Question

what information do you need to be given to be able to use trig function to solve for a missing side length of a right triangle?

Answer 1

Sin = opp/hyp
Cos = adj/hyp
Tan = opp/adj

Let’s say we have an angle 50 and the hypotenuse length is 20cm, to find the opposite we could either use the sin or tan function. Let’s say we use the sin function.

Sin(50)=x/20
x=sin(50)*20
=15.32cm (2dp)