Mary Jane Sterling 
Trigonometry For Dummies 

A plain-English guide to the basics of trig

Trigonometry deals with the relationship between the sides and angles of triangles… mostly right triangles. In practical use, trigonometry is a friend to astronomers who use triangulation to measure the distance between stars. Trig also has applications in fields as broad as financial analysis, music theory, biology, medical imaging, cryptology, game development, and seismology.

From sines and cosines to logarithms, conic sections, and polynomials, this friendly guide takes the torture out of trigonometry, explaining basic concepts in plain English and offering lots of easy-to-grasp example problems. It also explains the ‘why’ of trigonometry, using real-world examples that illustrate the value of trigonometry in a variety of careers.

* Tracks to a typical Trigonometry course at the high school or college level

* Packed with example trig problems

* From the author of Trigonometry Workbook For Dummies

Trigonometry For Dummies is for any student who needs an introduction to, or better understanding of, high-school to college-level trigonometry.

Tabla de materias

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Started with Trigonometry 5

Chapter 1: Trouncing Trig Technicalities 7

Chapter 2: Coordinating Your Effor ts with Car tesian Coordinates 29

Chapter 3: Functioning Well 47

Chapter 4: Getting Your Degree 57

Chapter 5: Dishing Out the Pi: Radians 67

Chapter 6: Getting It Right with Triangles 81

Part II: Trigonometric Functions 91

Chapter 7: Doing Right by Trig Functions 93

Chapter 8: Trading Triangles for Circles: Circular Functions 109

Chapter 9: Defining Trig Functions Globally 121

Chapter 10: Applying Yourself to Trig Functions 135

Part III: Identities 155

Chapter 11: Identifying Basic Identities 157

Chapter 12: Operating on Identities 171

Chapter 13: Proving Identities: The Basics 189

Chapter 14: Sleuthing Out Identity Solutions 207

Part IV: Equations and Applications 223

Chapter 15: Investigating Inverse Trig Functions 225

Chapter 16: Making Inverse Trig Work for You 233

Chapter 17: Solving Trig Equations 243

Chapter 18: Obeying the Laws 265

Part V: The Graphs of Trig Functions 289

Chapter 19: Graphing Sine and Cosine 291

Chapter 20: Graphing Tangent and Cotangent 307

Chapter 21: Graphing Other Trig Functions 317

Chapter 22: Topping Off Trig Graphs 329

Part VI: The Part of Tens 343

Chapter 23: Ten Basic Identities . . . Plus Some Bonuses 345

Chapter 24: Ten Not-So-Basic Identities 349

Appendix: Trig Functions Table 353

Index 357

Sobre el autor

Mary Jane Sterling is the author of Algebra I For
Dummies and many other For Dummies titles. She has been
teaching mathematics at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, for
more than 30 years and has loved working with future business
executives, physical therapists, teachers, and many others.