Explanation
This acronym is pronounced "soak a toe-uh." Every letter in it stands for one term below.
- SOH: Sine = Opposite leg divided by the Hypotenuse
- CAH: Cosine = Adjacent leg divided by the Hypotenuse
- TOA: Tangent = Opposite leg divided by the Adjacent leg
In an acronym like this one, each individual letter stands for a whole word or term, rather than the first letter of a longer sentence - SOH, CAH, and TOA are really three mini-acronyms in a row, one for each ratio.
Example: a right triangle has an opposite side of 3, an adjacent side of 4, and a hypotenuse of 5 (a classic 3-4-5 triangle).
- Sine = 3/5 = 0.6
- Cosine = 4/5 = 0.8
- Tangent = 3/4 = 0.75
Alternative mnemonics
- Some Old Hags Can't Always Hide Their Old Age
- Some Old Hippy Caught Another Hippy Tripping On Acid
- Some People Have Curly Black Hair Turning Purple Blue
- Some People Have Curly Black Hair Thickly Plastered Back
- Uses Perpendicular/Base/Hypotenuse instead of Opposite/Adjacent/Hypotenuse - same three ratios, different labels for the sides.
- Two Old Angels Skipped Over Heaven, Carrying Ancient Harps
- Two Old Angels → TOA → Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent
- Skipped Over Heaven → SOH → Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse
- Carrying Ancient Harps → CAH → Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse
- Two Old Aunts, Sitting On Horseback, Catching A Husband
- Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent (Two Old Aunts)
- Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse (Sitting On Horseback)
- Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse (Catching A Husband)
- Any Old Time, Husbands Are Caught, Hail Or Shine
- Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent (Any Old Time)
- Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse (Husbands Are Caught)
- Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse (Hail Or Shine)