More On Real Life Trig.

The nice thing about trigonometry is that it is extremely easy to find real life examples.  Not the ones in textbooks where you have to place a ladder against the wall or figuring out how tall the flag pole is.  Most of my students consider them stupid.  They ask why would anyone needed to do that when you can measure the ladder by placing it on the ground and pull out a tape.

Trig is the ratio between angles and lengths of triangles.   Last week, I discussed using trig to determine if the armor was thick enough on a battle ship.  My students loved doing that exercise and found it fun to do because they actually used the definitions of sin and cos to do this.  One wants to be an engineer and he really liked it.

There are other places trig is used in real life that most textbooks do not use.  Such as in architecture where they rely on triangular supports or in engineering when they have to determine the length of the cable used between posts on bridges.  Its also used in calculating the length of a roof, figure out weight loads, and find the footage of a curved piece of land.

Then in music sound waves follow sin and cos waves.  One note produces one sin wave while a chord is made up of several sin waves.  These waves also help sound engineers when they adjust amplitude, pitch, or other characteristics so they get the proper sound.  In addition, trig helps people place speakers for optimal sound quality.

Electrical Engineers use trigonometry to model alternating current where the current flows one direction before changing to travel the other direction.  In addition, they  use the sin wave to model voltage.  This is for all lights and light switches, televisions, and any other electrical appliance.

Furthermore, trig is used in manufacturing to determine the size and angles of parts used in tools, machines, and equipment.  It is also used in calculating the correct size of each part in automobiles and that the parts work well together.  Trig is also used to create certain parts for clothing such as darts, gussets, and triangular pattern pieces.

In Astronomy, scientists use trigonometry to determine the distance of planets and stars from earth.  Trig has also helped NASA send men to the moon, gotten space craft to various starts and planets.  Trigonometry is also used when people create video games.  They need it to move characters around in a world created using the same math.

Trig is also needed when pilots are calculating their landing or take off.  If the angle is off, they could crash or run out of runway.  Sin and cos waves are used in CAT scans and MRI in medicine.  Its used in seismology, crystallography, number theory, and all sorts of engineering and other avenues.  Its used all around us.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.