HSC Higher Mathematics 1st Paper Note 6th Chapter Trigonometric ratios. In mathematics, the trigonometric functions are functions of an angle. They relate the angles of a triangle to the lengths of its sides. In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are functions of an angle. They relate the angles of a triangle to the lengths of its sides. Trigonometric functions are important in the study of triangles and modeling periodic phenomena, among many other applications. The most familiar trigonometric functions are the sine, cosine, and tangent. In the context of the standard unit circle (a circle with radius 1 unit), where a triangle is formed by a ray starting at the origin and making some angle with the x-axis, the sine of the angle gives the length of the y-component (the opposite to the angle or the rise) of the triangle, the cosine gives the length of the x-component (the adjacent of the angle or the run), and the tangent function gives the slope (y-component divided by the x-component).