Curated OER
Trig Cheat Sheet
Your pre-calculus learners will make use of this wonderful cheat sheet that summarizes all things trigonometric. Definitions based on both the unit circle and the right triangle are included, as well as many convenient trigonometric...
National Geographic
Measuring Elevation Past and Present
After viewing a short video about a climb up Mount Everest, high schoolers read about triangulation for measuring distant elevations. Have your class work in groups to construct an inclinometer and then use it to measure the height of...
Curated OER
Mt. Whitney to Death Valley
This is an intriguing problem that brings together real-world data, technology, and mathematical problem solving. If visibility wasn't an issue, could you see from the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, to the lowest...
K20 LEARN
ADA Accessibility: Inverse Trigonometric Functions
Ramp up using trigonometric ratios. After receiving a request to check school ramps to verify they meet ADA requirements, groups calculate the angle of the incline on ramps on campus. They report their findings via a letter to the...
Flipped Math
Trig Ratios
Take ratios of sides to a new level. Pupils learn the definitions of the three basic trigonometric ratios in right triangles. Using the definitions, scholars find missing lengths in right triangles, based on a known angle. Individuals...
Flipped Math
Unit 7 Review: Right Triangles
It is all right to spend some time with a review. After watching a short review video covering the materials from the unit, pupils work through 23 review problems. Scholars work on problems involving the Pythagorean Theorem and its...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 4: Similarity and Right Triangle Trigonometry
Right you are to use a great resource. Starting with a lesson on dilations, scholars learn about similarity transformations and similar triangles. They use the knowledge to develop an understanding of right triangle trigonometry in later...
CCSS Math Activities
Smarter Balanced Sample Items: High School Math – Target O
Trigger an increased understanding of trigonometry. Young mathematicians answer a set of questions that require finding trigonometric ratios using similarity and solving real-world problems involving trigonometry. The questions all come...
101 Questions
Sacre Coeur Funicular
Rise to the challenge of trigonometry. Watching a video of an ascending funicular at the Sacre Coeur in Paris sets the stage for a challenging task. Young mathematicians use a given diagram, along with the concepts of slope and...
101 Questions
Lost in the City with a Clinometer
Come look at trigonometry from a different angle. To begin a simple activity, scholars view a video of someone using a clinometer to find the angle of elevation to the top of a building. They then use a diagram that shows the building's...
Yummy Math
Parametric Equations and a Heart
Trigonometry, art, and Valentine's Day come together in a creative activity about parametric equations. Learners calculate several equations before graphing them either by hand, on a graphic calculator, or Excel spreadsheet to curve...
CK-12 Foundation
Special Triangle Ratios: Special Right Triangle Ratios
Go from one side length to any other side length with special right triangles. Individuals use the interactive to investigate the ratio of sides in 45-45 and 30-60 right triangles. Scholars make generalizations about the types of special...
CK-12 Foundation
Secant, Cosecant, and Cotangent Functions: Hold the Ladder!
Determine the length of a falling ladder. Pupils use an interactive to find the angle a ladder makes with the floor after it falls to answer questions. The scholars use the triangle formed in the interactive to determine values of...
CK-12 Foundation
Sine, Cosine, and Tangent Functions: Lighthouse
How far is that boat from the lighthouse? Scholars create diagrams to represent a scenario given the angle of depreciation from a lighthouse to a boat. Learners apply the basic trigonometric functions to find various distances stemming...
CK-12 Foundation
Basic Trigonometric Functions: Ladder Length
Climb the ladder to trigonometry. The interactive introduces trigonometric ratios and finding lengths of sides of right triangles created by a ladder and a building. Learners use the interactive to create triangles by moving the top of...
CK-12 Foundation
Relationships of Sides in 30-60-90 Right Triangles: Truck on a Mountain Road
Determine the change in elevation on a mountain road. Individuals use the interactive to simulate a truck driving up a mountain road with a 30-degree incline. They determine missing sides of a 30-60 right triangle to find horizontal and...
CK-12 Foundation
Lengths of Sides in Isosceles Right Triangles: Paper Football
Fuse sports and geometry by having your class create paper footballs—that are actually isosceles right triangles! Scholars use an interactive to create an isosceles right triangle to model a paper football. From the information in the...
Virginia Department of Education
Special Right Triangles and Right Triangle Trigonometry
Right triangles are so special! Use special right triangles to discover the trigonometric ratios. Pairs construct special right triangles and find the values of the ratios of the sides. In the process, they discover the ratios stay the...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Modeling Motion: Rolling Cups
Connect the size of a rolling cup to the size of circle it makes. Pupils view videos of cups of different sizes rolling in a circle. Using the videos and additional data, they attempt to determine a relationship between cup measurements...
Inside Mathematics
Hopewell Geometry
The Hopewell people of the central Ohio Valley used right triangles in the construction of earthworks. Pupils use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine missing dimensions of right triangles used by the Hopewell people. The assessment task...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Solving Problems with Circles and Triangles
After completing a task involving examining the ratio of areas of triangles and circles in a given figure, scholars examine sample responses to identify other strategies they could use to solve the problem.
NASA
Communications and the Lunar Outpost
Can you hear me now? Groups use given information about communication on the moon to determine the maximum distance an astronaut can travel and stay in communication. Using the calculations, they determine what lunar features they can...
EngageNY
Applying the Laws of Sines and Cosines
Breaking the law in math doesn't get you jail time, but it does get you a wrong answer! After developing the Law of Sines and Cosines in lesson 33 of 36, the resource asks learners to apply the laws to different situations. Pupils must...
EngageNY
End-of-Module Assessment Task - Geometry (module 2)
Increase the level of assessment rigor with the test of performance tasks. Topics include similar triangles, trigonometric ratios, Law of Sines, Law of Cosines, and trigonometric problem solving.