General Mathematics · trigonometry · manipulative

Sine, cosine, tangent as ratios of sides

Pick one acute angle in a right triangle. Every side then has a job — opposite, adjacent, hypotenuse — and the three ratios are built from them.

θ = 0°
opposite adjacent hypotenuse

Drag the top vertex to reshape the triangle — the right angle stays put.

Reference angle

×1.00

The three ratios