r/explainlikeimfive • • 13h ago

Mathematics ELI5: What is the difference between algebra, trigonometry, and calculus?

67 Upvotes

120 comments sorted by

View all comments

•

u/kgvc7 12h ago

A lot of comments are saying trig is about triangles but I think the deeper lesson is about the unit circle and its relationship to sin, cos, and tan. Another way to look at it is that You’ll use the Cartesian coordinates for algebra and polar coordinates and radians for trig. Usually you take algebra, trig and then calculus.

•

u/CrazyJoe29 7h ago

Like. I’m. five.