ACT Test: Trigonometry, Logarithms, and Matrices (Adapted from OnLineMathLearning.

com and from SparkNotes, in accord with Terms and Conditions) Lets start with trigonometry. You only have to know a few basics to do well on the ACT trig questions. The topics of trig covered by the ACT are: 1. Sine, cosine, tangent 3. Trigonometric Identities Definitions Sine Cosine Tangent Cosecant Secant 2. Solving Triangles 4. Trigonometric Graphs

Opposite over Hypotenuse Adjacent over Hypotenuse Opposite over Adjacent Hypotenuse over Opposite Hypotenuse over Adjacent

To understand trig functions better, construct a right triangle that includes the angle in question. Opposite means the side facing the angle; adjacent means the side thats next to the angle, but isnt the hypotenuse (the side opposite the 90 angle). Say you have the following right triangle:

There are two right triangles you should know inside-out with before sitting down to take the ACT: the 45-45-90 degree triangle and the 30-60-90 degree triangle. You should, for example, memorize the values of the sine, cosine, and tangent for the angles in these triangles, and also for the angles 0 and 180. ACT trig questions often involve these angles, and if you know the values in the table below, you can speedily find the answer. Angle 0 30 45 60 90 1 1/2 0 Undefined Sine 0 1/2 1 Cosine Tangent 1 0 Solving Triangles Once you understand the trigonometric functions of sine, cosine, and tangent, you should be able to use these functions to solve a triangle: if you are given some information about a triangle, you can use the trigonometric functions to figure out the values of other angles or sides of the triangle.

For example, what is the length of in the triangle below?

In this problem, if you are familiar with the 30-60-90 degree triangle, youll already know the ratio of the sides in such a triangle to one another. But you can also use trig to solve for . You are given the measure of , as well as the length of . The diagram also shows that this triangle is a right triangle. You can use this information to solve for if you can figure ,

out which trigonometric function to use. You have to find the value of side which stands opposite the angle you know. You also know the value of the

hypotenuse. To figure out , then, you can use the trig function that uses both opposite and hypotenuse, which is sine. From the chart of the values of critical points, you know that sin 30 = 1/2. To solve:

Another favorite ACT problem is to combine the Pythagorean theorem with trig functions, like this: What is the sine of in right triangle ABC below?

To find the sine of , you need to know the value of the side opposite and the value of the hypotenuse. The figure gives the value of the hypotenuse, but not of the opposite side. However, since the figure does provide the value of calculate the value of the opposite side, , you can , by using the Pythagorean theorem.

Now that you know the value of

, you can solve for sine A:

Trigonometric Identities A trigonometric identity is an equation involving trigonometric functions that holds true for all angles. For the ACT test, trigonometric identities, on those few occasions when they come up, will be helpful in situations when you need to simplify a trigonometric expression. The two identities you should know are:

1.

2.

Radian mathematics: A radian is a central angle, for which lengths of its arc and radius are equal ( AmB = AO in figure). So, a radian measure of any angle is a ratio of a length of a circle arc to a circle radius.

There are 2 radians in a circle, since the ratio of the circumference to the radius is 2. Trigonometric Graphs The ACT will include one or two questions covering the graphs of the trigonometric functions. You should be able to match each graph with each function, and you should know when the different functions reach their highest point and lowest point.

Graph of y = sin x

Graph of y = cos x

Graph of y = tan x

Stretching the Trigonometric Graphs In addition to knowing the graphs of the trigonometric functions, you should also know how the graphs can be stretched vertically or horizontally. Vertical stretches affect the graphs amplitude, while horizontal stretches change the period. Stretching the Amplitude If a coefficient is placed in front of the function, the graph will stretch vertically: its highest points will be higher and its lowest points will be lower. Whereas the function y= sin x never goes higher than 1 or lower than 1, the function y= 3sin x has a high point of 3 and a low point of 3. Changing the amplitude of a function does not change the value of x at which the high and low points occur. In the figure below, for example, y = sin x and y = 3 sin x both have their high points when x equals 3/2 and /2. The amplitude of a trigonometric function is equal to the absolute value of the coefficient that appears before the function. The amplitude of y = 2 cos x is 2, the amplitude of y = 1/2 sin x is 1 /2, and the amplitude of y = 2 sin x is 2.

