Trigonometry is STUPID

[ridehonda400ex]

How many of you have used this outside of school? Im about to call my stupid teacher and tell her my mind. I even asked her today when we would use this and she didn't give me an answer! Teach me something I need to know! Not something a astrologer would only use!

[ProspectorJim]

Tell an engineer how much that stuff doesn't matter.

[ridehonda400ex]

I understand that. But I feel like it shouldnt be a required highschool skill to know. If your going to college and your field requires Trig, then that is when you should learn it.

[beastlywarrior]

haha business, engineering pretty much any future math

my highschool didnt have a trig class but i wish they did

[BlaineKaiser450]

I just got done with the trig portion of my geometry class, and it didn't seem too bad once I understood how it worked a little bit

[ZeroLogic]

Hate to say it, but it don't hurt to know and have under your belt. I'd love to learn that stuff for free again.:o

[HondaPohl]

Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, Machining. It helps. If you dont get it, its most likely due to a ****ty teacher.

[TheLane]

I use trigonometry to calculate the trajectory of my foot in my little brothers *** when he acts up. the kid is 18 and still doesnt have a job.

[ridehonda400ex]

Im sure it is nice to know....but when your teacher gives you the homework at the last minute of class and you dont understand it..wtf am i supposed to do? I hate school so much except for Ag mechanics. Im good with hands on and simple(r) math but Trig just has me completely lost..and pissed off..

[Canadian144]

Trig really isn't that bad. Now everyone always said Calculus is hard. I've found it to be easier than any other math though...

[CJM]

I understand your frustrations, I hate math too.

About all you can do is go to class, tell the teacher you didnt understand wtf to do and make them show you.

I find in life unless your an engineer or need to use it in your daily life there is a super simple formula or someone else who does these things for you. Course it does come in handy when fabricating and machining parts like I do sometimes-but I have web based calcs and stuff I use for it.

Dont sweat it, its a part of life not know how to do math.

[250x_kyle]

comes in handy alot more then you think. trig for machining is simple but very easy to screw up.

[bmxican345]

I'm an engineering major. Just wait till you learn imaginary numbers.

[m0t0xk1d]

Honestly Trig is easy. think of this Sohcahtoa.

This means when you have the hypotenuse and you have the opposite side of the hypotenuse you use sin.

When you have the Hypotenuse and the adjecent side you use cosin

When you have the Opposite of the hypotenuse and the adajecent side you use tangent.

That pretty sums it up. then you can always look back on each of it to divide back and get other sides and such.

Trig is VERY useful and be glad your highschool taught it because when your in a group in college and everyone knows it but you, your going to have some major difficulties.

[Sjorge450R]

I hope you are never planning on continuing your math career. Trig is the building blocks for Calc. You NEED to practice. The only way to get better at math is to practice.

[rbgnwa45]

Don't hate something that is of practical engineering knowledge. You see the properties of trig in everyday life.

I didn't take trig in high-school, but now that I want to take a 3 year + internship for architectural technology in college, I have to go back to learn stuff like that (and for up to a year!).

Don't bother with practice (it's not like the formula is going to change)... you just have to wrap your head around it fully, and remember (or reference) the table. Understand why this is implimented and you'll understand it better. If I'm understanding wikipedia correctly, it shows the relationship between triangles and other shapes such as spheres over time (movement), and you can graph it.

It's just a formula. It should be as easy as pushing a button, making toast, moving an object... it's just all logical. You simply plug in what you know you need to, and you have options to plug in. Knowing what you need to plug in comes with knowing which side of a triangle you're comparing to another one side, that's the first step. Easy.

Where is it used? (you should have googled it, much more info)


Fields that use trigonometry or trigonometric functions include astronomy (especially for locating apparent positions of celestial objects, in which spherical trigonometry is essential) and hence navigation (on the oceans, in aircraft, and in space), music theory, acoustics, optics, analysis of financial markets, electronics, probability theory, statistics, biology, medical imaging (CAT scans and ultrasound), pharmacy, chemistry, number theory (and hence cryptology), seismology, meteorology, oceanography, many physical sciences, land surveying and geodesy, architecture, phonetics, economics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, computer graphics, cartography, crystallography and game development.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Tan_drawing_process.gif/120px-Tan_drawing_process.gif

(They're .gifs dunno if they work) This is the practicality in it (graphing process of y = tan(x) using a unit circle), astronomers use it for orbit.

An example of cosine (graphing process of y = csc(x) using a unit circle).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Csc_drawing_process.gif/120px-Csc_drawing_process.gif

These are laws, so essentially what it's saying is that "this equals that because of this".

"Some Old Horses Chew Apples Happily Throughout Old Age".
Sine, Opposite, Hypotenuse, Cosine, Adjascent, Hypotenuse, Tangent, Opposite, Adjascent.

