Home > Trigonometry mnemonics

A number of mnemonics have been invented by educators to help students remember the rules defining the various trigonometric functions. Some of them are listed here, in no particular order

Some Old Horses Chase And Hunt Till Old Age

Some Old Horses: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Chase And Hunt: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Till Old Age: tangent = opposite/adjacent

SOHCAHTOA (sounds like "soak a toe-a", can be read as "soccer tour"). It reminds one that:

SOH: sine = opposite/hypotenuse CAH: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse TOA: tangent = opposite/adjacent.

Old Houses Always Have Old Attics.

Old Houses: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Always Have: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Old Attics: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Old Harry Spills All His Custard Over Auntie's Tablecloth. Note that the definition phrasings are the reverse of those in the previous mnemonic.

Old Harry Spills: opposite/hypotenuse = sine All His Custard: adjacent/hypotenuse = cosine Over Auntie's Tablecloth: opposite/adjacent = tangent

Oh Heck, Another Hour Of Algebra!. Each pair of words refers implicitly to sine, cosine, and tangent, respectively:

Oh Heck: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Another Hour: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Of Algebra: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Some Old Hippie Came Around Here Tripping On Acid (or "...Caught Another Hippie...")

Some Old Hippie: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Came Around Here: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Tripping On Acid: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Sally Can Tell Oscar Has A "Hat" On Always

Sally Oscar Has: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Can A Hat: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Tell On Always: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Signs Of Happiness Come After Having Tubs Of Acid

Signs Of Happiness: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Come After Having: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Tubs Of Acid: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Some Old Hags Can't Always Hide Their Old Age

Some Old Hags: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Can't Always Hide: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Their Old Age: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner's Approach

Some Old Horses: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Can Always Hear: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Their Owner's Approach: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Silly Old Harry Caught A Herring Trawling Off America

Silly Old Harry: sine = opposite/hypotenuse Caught A Herring: cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse Trawling Off America: tangent = opposite/adjacent

Another mnemonic helps recall which functions are positive in which quadrant: All Students Take Calculus (or a more memorable alternative, referring to any drug starting with 'c'!)

All = All functions are positive in QI Students = Sine is positive in QII Take = Tangent is positive in QIII Calculus = Cosine is positive in QIV