A Cute Finger Trick for Trigonometry (VIDEO!)

If we insist that students memorise the values of sine and cosine for the basic angles 0, 30, 45, 60 and 90 degrees, then here’s a cute little trick for doing so using the fingers on your hand. (Notice: This all goes against my principles of as a mathematician – memorisation is joyless! But I do admit this finger trick is cute.)

Finger Trigonometry

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  Written for educators - and their students too! - this website, slowly growing, takes all the content Tanton has developed in his books, videos, and workshops, and organizes it into short, self-contained, and complete, curriculum units proving that mathematics, at all points of the school curriculum, can be joyous, fresh, innovative, rich, deep-thinking, and devoid of any rote doing! Let's teach generations of students to be self-reliant thinkers, willing to flail and to use their common sense to "nut their way" through challenges, to assess and judge results, and to adjust actions to find success. (Great life skills!)

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• Books

  • Thinking Mathematics! (TEN VOLUMES)
  • Solve This: Mathematical Activities for Students and Clubs
  • Encyclopedia of Mathematics
  • Geometry I & II

• Get in touch

  Email: tanton.math@gmail.com