Construction Master 5: Right Triangle Trigonometry
Solving Right Triangles
The Construction Master 5 has four keys that allow the user to solve right triangles. The four keys involved are:
[ Rise ] : The rise of the triangle, opposite side (Y). The value entered can have units.
[ Run ] : The run of the triangle, adjacent side (X). The value entered can have units.
[ Diag ] : The diagonal of the triangle, hypotenuse (R). The value entered can have units.
[ Pitch ]: Can have one of four values: pitch (rise in inches over a run of 12 inches), angle (in degrees), slope (rise/run), and grade (percent representation of the slope).
There are four types of entry with the [ Pitch ] key, as stated by the Construction Master 5's Pocket Reference Guide:
1. n [ Inch ] [ Pitch ] enters the angle as a pitch: n inch rise over 12 inch run, used in construction and industry mathematics
2. Θ (no units attached) [ Pitch ] enters the angle as angle degrees
3. r [ Conv ] [ Pitch ] enters the value as a slope of rise/run
4. g [ % ] [ Pitch ] enters the value as a grade percentage, useful in construction and civil engineering
When solving for angle/pitch/slope/grade: repeated presses cycled through the four values: pitch (PTCH), angle (still labeled as PTCH), grade (labeled as %GRD), slope (labeled as SLP).
Examples
(1/16 fraction mode set)
Example 1:
Rise: 36 ft
Run: 45 ft
Results:
Diag: 57 ft 7 9/16 in
[ Pitch ] key:
Pitch: 9 5/8 in
Angle: 38.66°
Grade: 80%
Slope: 0.8
Example 2:
Rise: 50 ft
Diagonal: 72.5 ft
Results:
Run: 52.5 ft
[ Pitch ] key:
Pitch: 11.42857 in
Angle: 43.60°
Grade: 95.2381%
Slope: 0.952381
Example 3:
Rise: 60 ft
Angle: 30° (enter as 30 [ Pitch ] )
Results:
Run: 103 ft 11 1/16 in
Diag: 120 ft
[ Pitch ] key:
Pitch: 6 15/16 in
Angle: 30.00°
Grade: 57.73503%
Slope: 0.57735
Example 4:
Rise: 60 ft
Pitch: 4 in (enter as 4 [ Inch ] [ Pitch ])
Results:
Run: 180 ft
Diag: 189 ft 8 13/16 in
[ Pitch ] key:
Pitch: 4 in
Angle: 18.43°
Grade: 33.33333%
Slope: 0.333333
I hope you found this tip helpful,
Eddie
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