One of our students has been working hard on the Math section of the ACT.  He’s a very good student, so he’s been focusing a lot of his attention on the last ten problems where many of the more difficult topics are tested.  Every ACT Math test contains four questions that are classified as “Trigonometry.”  These questions can test the trigonometric relationship in right triangles, the properties and graphs of the trigonometric functions, and trig identities and equations.  These questions go beyond the basic SOH-CAH-TOA problems that we discussed in a previous post.

Right triangle trig is usually introduced to students in Geometry, but the really rigorous examination of the topic comes later on in Pre-Calculus.  There we learn that angles can be measured in something called radians as well as in degrees.  You can convert an angle from degrees to radians by multiplying by π/180.  The equivalent degree and radian measures for a number of important angles are shown in the diagram below.

Continue reading ACT Math: Advanced Trigonometry Problems →