Stretching the Period If a coefficient is placed before the x in a trigonometric function, the function is stretched horizontally: its curves become steeper or less steep depending on the coefficient. The curves of y = sin 3x are steeper than the curves of y = sin (x/2). This coefficient doesnt affect the amplitude of the function in any way, but it does affect where on the x-axis the function has its high and low points. The figure below shows how changing the period affects a sine curve. The ACT may test your knowledge of periods by presenting you with a trig function that has a period coefficient and asking you for the

smallest positive value where the function reaches its maximum value. Three examples: 1. What is the smallest positive value for x where y = sin 2x reaches its maximum value? 2. What is the smallest positive value for x where y = cos 2x reaches its maximum value? 3. What is the smallest positive value for x Where y = cos3x reaches its max. value? The answer to the first question is 45o or /4, the answer to the 2nd is 180o or , the answer to the 3rd is 120o, or 2/3. (Note that zero is another value where cos 2x reaches its maximum, but zero is not a positive value and is therefore not the answer.) You should now be able to answer this question:

If y = , then which of the following functions has 3 times the amplitude and one-third of the period? A. B. C. D. E. y= y= y= y= y=
Answer: C Angles more than 90 degrees. Note that angles are measured counter-clockwise from the positive x axis. Hence we can represent an angle = 240O in the third quadrant (i.e. an angle in between 180 and 270 degrees) as shown in the diagram below: In this diagram, Ive represented as located within the triangle drawn in the 3rd quadrant, but actually it stretches counter-clockwise from the positive x axis to the hypotenuse of that triangle. By visual inspection, you can see what happens to trigonometric functions that are not in the first quadrant of a circle: Angle in first quadrant: sin and cosine are positive; tangent is positive

Angle in 2nd quadrant: sin is positive, cosine negative; tangent is negative Angle in 3rd quadrant: sine is negative, cosine is negative, tangent is positive Angle in 4th quadrant: sine is negative, cosine is positive, tangent is negative Trig. Exercises 1. (sin A)2 = ? A. 1 - (cos A)2 B. (cos A)2 - 1 C. (tan A)2 D. 1 - (tan A)2 E. (tan A)2 - 1

2. If cos A = y/z and sin A = x/z, then tan A = ?

F. z/x G. z/y H. xy/z J. x/y

K. y/x

3. If x represents a real number, what is the greatest possible value of 4 sin 2x? A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 6 E. 12 4. Angles A and B each have measurements between 0 and 45. If cos A = sin B, what is the sum of Angle A and Angle B? F. 15 G. 30 H. 45 J. 90 K. 180 5. If cos = -3/5 and < < 3/2, then tan = F. 3/5 G. -3/4 H. -3/5 J. 5/4

K. 4/3

(To solve this last problem, you may refer to the 4-quadrant diagram above. Note that the x coordinate is -3 and the y coordinate is -4.) Exercise Answers: 1A 2J 3C 4J 5K

Logarithms Logarithms (like matrices) rarely appear in ACT Math. But sometimes they do, and you should know how to handle them. Logarithmic functions are inverses of exponential functions. That is: The exponential equation x = a
b

is equivalent to the logarithmic equation logax = b.

This relationship between logs and exponents is all you need to know in order to answer a logarithm question on the ACT. If you see

logx16 = 4, then you know that x4 = 16, and therefore x = 2.

You will be able to use this second, exponential form to answer the question. Other key rules about logarithms: log(xy) = log x + log y

and

logxc = n logxc

log (x/y) = log x log y

You can now see how to break down a logarithmic expression into bite-sized components: log abc = log (abc) log d 3 = log a + log b + log c log d d3 = log a + log b + 2 log c 3 log d
3

OK, now exercise what youve learned by solving for x in a couple of equations: x = log84 + log816

x=?

Answer: x = log864

=2 x=?

log224 - log23 = log5x

Answer:

log224 - log23 = log5x (begin by using the division rule for logarithms) log28 = log5x 3 = log5x x = 125 Lets try one more. Please solve for x:
=4 Answer: =4 =4 )=4 =4 =1 =3

x=8
Matrices. Matrix problems occur rarely on an ACT test, but you should be prepared to encounter them.

