The document explains the mnemonic 'SOH CAH TOA' used in trigonometry to remember the relationships of sine, cosine, and tangent in right triangles. It clarifies that 'SOH CAH TOA' is not a person but a memory aid for recalling the ratios involving the hypotenuse, opposite, and adjacent sides. The article emphasizes the importance of mnemonics for mastering difficult mathematical concepts.

1. What is Soh Cah Toa?
By Ernesto Pérez
The Power of Mnemonics
and Why You Don't Need to
Hate Trigonometry

2. Was Soh Cah Toa a
native American
indian chief?

3. Was Soh Cah Toa an
American indian
teacher?

4. Or is Soh Cah Toa
none of the above?

5. Yes, the correct
answer is none of
the above...
because Soh Cah
Toa is not a person.

6. In mathematics
there are lots of
terms and
definitions that are
hard to remember.

7. We can cope with
them using
mnemonic phrases.
Trigonometry is a
field of math with
many hard terms.

8. Mnemonic
phrases are aids
to remember
something that
otherwise is hard
to retain in the
mind.

9. In trigonometry, the
right triangle is a very
special one with unique
properties not found in
other triangles.
Mnemonics is good
here.

10. A
c
C
a
b
B
Let’ s see… in every
right triangle ABC, the
angle C is always a 90
degrees angle. This
angle is called a right
angle. Side c is the
hypotenuse.

11. Every angle -written
in uppercase- has two
adjacent sides and
one opposite side -
written in lowercase.

12. The hypotenuse of a
right triangle is the
opposite side of the
right angle.

13. A
c = hypotenuse
C
a
b
B

14. A
c
C
a
b
B
For any angle -say the
angle A- there are
three basic
trigonometric
functions:
the sine of A, the
cosine of A, and the
tangent of A.

15. Now is the creepy
moment of talking
about the mnemonic
Soh-Cah-Toa.
Are you ready?

16. The sine of A is the ratio
of the opposite of A
divided by the hypotenuse.
Sine =
hypotenuse
opposite
See the Soh?

17. The Cosine of A is the
ratio of the adjacent of A
divided by the hypotenuse.
See the Cah?
Cosine =
hypotenuse
adjacent

18. The Tangent of A is the
ratio of the opposite of A
divided by the adjacent.
See the Toa?
Tangent =
adjacent
opposite

19. Sine =
hypotenuse
opposite
Cosine =
hypotenuse
adjacent
Tangent =
adjacent
opposite

20. Nothing is
simpler than
that, you got it?

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