Finding the correct angle

[Fred Smith]

I believe this is Navy trick to remember the trig functions, I'll try to explain, hopefully without pictures.

1. the trig functions apply to right triangles, (one 90 deg corner)
2. the leg opposite the right angle is always the hypotenuse.
3. from either the other 2 corners, the leg forming one side is adjacent
4. the other is the opposite.

with that in mind, take the first letter from the punch line to remember the trig function. sine = opp(Oscar)/hyp(Has), cos=adj(A)/hyp(Hat), tan=opp(On)/adj(Always)

So if you can remember sin,cos,tan and the Oscar Has A Hat On Always, a $5 scientific calculator and a scrap of paper you're in business.

For those more shop minded Hard is sometimes substituted with Hat

[Qwert66]

Or this might work - Oley Had (Sine) A Hairy (Cosine) Old Arm (Tangant)
Seemed to stick from highschool.

Another one on litmus paper - BRA (Blue to Red = Acid)

[FabTech]

Here's an old school one for the boys

Oscar Had Another Hard On Again
Sine Cosine Tangent

I forgot the one for girls

[dogdog]

The one we learned in school is just some Indian name or something

SOA CAH TOA something pronounced like "soo cah toe"

[Bodybagger]

Thanks for all the replies. Im trying to save to got to welding school so I can eventually answer my own questions.

I think you'll be disappointed if you go into a welding program expecting to master geometry and trigonometry.

As for remembering mnemonics for solving certain triangles... forget about words. Just learn the simplest trigonometric figure. The unit circle.



The radius is 1, so the hypotenuse is always 1. Makes things easy. Note that the point on the circle has an X coordinate equal to the cosine of the angle. It has a Y coordinate equal to the sine of the angle. And the slope of the hypotenuse is analogous to the tangent of the angle... which is rise over run (everybody knows slope is rise over run - even roofers). And rise over run happens to be Y/X.

The more you learn about trigonometry and higher math, the more you realize this circle is the ultimate cheat sheet. It tells you the formulas to everything.

[m.k.swelding]

We made a set one time but we made it with 16''x 16'' hardwood saw logs.
Just an idea

[vin-man welding]

from the ramps i see i hope your idea of a heavy truck is just a one ton? i think heavy truck I'm thinking 60,000 empty. it's great to see all the math but it needs to hold the weight. please post a pic if one ramp collapses. think about it.

[UH60LCHIEF]

I believe this is Navy trick to remember the trig functions, I'll try to explain, hopefully without pictures.

1. the trig functions apply to right triangles, (one 90 deg corner)

Sort of... Law of Cosines and Law of Sines apply to solving remaining angles and lengths of non right triangles as well, but like Bodybagger said the unit circle is a giveaway for right angles. We always used the "Soak A toe A" SOH CAH TOA mnemonic.

SOH = Sine = Opposite over Hypotenuse
CAH = Cosine = Adjacent over Hypotenuse
TOA = Tangent = Opposite over Adjacent

It's really all about ratios just like the unit circle, but it's also about using what information you do have to solve for what you do not.

[drverdon]

If you subtract 4 feet from the top and the bottom, you get a right angled triangle where the base is 8 feet (a) and the height is 2 ' 6" (b). The side you want is the hypotenuse (c). So, if you use the Pythagorean Theorem:

(a*a)+(b*b)=(c*c) or (a squared) + (b squared) = (c squared)

Then you get:

c = square root ((a*a)+(b*b)).

In this case, convert the feet to inches
a=8*12=96
b=2*12+6=30

c=square root ((96*96)+(30*30))
=square root (9216+900)
=square root (10116)
=100.5783 inches
=8.3815 feet = approximately 8 feet and 4 37/64 inches (almost 8' 4 9/16")

Hope this makes sense