Trig Without Tears - Tutorials To Help You Develop Identities

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around resources and approaches for learning trigonometry, particularly focusing on methods that avoid traditional memorization techniques. Participants share links to tutorials and express their experiences with different learning strategies, including the development of trigonometric identities.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares a website called "Trig Without Tears," which emphasizes understanding over memorization in learning trigonometric identities.
  • Several participants express positive sentiments about the approach to learning trig, stating it makes the subject easier and more enjoyable.
  • Some participants request additional resources or tips for learning trigonometry, indicating a desire for more reference points.
  • Links to tutorials that teach right-angle trigonometry without the standard SOH CAH TOA mnemonic are provided, suggesting alternative methods to learn the material.
  • A participant mentions the use of Euler's relations as a helpful tip for remembering trigonometric identities, providing a mathematical example to illustrate this point.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the value of the resources shared and the effectiveness of the approaches discussed. However, there is no consensus on specific additional resources or problems to solve, as some participants express a need for more practice materials.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention a lack of problems to solve, indicating a potential limitation in the resources shared. There is also a noted dependence on personal experiences with the materials, which may vary.

Who May Find This Useful

Students looking for alternative methods to learn trigonometry, educators seeking resources for teaching, and individuals preparing for calculus may find this discussion beneficial.

jaime2000
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http://oakroadsystems.com/twt/

I searched and it looked like no one had posted this before, so here it is. Trig without tears is an awesome site in which some guy explains trigonometry, from the basic functions of sine and cosine to the double and half angle identities. The interesting part is that the author, who believes it is wrong to use memorization as a substitute for thinking and disagrees with the memorization-based approach to identities regularly found in school, instead teaches you how to develop the identities in a way that is easy to follow and remember. I wish I had read this when I was taking pre-calculus last summer. It's great! ^.^
 
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thanks man...i feel trig is easy now
 
Rofl.

IP check these guys £100 says that theyre the same person.
 
DeanBH said:
Rofl.

IP check these guys £100 says that theyre the same person.

I'll PM you the address to send my £100 cheque to :wink:
 
Love the approach
 
Any more tips?
 
Could you please give me another website, so I can have more of a reference point?
 
Cristooooooo Any more tips?
 
physics_mania said:
Cristooooooo Any more tips?

Erm... I'm not sure what you mean!
 
  • #10
  • #11
great work! trig is much more fun this way!
 
  • #12
Greek2Me64 said:
Here are links to tutorials for basic "right angle" trig that does NOT use the standard SOH CAH TOA mneumonic. The first tutorial shows you how to make a "Trig Tool", which elimininates memorizing a lot of formulas, the next two show you how to USE it.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5520340_memorize-trig-functions-losing-mind.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5227490_pass-mind-part-unknown-sides.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5428511_pass-part-ii-unknown-angles.html

Wow thanks! That first link is pretty spiffy.

I actually enjoyed reading the first few pages of the OP's link as well. It seems perfectly informative to me.
 
  • #13
hey, just wanted to say thanks.
Didn't really try out the site yet but I book marked it in plan for next sem.
Should help me in calculus right ^^
 
  • #14
Thanks for this resource. I finished my Algebra studies yesterday and I'm waiting for a trig book to come in the mail. This will serve in the meantime.

Only thing missing - I need some problems to solve! Can anybody help me out?

-DaveKA
 
  • #15
A good trig identity tip is that if you ever run into trouble doing (or remembering) a trig identity, you can always fall back on the following two Euler relations.

\cos x ={{e^{i x}+e^{-i x}}\over{2}}

\sin x ={{e^{i x}-e^{-i x}}\over{2 i}}

where i is the square root of negative one.

For example, take the famous one,

\sin ^2 x+\cos ^2 x =1

plug in the relations and one gets

{{(e^{i x}+e^{-i x})^2-(e^{i x}-e^{-i x})^2}\over{4}} =1

{{(e^{2i x}+2+e^{-2i x})-(e^{2i x}-2+e^{-2i x})}\over{4}} =1

{{4}\over{4}} =1

1 =1
 
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