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Lesson 38 · Finding the angle
Running the ratio backwards
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Running the ratio backwards

So far the angle was handed to you. But if you know two sides, the ratio is just a number, 35=0.6\dfrac{3}{5} = 0.6 — and the question flips: which angle has that sine? The tool is the inverse: θ=sin⁡−1(0.6)\theta = \sin^{-1}(0.6) (read aloud: theta equals inverse sine of zero point six). Some books say arc-sine; both mean the angle whose sine is. It lives above the sin button, usually behind SHIFT or 2nd.

Same story for cos⁡−1\cos^{-1} and tan⁡−1\tan^{-1}. The ritual: build the ratio from the two sides you know, feed it to the matching inverse, and out come degrees. Two warnings from the marking room: the little −1-1 is NOT an exponent — nobody is dividing by sine — and the calculator must say DEG, or every answer in this lesson arrives in radians: beautifully, uselessly precise.

θoh

sin⁡θ=oh\sin\theta = \frac{o}{h}

  • θ\theta= Acute angle (angle)
  • oo= Opposite side (length)
  • hh= Hypotenuse (length)
Right-Triangle Sine Ratio (SOH) solver →
θah

cos⁡θ=ah\cos\theta = \frac{a}{h}

  • θ\theta= Acute angle (angle)
  • aa= Adjacent side (length)
  • hh= Hypotenuse (length)
Right-Triangle Cosine Ratio (CAH) solver →
θoa

tan⁡θ=oa\tan\theta = \frac{o}{a}

  • θ\theta= Acute angle (angle)
  • oo= Opposite side (length)
  • aa= Adjacent side (length)
Right-Triangle Tangent Ratio (TOA) solver →