What are Sin, Cos, and Tan? And why are they important? Well, I'm here to teach you about these amazing blocks. ›› § ‹‹ To understand these blocks, we need to understand where they come from. Each of these blocks comes from a function in Trigonometry. Trigonometry is the study of triangles (and circles). In trigonometry, we deal with right triangles (triangles with a right angle). We label each side of the triangle as "Hypotenuse" (Hyp), "Adjacent" (Adj), and "Opposite" (Opp), according to the below: The adjacent is aligned with the x axis and is next to the "main point" of the triangle. The opposite is aligned with the y axis and is opposite the "main point". The hypotenuse is not aligned with any axis and is next to the "main point". We also use a unit circle. A unit circle is a circle who's radius is 1. ›› § ‹‹ The first function, sine (pronounced sign, abbreviated sin), can be thought of as the ratio of ⟨Opp / Hyp⟩. Sin is also the y position of a point along the edge of a unit circle. The second function, cosine (pronounced co-sign, abbreviated cos), can be thought of as the ratio of ⟨Adj / Hyp⟩. Cos is also the x position of a given point along the edge of a unit circle. The third function, tangent (pronounced tangent, abbreviated tan), can be thought of as the ratio of ⟨Opp / Adj⟩. Tan is also the slope (steepness) of a given line which starts at the center of the unit circle and ends at a point along the edge of a unit circle. You can remember the ratios using this acronym: Soh - Cah - Toa Sin - Cos - Tan ›› § ‹‹ I hope this gave you a better understanding of these blocks!
