Trignometry in the Field

Too many people have said during their school careers, "Why am I learning this? I'm never going to use it!" This is especially true for Trigonometry. Thousands of students have pondered the purpose of these concepts, and when such functions could ever possibly be used in real life, without ever knowing how many careers involve those functions every day. Moreover, they never consider what life would be like without it.

Foremost, let's take a look at criminology. Police officers and crime scene investigators use trigonometry to determine such ballistics as where a bullet was fired from, the angle of entry in a knife wound, or where someone was placed in a crime scene. This can prove or disprove who the criminal was in this situation, or whether or not a witness is lying. It can also be used to determine the distance between various points, thereby establishing or destroying a suspect's ailibi.

Now think of how life would be if we didn't have trigonometry, and couldn't use it to determine such facts about a crime. We wouldn't be able to determine if a shooter was in the room with the victim, or shot through an open window from across the street, because we wouldn't be able to find the bullet's trajectory. Dangerous criminals could escape the grasp of the justice system and continue their rampage through our society, threatening our very way of life.

Trigonometry can also be applied to the military. When firing a gun, the soldiers must calculate the distance between themselves and the target, and compensate for wind and gravity. Gravity will pull the bullet down, because it travles in a projectile motion. Therefore, distant troops, especially those with sniper rifles who are trying to shoot from a huge distance, must angle their guns properly and fire at an angle based on the conditions of the environment around them.

In addition, trigonometry is crucial in construction and architecture. The supervisors must be able to tell where to place main beams, support beams, the size of these beams, and the angles at which they must be placed. They also determine how pipes should be laid out when constructing the plumbing and heating.

Without proper angle and side measurements, a building could collpase or explode, resulting in countless deaths simply from a lack of trigonometry. This could cause subways and airports to shut down indefinitely, if they happened to be the collapsed structure. This is also used in the construction of bridges, and transportation is a necessity in today's age.

Moreover, engineers of any kind must know trigonometry. These include software/electronics engineers, who must understand the correct angles to build the computers and how to construct the alternating currents. A system must be organized and constructed properly in order to work. Mechanical engineers, those who work on cars and other large machinery, also must obviously have skill in this field.

If a mechanic did not know how to put a car back together, he would be out of the job. A car has a huge array of little parts, especially in regards to window motors, dashboard wiring and the exhaust system, that must be placed at the correct angles and connected properly to ensure a working car.

Another great career path involving trigonometry is directing and set design. As a stage technician, they have to be aware of what angles to build a set, and what angles to place a spotlight for the play to be successful. In movies, they must know to build the sets properly and make them look realistic, for if the sets are built improperly, the movie will not be enjoyable. In directing, angles are used all the time in order to create the mood of the scene, for the way a camera and the actors/actresses are positioned can often drastically alter the ambience and tone. If there were no proper angle coordination, every movie might look like the Blair Witch Project.

One prime example is the movie franchise Saw, which is about an mechanical engineer who engages in homocidal activities. Angles and trigonometry are constantly used to carry out the traps illustrated throughout the movie, and precise calculations are needed to create a realistic, terrifying and fatal plot.

The study of optics also involve the use of trigonometry. In order to create a proper, working camera, one must now the angles of light entering the device, and set the shutters at the proper angle. This allows the light to be refracted and arranged very precisely, so as to capture the image with as much detail as possible.

If trigonometry was not applied here, we would not have working cameras. This means we would never be able to photograph where we've been, or take pictures of our loved ones. Such things are often very fond reminders of places we haven't been to in a long time, or people who are no longer with us.

What's more, the medical field places a lot of care in the hands of trigonometry. IV catheters must be placed at the correct angles, incisions must be made properly, and bones must be set at specific angles to keep a patient safe and healthy. If care is not taken, and calculations are not made, the patient could suffer serious damages and even die. It is also used to create detailed, three-dimensional images, such as in CAT scans and MRIs. These are used to detect problems in the brain and body such as tumors, broken bones, and other such malignancies.

Managers of any kind need to use trigonometry to form graphs and work out functions for a variety of situations. These graphs are then used to compare data, just as the functions are used to calculate the need for budget cuts and the ability to give raises. Without trigonometry, a business could easily collapse. A carelessly drawn graph- as in, a graph whose angles could not be properly made- would confuse those looking at it and cause significant damage within the business.

In summary, trigonometry is not only useful, it is a near necessity if you want a decent job in today's world. Any form of engineering, management or product design uses trigonometry to ensure efficiency of a company and accurate creation of a good. It is used to make movies, to save lives, and to solve crimes. Without trigonometry, we would not have decent hospitals, homes, video games, televisions, cars, planes, trains, and we would have difficulty solving certain crimes. We need to learn these concepts in order to get a good job and support our family, and those around us. Learning trigonometry is not simply a class, it is an opportunity to make a better life.