All too often, teachers just simply resort to having their students memorize the "SOH-CAH-TOA" acronym when it comes to working with the 3 main trigonometric ratios that are extensively used within the study of right-triangle trigonometry.
All too often, students use this acronym to either
(a) write the value of a trig ratio (often just expressed as a simplified fraction), or
(b) use a trig ratio (ex: "sin(56)") to solve for the length of an unknown side of a right triangle,
(without ever paying any actual attention to the true meaning of the decimal approximation of "sin(56)").
This applet helps students to meaningfully visualize the true conceptual meanings of the three trigonometric ratios.
