M10C Discussion Forum

Trigonometry Update

 
 
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Trigonometry Update
by Colin Veldkamp - Tuesday, 22 May 2012, 5:18 PM
 

I've added a ZIP file into Semester 2 Updated Resources Book with all the updated files for Trigonometry, the first chapter in the Measurement Unit. 

The thing about this chapter I enjoyed the most was the progression in teaching Trig Ratios.

  • Solving similar triangles
  • Students drawing their own similar triangles in order to get the needed ratio
  • Realizing that we don't want to draw similar triangles and thankfully the Greeks measured all these triangles for us and stored the results in a Trig Table 
  • Revealing that the ratios from the trig table are also available on the calculator

I feel that by doing this progression students really do have a greater understanding of what the primary trig ratios actually are.

One thing I would like to do better next time is more application problems.  Indirect measurements, find heights of things, etc.

As always, I hope this helps and any feedback is appreciated and any ideas are welcome.

Colin