You’ve probably stared at the classroom board during Trigonometry lessons and wondered, “How is trigonometry used in real life?”, or years later thought how you are yet to imply Trigonometry in real life. Well, Trigonometry has always impacted your day-to-day life. From your phone’s GPS to your favourite video games or even your school buildings, trigonometry has been used in a lot of things around you.
In this blog, we’ll explore where and how this branch of math makes a real-world connection.
Real-Life Applications of Trigonometry
Before diving in, let's go back to the basics, Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies the relationship between the angles and sides of triangles. It helps us measure things that are hard to reach or see- for example, the height of a mountain or even the distance to a star.
Here’s how this math concept has been used to build the systems that we use in our everyday lives.
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Navigation and GPS: Did you know? Without trigonometry, your map would be lost. Every time we use Google Maps or any navigation system, it relies on triangulation. This is a trigonometric concept where the system uses the angles and distances from the satellite to calculate your exact position on Earth.
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Architecture and Construction: Whether it's your home, school building, or an office building, when engineers design buildings, they use trigonometry to calculate angles, load distribution, structural integrity, and design precision. Trigonometry helps determine the intricacies like the pitch of a roof, the height of a building, or the best angles to support a bridge. If you ever happen to see a skyscraper in your town, then just know that trigonometry was used in the design.
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Video Game Development: Game developers use trigonometry to simulate movement and lighting in 2D and 3D environments. The details of the games, like how far a character should jump, or how light should work, and every little angle, involved trigonometry. If you are hyped for GTA 6, know that all the lifelike car chases, character movements, and cityscapes you’ll explore are powered by trigonometric calculations.
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Movie Animation and CGI: Yes, your favorite Marvel movie or any animation movies relies heavily on trigonometry. From the movement of characters to the camera angles in animated scenes, trigonometry is carefully used to make it all look believable. Next time you feel in awe of the special effects scene, just know that trigonometry was behind it.
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Medical Imaging and Sound Waves: After you have read all the above, it's not hard to believe that this concept is used in the medical field. From tools like ultrasounds to MRIs, trigonometry is used to figure out the waves and angles to create images of your body. Trigonometry helps translate these waves into visuals that a doctor can analyse.
Trigonometry stretches far beyond solving triangles in exams. It is used in everyday tools, technologies, and the experiences that you have to enjoy your day-to-day life. So next time you open your maps or play any video game, just remember that trigonometry is at the core of everything.
