Trigonometry (a.k.a. "Trig", the most hated topic in all of math...)

I still fondly remember my first day of trig, on a beautiful spring day way back when. Vividly. I think of it often, in fact, because my first impressions of trig that sunny day are what guide me every time I sit down to teach trig now. That first impression? "What the heck is my teacher talking about, why would anyone want to do this, when am I ever going to see this again, and why is the world doing this to me?"

That's right, I hated trig too! Since then, like most "math people", I've come to be amazed by trig because I've seen how it's used in everything around us, from bridges to TVs to snowboarding. But when I teach it, I put myself back in the shoes of that kid looking at "sinX" for the first time and wondering why the heck my teacher/parents/world is doing this to me. I don't try and convince students that this is great stuff, because if you know any teenagers or college students (and you probably do if you're visiting this site), you know that enthusiasm for the subject would be counter-productive. Instead, I just teach students what they need to know to get through their class with the least confusion possible. From the Unit Circle to proofs, I've tutored this class so many times - to kids of so many ability levels - that I've figured out the least painful way to explain each and every topic in the class.

So put on your seat belt, click a chapter title below, and prepare to be inspired! just get through it.

Chapter	Description

SohCahToa: Intro to Sine, Cosine & Tangent	Start trig off on the right foot, SohCahToa, before getting into the hard stuff.

"Special" Triangles	Or not so special. But hey, gotta learn your 30-60-90 and 45-45-90 if you're gonna rock the unit circle, right?

Secant, Co-Secant, and Co-Tangent	Just because you've got SohCahToa and the Special triangles down pat, don't get too cocky. ChoShaCao awaits...

The Unit Circle	Using SohCahToa to derive the unit circle chart and find trig functions of any angle, positive or negative!

Radians. Finally!	Now that we've (sort of) mastered the Unit Circle, we're ready to tackle the pi-laden annoyance called Radians.