"Media Clips" appears in every issue of "Mathematics Teacher," offering readers contemporary, authentic applications of quantitative reasoning based on print or electronic media. Based on "In All the Light We Cannot See" (2014), by Anthony Doerr, this article provides a brief trigonometry problem that was solved by…

How do students think about an angle measure of ninety degrees? How do they think about ratios and values on the unit circle? How might angle measure be used to connect right-triangle trigonometry and circular functions? And why might asking these questions be important when introducing trigonometric functions to students? When teaching…

Tiny prisms in reflective road signs and safety vests have interesting geometrical properties that can be discussed at any level of high school mathematics. At the beginning of the school year, the author teaches a unit on these reflective materials in her precalculus class so that students can review and strengthen their geometry and trigonometry…

This article describes an alternate way to utilize a circular model to represent thirds by incorporating areas of circular segments, trigonometric functions, and geometric transformations. This method is appropriate for students studying geometry and trigonometry at the high shool level. This task provides valuable learning experiences that…

This article outlines an engineering problem requiring the use of a specialized trigonometric formula, and offers an answer to that age-old classroom question, "When are we gonna have to use this"?

An application of trigonometry in weather forecasting, dealing with cloud height, is discussed. (MNS)

Some traditional and some less conventional approaches using the cotangent to solve the same problem are described. (MNS)

Argues that proving something begins with an assumption and proceeds logically to a conclusion, thus convincing by offering arguments. Describes some pitfalls involved in proving through examining several case histories. Offers suggestions for teaching the proof process. For example, sometimes an extreme example or counterexample will do more to…

Provided is an analysis, using concepts from geometry, algebra, and trigonometry, to explain the apparent loss of area in the rug-cutting puzzle. (MNS)

This problem solving strategy is illustrated by examples from the fields of algebra, trigonometry, geometry, and calculus. (MP)

How min-max problems can be solved with trigonometry and without calculus is described. (MNS)

A series of problems involving number theory, the law of cosines, and geometric interpretations of solutions to equations is discussed. (SD)

The problem of finding the area of a regular polygon is presented as a good example of a mathematical discovery that leads to a significant generalization. The problem of finding the number of sides which will maximize the area under certain conditions leads to several interesting results. (LS)

Ideas are presented regarding: (1) unique learning activities for students who have difficulty with operations with signed numbers; (2) a mathematical inspection of a unique card trick that can be expressed as an equation; and (3) sketching of graphs of composite trigonometric functions. (MP)