a right triangle squared equal the hypotenuse squared - The pythagorean theorem.In the unit circle (origin = (0,0), radius = 1), an angle theta is the angle made by some arbitrary ray drawn from the origin at an angle relative to the x axis. The point of that ray that intersects with the circle is the point (x,y).Sin(theta) is defined as x, and cos(theta) is defined as y. These are primary trigonometric identities, which link trigonometry with geometry.Since the points (0,0) (x,0) (x,y) (0,x) describe a right triangle, with (0,x) (0,0) (x,0) being the right angle, then x2 + y2 = 12, or sin2(theta) + cos2(theta) = 1.If this is not clear, draw a circle around the origin, draw a line from the center to an arbitrary point on the circle, and draw the x and y perpendiculars of that point to each axis. You will see a right triangle. X is sine, Y is cosine, and 1 is hypotenuse. It does not matter if X and/or Y is negative - the squaring will make it positive - and the pythagorean theorem should be visible.


How do you solve tan squared theta - tan theta equals 0?

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