Geometry students have recently completed a unit on Right Triangles. They were introduced to the three basic trigonometric functions of sine, cosine, and tangent. Trigonometry means “triangle measurement” and was derived from the ancient Greek language. The ancient Greeks and Hindus used trigonometry as a tool for astronomy. The ancient Greeks used trigonometry to record the location of stars. Muslims used trigonometry and the stars to navigate across the Arabian Desert to Mecca. In the 19th century, The Great Trigonometric Survey of India was done to map out the country and to measure the height of Mount Everest. In 1852, the survey measured the height of Mount Everest to be 29,002 feet, which is close to the height of 29,035 feet measured in 1999. Trigonometry is not only used today in navigation, building and engineering; but also to study the structure of DNA.
~Michelle Greenbaum
Math Instructor
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