Can someone tell my what cos, sin and tan actually measure?
In: Mathematics
There are three sides to a triangle, and three angles inside of the triangle that are formed by pairs of these sides.
Cos, sin, and tan are relationships between the lengths of these sides and the size of these angles. In the real world, these relationships let you calculate things (lengths or angles) that would otherwise be really hard for you to measure, by taking advantage of the fact that they are true for *all triangles*.
Don’t have a tool to measure angles? You can use cos, sin, or tan to turn a measurement of two lengths into an angle.
Don’t have a tape long enough to measure the length you care about? You can use cos, sin or tan to turn an angle measurement and a much smaller length measurement into the longer length you care about.
Once you see that much of the world’s geometry can be broken down into triangles, the real power of these relationships becomes clear. Everything from construction to astronomy benefits from these relationships.
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