Need Trigonometry Help

[Lee Michaels]

I have a simple trig problem that I need help with. And I can't remember high school math right now. Here is the problem. Hopefully one of you will have the info/knowledge handy.

I have a simple cabinet that has a 12 degree, low pitched top. The top can not exceed the back or front. What would the length of the top be for each horizontal foot? Put another way, for each foot horizontally, how long is the angled top? I don't have a depth yet, but can calculate the top piece easily enough once I get the above info.

Thanks, Lee

[Old Guy]

My memory of trig says that the top is the hypotenuse of the right triangle, the horizontal measurement is the adjacent side. cos angle =3D adjacent side /hypotenuse. Hypotenuse =3Dadjacent side/cos

12degrees.

My calculator says that for each 12" distance on the horizontal, the top sloped at 12 degrees will be 12.2681 inches long.

Somebody check me!!!

Old guy.

[CW]

12degrees.

My calculator says that for each 12" distance on the horizontal, the top sloped at 12 degrees will be 12.2681 inches long.

Somebody check me _________________________________________________

You're right

[Lee Michaels]

Thanks, both of you.

That will free up some time for me tomorrow to work on some other things.

The wreck is a resource.

[Swingman]

Feel your pain ... took every math course HS/university had to offer and now would welcome a calculator to add up the points on them dominoes in my hand. :(

[Lee Michaels]

"Swingman" wrote

Yep, we ain't spring chickens any more.

The funny thing is that some things, I remember very well and some things not at all. Even math things.

And there appears to be no rhyme or reason about what is retained and what is not.

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:07:36 -0500, the infamous "Lee Michaels" scrawled the following:

Young punk kid, bringing his homework here. ;)

-- Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints.

[Swingman]

No kidding ... as a young Ist LT FO, and when under heavy fire and needing an immediate "danger close" fire mission, I used to radio in what we in the artillery referred to as "black magic" fire missions.

Instead of radioing the guns a "right 200, drop 200, FFE" correction and let the FDC figure the commands to the gun, I would radio the actual elevation and deflection settings for all six guns at once, saving time and possibly lives (mine included, which was probably the biggest incentive) ... try that with bullets whizzing by. :)

Now I'm lucky to set the right fraction on the table saw fence half the time, and nothing brings more trial and error than figuring what angle to cut!!

[Robatoy]

That /is/ strange the way the memory selects what to retain and what not. The thing that gets me, is those moments when I say to myself: "I KNOW that I KNOW this, but it won't come to me." Then, usually after 3 deep breaths, the fresh oxygen uncorks some of those memories and then I suddenly remember. Try that method. It works.

[Morris Dovey]

Me too:

[Lee Michaels]

"Swingman" wrote in

Now THAT is a real world application of math! Definitely old school.

These day, with targeting computers, laser guided and GPS bombs/shells. such traditional math skills are probably not needed any more.

Oops, sorry about that. Am I making you feel old again? ;)

[Gordon Shumway]

I couldn't figure out the formulas for triangles until I was taking College Algebra being taught by a High School teacher.

He said all you have to do is remember is Chief Sohcohtoa (So-Ka-Toa)

If you remember his name you will remember the formulas:

SOH means: Sin = Opposite over Hypotenuse

COH means: Cos = Opposite over Hypotenuse

TOA means: Tan = Opposite over Adjacent

[Greg Neill]

And don't forget that the squaw on the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws on the other two hides.

[FrozenNorth]

Correction: CAH - Cos = Adjacent over Hypotenuse

[Charlie Groh]

...heh...I'd just lay out a 12 degree line from the corner of a square piece of whatever, measure out 12" on the square side, square up to the angled line and then measure *that*...

cg

[Lee Michaels]

Normally I would do that. But I don't have access to the actual cabinet and I am not sure of the dimensions just yet. That will change within the next week. I needed to know the dimensions of the top piece to determine materials size/costs.

When working for others, sometimes you have to jump through hoops tht you never would otherwise.

[Tim W]

It's hard that way, but working men without much education normally just draw out the triangle for a problem like that. Mathematicians call it the Graphical Method.

Tim W

[Gordon Shumway]

Oops. That's exactly what I meant to say!

I can't understand why Spell check didn't catch that! :-(

Gordon Shumway

What color do Smurfs become when they hold their breath?

[Lew Hodgett]

"Swingman" wrote

Which is why I use trig to layout angle on a piece of hardboard.

Do it right and you get the complimentary angle as a freebie.

Lew

[whit3rd]

The material has to be oversize, though; you're gonna have to start with a s4s board, assuming 3/4 thickness, that is as wide as the distance from TOP/UPPER edge to BOTTOM/LOWER's perpendicular projection onto the upper surface, if the board is to be beveled

Instead of 12" =3D=3D> 12 / cos(12 degrees) =3D 12.26809" it's 12" =3D=3D> 12/cos(12 degrees) + 3/4 * sin(12 degrees) =3D 12.42402"