tex-mex Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Already planning for 2012-2013 school year: Upon reading the sample (online) introduction chapter for Apologia Physics, I was surprised to see listed that the student has to be familiar with sine, cosine, & tangent. So, am I correct in thinking to postpone Apologia Physics until having completed TT Pre-Calculus where sine, cosine & tangent are introduced and covered? :confused: Or can I go ahead and implement it (next year) while teaching TT Algebra II? Currently we are doing TT Geometry along with Apologia Chemistry (and the GPB Chemistry videos). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 You should only need the applications of these (and their inverses) to right triangles if I've read the sample module correctly. Chapter 11 of TT geometry seems to cover these, however I don't see the inverse functions listed on their table of contents. If TT geometry discusses sin^-1 (also known as arcsin) and the others, I believe you're set. If they don't discuss them, it should be possible to teach this topic only in one lesson with a borrowed book if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I do not know the specific text, but generally, all the trigonometry needed for an algebra based physics course can be learned in a single afternoon. You basically need to be able to determine the sides in a right triangle if the hypotenuse and one of the angles are given (a common occurrence for vector components). So, you need the definitions of sine, cosine and tangent. The mnemonic SOHCAHTOA is a life saver for many students (Sine=Opposite/Hypotenuse,Cosine=Adjacent/Hypotenuse,Tangent=Opposite/Adjacent). It is also desirable to know the basic behavior of sine and cosine, and the Pythagorean Theorem. It is usually not necessary to have covered trig identities, addition theorems, functions of double angles and the like; these are not necessary for an understanding of physics and for most problems. I see no reason to postpone physics till after precalc. My DD succeeded in college physics with algebra 1, some geometry, and a one day crash course in basic trig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 I do not know the specific text, but generally, all the trigonometry needed for an algebra based physics course can be learned in a single afternoon.You basically need to be able to determine the sides in a right triangle if the hypotenuse and one of the angles are given (a common occurrence for vector components). So, you need the definitions of sine, cosine and tangent. The mnemonic SOHCAHTOA is a life saver for many students (Sine=Opposite/Hypotenuse,Cosine=Adjacent/Hypotenuse,Tangent=Opposite/Adjacent). It is also desirable to know the basic behavior of sine and cosine, and the Pythagorean Theorem. It is usually not necessary to have covered trig identities, addition theorems, functions of double angles and the like; these are not necessary for an understanding of physics and for most problems. I see no reason to postpone physics till after precalc. My DD succeeded in college physics with algebra 1, some geometry, and a one day crash course in basic trig. *whew* :svengo: You saved my bacon on that one, Regentrude! Thank you so much! :) I also have on hand Hewitt's Conceptual Physics student textbook, GPB Physics DVDs, and other lab resources. But am happy to find out this is possible to do after Algebra I and Geometry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I used the Apologia text for several years at our co-op. The only trig used is in the context of right triangles. A student needs to be able to use the sin, cos, tan buttons and their inverses on a calculator. I'm not sure that TT teaches the necessary skills in their Geometry text, but most other texts do. If it hasn't been learned there, it can be learned quite quickly. There are also a couple of modules where students need to be able to solve two equations for two unknowns. That's the most complicated the math gets in Apologia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I found watching the first two videos on Trig from Khan Academy very helpful. They walk you through SOHCAHTOA. http://www.khanacademy.org/#trigonometry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I found watching the first two videos on Trig from Khan Academy very helpful. They walk you through SOHCAHTOA. http://www.khanacademy.org/#trigonometry Paula, I'm the lame one who has to ask which Khan trig video(s) will teach SOHCAHTOA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Paula, I'm the lame one who has to ask which Khan trig video(s) will teach SOHCAHTOA? Basic trig 1 and 2 (the first two on the trigonometry playlist). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Basic trig 1 and 2 (the first two on the trigonometry playlist). Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 Awesome work everyone! :) I knew the Hive would help me out on this one. Now I am off to bookmark the sites and list it on paper for next year's class. Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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