This week we will continue our study of right triangles. Last week we talked about the Pythagorean Theorem and how we can make comparisons of triangle side lengths in order to determine if a triangle is acute, right or obtuse.
We will start off this week by examining some "special right triangles", namely an isosceles right triangle and a 30-60-90 triangle. There are special relationships that exist within these figures that allow us to figure out the length of all sides of the triangle if we only know one side length.
On Wednesday's class, we will check in with a short formative assessment to make sure that we have a firm understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem and Special Right Triangles before we move on to some right triangle trigonometry. We will use right triangle trigonometry (SOH CAH TOA) to solve for missing side lengths and missing angle measurements in a right triangle.
For this unit, students need to have a scientific calculator (one with sin, cos, and tan buttons). I would recommend something like a TI-30X because the order in which students press the buttons on the calculator matches up with the way we write our trigonometry equations.
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