INVERSE TRIG FUNCTIONS Evaluating (Page 1 of 10)

The TI-83 and TI-84 has keys for three of the six inverse trigonometric functions: arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These functions will allow you to specify the value of a trigonometric ratio and find the corresponding angle. Before you use one of these keys, always be aware of the mode your calculator is in! Since an inverse function will return a result that represents an angle, do you want that angle expressed in decimal degrees, DMS format, or in radians?

Let's begin by evaluating arcsine(0.5), also written sin-1(0.5), and have the result displayed in decimal degrees. First, make sure the calculator is in Degree mode.

 MODE key. Down arrow key. Down arrow key. Right arrow key. ENTER key. Calculator screen image.

For the remainder of the tutorial, we will generally use the "arc" notation when referring to inverse trigonometric functions rather than the inverse notation, simply because it is an easier representation in web page format.
Copyright © 2010 Turner Educational Publishing
Go back to the previous page. Go to the next page. Go to the Table of Contents. Go to the Index page. Go to the Quiz page. Exit to the Home page.