Trigonometry for Dummies »

Mary Jane Sterling, the author of the highly successful Algebra For Dummies, has taught mathematics at Bradley University in Peoria for more than 20 years.

A plain-English guide to the basics of trig
From sines and cosines to logarithms, conic sections, and polynomials, this friendly guide takes the torture out of trigonometry, explaining basic concepts in plain English, offering lots of easy-to-grasp example problems, and adding a dash of humor and fun. It also explains the "why" of trigonometry, using real-world examples that illustrate the value of trigonometry in a variety of careers.
Mary Jane Sterling (Peoria, IL) has taught mathematics at Bradley University in Peoria for more than 20 years. She is also the author of the highly successful Algebra For Dummies (0-7645-5325-9).

Introduction.

Part I: The Basics.

Chapter 1: Trouncing Trig Technicalities.

Chapter 2: Coordinating Your Efforts with Cartesian Coordinates.

Chapter 3: Functioning Well.

Chapter 4: Getting Your Degree.

Chapter 5: Dishing Out the Pi: Radians.

Chapter 6: Getting It Right with Triangles.

Part II: Trigonometric Functions.

Chapter 7: Doing Right by Trig Functions.

Chapter 8: Trading Triangles for Circles: Circular Functions.

Chapter 9: Applying Yourself to Trig Functions.

Part III: Identities.

Chapter 10: Trig’s Basic Identities.

Chapter 11: Operating on Identities.

Chapter 12: Proving Identities.

Part IV: Equations and Applications.

Chapter 13: Investigating Inverse Trig Functions.

Chapter 14: Solving Trig Equations.

Chapter 15: Obeying the Laws.

Part V: The Graphs of Trig Functions.

Chapter 16: Graphing Sine and Cosine.

Chapter 17: Graphing Tangent and Cotangent.

Chapter 18: Graphing Other Trig Functions.

Chapter 19: Topping Off Trig Graphs.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 20: Ten Basic Identities . . . Plus One.

Chapter 21: Ten Not-So-Basic Identities.

Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Find the Area of a Triangle.

Chapter 23: Ten Sine Curves Representing Monthly Temperatures.

Appendix: Trig Functions Table.

Index.