[TheLane]

Dont worry little buddy....this stuff makes my brain hurt too.....ill stick to banking.

(but that requires math too.....you should try calculating an amortization schedule for a 6 year loan.....*Sigh*)

[brian76708]

i had the same attitude as you then i decided to go to College. trust me try your hardest well its free. and yes it is something you will use in life.

[blaster12s]

wait till you get to calc. and yes im an engineer and we use it all the time.

[Canadian144]

^ Man calc's a piece of a cake if you understand the previous units. Taking the derivative and integrating functions isn't really that bad.

[fastredrider44]

I use trig everyday. And still refer to the SOHCAHTOA method. The right teacher makes all the difference in the world.

[Quad18star]

If you're getting into engineering, you'll use it every day.

[tayyo789]

Trust me, you want to take it in high school and get it, than try and do it in college, mainly because in college, you have about 1/3 the time to learn it. Plus you have to pay for it. Trig is one of the most useful things you can learn in Math IMO. I took a few years of general physics, and we learned about all kinds of real life applications for the things we were learning, and most of the math we did involved trig.

[trick450r]

Im going to school for mech/aerospace eng. right now and I use trig every single day...once it clicks in your head, its all cake.

Also when I was in HS I was ready to go to school for a business major, ended up where I am now which is a complete 180. Point being, you dont know what you will and will not need to use in your life. My best advice is to take your teachers word for it!

[trick450r]

Originally posted by blaster12s
wait till you get to calc. and yes im an engineer and we use it all the time.

Calc isnt bad if you get by trig...I just wrapped up a class last semester "Applied Tirgonometric Functions" what a pain in the nutsack that was, I went in thinking trig is trig is trig. Aparently thats not the case, by the fourth week SOHCAHTOA was out the fuggin window...

[wilkin250r]

Math of all kinds (Trig included) is really important. Studies have shown that it's really the closest thing to how to human brain actually learns and reasons through problems, ALL problems, not just math.

A major study several years back, a group of students with low test scores in English and reading, were split in half. The half that studied just English extensively for the next year improved 20%. The half that studied English and Math over the next year improved 50%.

No, the real world doesn't have you calculating sines and cosines on a daily basis. But it DOES have you solving problems, and the more you apply yourself at Math today, the better you will be at solving life's general problems tomorrow.

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
Math of all kinds (Trig included) is really important. Studies have shown that it's really the closest thing to how to human brain actually learns and reasons through problems, ALL problems, not just math.

A major study several years back, a group of students with low test scores in English and reading, were split in half. The half that studied just English extensively for the next year improved 20%. The half that studied English and Math over the next year improved 50%.

No, the real world doesn't have you calculating sines and cosines on a daily basis. But it DOES have you solving problems, and the more you apply yourself at Math today, the better you will be at solving life's general problems tomorrow.

So very true.

Math was probably one of my weakest subjects throughout school ... and who'd have figured I'd have taken an engineering program. :confused:

The more you do it, the easier it gets.

Engineering has to be the worst career to get into. I can't even go out to an arena or pass a bridge without analyzing it and figuring out how they designed it. LOL Even worse ... haven taken a mining discipline ... I'm staring at the rock cuts along the side of the highway. A little bit of shiny rock and there goes my attention. :blah:

[ridehonda400ex]

Originally posted by fastredrider44
I use trig everyday. And still refer to the SOHCAHTOA method. The right teacher makes all the difference in the world.



AMEN!! My teacher just makes it sooooo confusing but the other math teacher we have has helped me before with things I didnt understand and BAM! I got it, Its like some teachers teach more than whats actually needed and it makes it confusing for students

[CJM]

I think Im in like the 10% of the world whose brain doesnt work like everyone elses. Im wired different or something cause math is not easy for me, even stupid simple calculations I need to thoroughly think over-even basic things like addition and subtraction, etc need a minute to think about.

Funny tho, I can build or improvise most anything if I got the time and materials. I can picture it all in my head, no need for plans or blue prints and often wing it was I go along if need be, the end result is usually quite good too. When I do need to do math for this Im not sure why but I tend to get it better and do it much quicker..maybe cause I enjoy it?

I can look at an object and tell you if its out of square or round usually quite well, I can analyze a situation and come up with an answer quickly too (IE the putting puzzles together thing they do to test ya). IDK its hard to explain.

Or I can do anything you want in english, gimme an hour and I can write you a professional term paper if need be. Study for a test??? besides math I dont ever really study.

Then again I was tested back in school due to my math deficiencies and found to be exceptionally gifted in language and reading comprehension among other stuff..so who knows?

I guess Im just nuts :blah:

[Warnerade]

just nut upand do it

[buck440]

the high school i went to you can pick your classes. i never went past basic math. i also never planned to be a engineer so i didn't bother.

[Warnerade]

that...actually explains a lot.

[buck440]

yes...it did.

[C41Xracer]

i use trig. all the time