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DIY Maths

USING TRIG IN THE REAL WORLD

In this module, you will apply your knowledge of sine, cosine and tangent to real-world right triangleproblems.


Below are three examples showing how to find the height of an object using trigonometry.
They are in "feet", so feel free to substitute "metres" for "feet" when you watch the videos.

Example 1 (above): How to find the altitude of an air balloon.

 

Example 2 (above): How to find the height of a telephone pole.

 

Example 3 (above): How to find the difference between the heights of two buildings.

 

Study and practice

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Use these search terms to find your own resources:

missing height trigonometry
right triangle applications
height object trigonometry

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