SAT II Math I : Finding Angles with Trigonometry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Math I

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Trigonometry

What is the measure of the angle made between a line segment with points  and the -axis?  Round your answer to the nearest hundreth of a degree.

Possible Answers:

No angle measure can be calculated

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Based on the information given, we know that the ratio of  to  on this segment could be represented as:

This ratio represents the tangent of the triangle formed by our line segment and the -axis.  Using the inverse tangent function, we can find the angle measure:

This refers to a reference angle of 

Example Question #2 : Trigonometry

What is the measure of the angle made between a line segment with points  and the -axis? Round your answer to the nearest hundreth of a degree.

Possible Answers:

No angle can be calculated

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Based on the information given, we know that the ratio of  to  on this segment could be represented as:

This ratio represents the tangent of the triangle formed by our line segment and the -axis. Using the inverse tangent function, we can find the angle measure:

This refers to a reference angle of .

Example Question #2 : Trigonometry

A triangle is formed by connecting the points .  Determine the elevation angle to the nearest integer in degrees.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

After connecting the points on the graph, the length of the triangular base is 1 unit.

The height of the triangle is 6.  To find the elevation angle, the angle is opposite from the height of the triangle.  Since we know the base and the height, the elevation angle can be solved by using the property of tangent.

The best answer is .

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