Trigonometry in chemistry
Tips for teaching maths skills to our future chemists, by Paul Yates of Keele University
Given that chemistry takes place in three dimensions, it is of no surprise that trigonometry plays an important role in a mathematical description of the subject. Indeed, what may be most surprising is that only a very limited range of trigonometric skills is required by most chemists.
Measurement of angle
We normally measure angles in degrees, and this is the accepted convention when dealing with three dimensions in chemistry. However, there are other situations when a different angle unit is more convenient. This is the radian, which is related to the degree by the simple relationship
where π is the familiar constant which for most purposes can be taken as having the value of 3.142 or 22/7.
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