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These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.

Trigonometric functions

This short task contains two questions on applying trigonometry.

The topics covered are:

  • Linking sine, cosine and tangent
  • Using Pythagoras to determine a length in a triangle and then give the tangent of an angle in surd form
  • Using the Pythagorean identity sin2(x) + cos2(x) = 1 to find the value of cos(x) if sin2(x) + 2cos(x) – 2 = 0

There are pre-lesson and post-lesson formative assessment tasks. Detailed teacher notes give suggestions on questioning and how to use the resources. Full solutions are given for each of the sections.

This is a concept development lesson from the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service, a collaboration between UC Berkeley and the Shell Centre team at the University of Nottingham. Further information on the collection is given here.

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