This week in math I learned how to make sure my work in trigonometry is sensible.  Knowing if it is sensible helps because you can figure out if your answer is reasonable. So, how I do this is very simple…

…first of all, angle A corresponds with side a, angle B corresponds with side b, and angle C corresponds with side c.  We know this is a right angle triangle and that B is equal to 90 degrees.  We know this will be the largest angle because the angle A and C have to equal to 90 degrees when added together.  So since angle C is 66 degrees and it is greater than 45, we know angle A has to be less than 45.  So if A is the smallest angle, side a should also be the smallest side length.  If angle C is “neutral”, then side c will be the second biggest side length.  Finally if angle B is the largest, then side b will be the largest side length.  This is how you know your work is accurate.