You can add or subtract matrices. For example,

What is A + B? To answer this question, you simply add the corresponding entries in A and B. The entries in the first row are 2 + (4) = 2 and 0 + 1 = 1. The entries in the second row are 3 + 6 = 9 and (5) + 3 = 2. So the resulting matrix is:

If the question had asked you what A B is, then you would simply subtract the entries in B from the corresponding entries in A. Here is another sum of two matrices, but the second one is multiplied by the number 2:

1/3 -1 Matrix multiplication:

+ 2

1 -1 2/3 -2

2 -1 5/3 -5

Find C = A B Step 1 : Multiply the elements in the first row of A with the corresponding elements in the first column of B. Add the products to get the element C11 The subscript 11 refers to the element in the first (i.e. leftmost) position of the first (i.e. the top) row.

Step 2 : Multiply the elements in the first row of A with the corresponding elements in the second column of B. Add the products to get the element C12

Step 3 : Multiply the elements in the second row of A with the corresponding elements in the first column of B. Add the products to get the element C21

Step 4 : Multiply the elements in the second row of A with the corresponding elements in the second column of B. Add the products to get the element C22

After studying the above, see if you can multiple these two matrices:

-1

1/3 -1 Answer: 2/3 -2 -1/3 5/3

2/3 -2

SAT II Test Preparation

Trigonometric Formulas
A trigonometric identity is an equation involving trigonometric functions that holds true for all angles. These identities are commonly called Pythagorean identities, because they come from the Pythagorean theorem.

In general, the Math IIC will test your knowledge of the trigonometric identities by giving you a complex expression that you have to simplify. These questions have more to do with memorizing the identities and being good with algebraic substitution than they do with the theoretical concepts of trigonometry. For example:
What is ?

To solve a problem like this, use the trigonometric identities to simplify the trigonometric expression into sines and cosines. After you have simplified the expression using the identities, it is quite likely that the expressions will simplify further through the canceling of terms. The simplification of the expression in the example questions proceeds as follows.

Simplify the mess given to you by the problem, and you get sin2 . Heres another example:
What is tan 2 cos 2 + 1 sin 2

Other Trigonometric Identities

About once a test, you may encounter a particularly complicated trigonometric expression. Such expressions can usually be solved using the trigonometric identities weve already covered, but the process will be laborious and difficult. However, if you know the special trigonometric identities below, these questions will be much easier and less time-consuming. We list the special trigonometric identities in the order of usefulness, starting with the ones most likely to be used on the test.

Sum and Difference Formulas

There are three identities for the sum of two angles:

There are also three identities for the difference of two angles:

Try to use these identities in a sample problem:

Simplify the following expression: sin 2 x + cos 2 x sec 2 x + tan 2 x.

Using the identities sin2x + cos2x = 1 and 1 + tan2x = sec2x, the expression simplifies in the following way:

Heres another example to practice with:

If sin a = cos b = 3 / 5 and a and b are both in the second quadrant, what is cos ( a b)?

If sin a = 3 / 5 and the angle is in the second quadrant, then cos a = 4 / 5 . Also, if cos b = 3 / 5 and b is in the second quadrant, then sin b = 4 / 5 . See the figure below:

Now you can use the subtraction identity = (

4

to see that
12

/ 5 )( 3 / 5 ) + (3 / 5 )( 4 / 5 ) =

/ 25 +

12

/ 25 =

24

/ 25 .

If you are familiar with the formula for cos(a b ) and remember the Pythagorean triple 3-4-5, you can save time on a question like this. Otherwise, you have to calculate the arcsine of 3 / 5 and the arccosine of 3 / 5 in order to find and , respectively. Then you have to subtract from and take the cosine of the resulting angle.

Double Angle Formulas

There are three double angle formulas.

Side Angle Side

This is the formula for finding a third side of a triangle when you know the lengths of the two other sides and their included angle:

side c = a + b -2ab cos(C) Half Angle Formulas

Of all trigonometric identities, the six half-angle formulas appear most infrequently on the Math IIC.