I need to learn Trig but my math skills are very rusty were should I start?

Question

What kind of math base do I need to understand Trig? I think I could teach myself. Any book or internet recommendations?

Answer 1

Hey there, I'm an engineer so I've taken trig, all the lower math, and a lot of math above trig, so here's what I think.

Trig is interesting, it's kind of a subject to itself.  The math is not hard, it's just.. different.  

Some things you'll need: basic arithmetic (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing), basic understanding of graphs, basic understanding of geometry, and basic algebra.  That's about it.  There's some memorization involved with formulas and such.

It's usually part of Pre-Calculus, and taught after high school algebra II and geometry.  If you have taken those classes and remember the basics, you'll be where other students start at as far as skills.

As far as book recommendations, the one I used for trig is:

Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus by James Stewart.  Like I said, most trig is taught in that class.

Also, trig is all over the internet, here's what seems to be a pretty comprehensive and easy to read site:

http://www.clarku.edu/~djoyce/trig/

Check that out.  Like I said, trig information is everywhere, just google any topic you're having trouble with and a thousand links will pop up.  

Oh and I'll also say this: trig is very important and used in all higher mathematics, so get it done right if you can.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

well, you should first start with your basic math laws (BEDMAS) and stuff like that. Then you should try some simple factoring, and solving simple equations. After that you should have a basic understanding of math priciples needed for trig. Go to http://www.bmlc.ca/PureMath30.html