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In mathematics, a unit circle is a circle of unit radius—that is, a radius of 1. [1] Frequently, especially in trigonometry, the unit circle is the circle of radius 1 centered at the origin (0, 0) in the Cartesian coordinate system in the Euclidean plane. In topology, it is often denoted as S 1 because it is a one-dimensional unit n-sphere ...
A trigonometric number is a number that can be expressed as the sine or cosine of a rational multiple of π radians. [2] Since sin ( x ) = cos ( x − π / 2 ) , {\displaystyle \sin(x)=\cos(x-\pi /2),} the case of a sine can be omitted from this definition.
Plot of the six trigonometric functions, the unit circle, and a line for the angle θ = 0.7 radians. The points labeled 1, Sec(θ), Csc(θ) represent the length of the line segment from the origin to that point.
provided the angle is measured in radians. Angles measured in degrees must first be converted to radians by multiplying them by / . These approximations have a wide range of uses in branches of physics and engineering, including mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, cartography, astronomy, and computer science.
These identities are useful whenever expressions involving trigonometric functions need to be simplified. An important application is the integration of non-trigonometric functions: a common technique involves first using the substitution rule with a trigonometric function, and then simplifying the resulting integral with a trigonometric identity.
[18] [19] Today, the degree, 1 / 360 of a turn, or the mathematically more convenient radian, 1 / 2 π of a turn (used in the SI system of units) is generally used instead. In the 1970s – 1990s, most scientific calculators offered the gon (gradian), as well as radians and degrees, for their trigonometric functions. [23]
One radian is defined as the angle at the center of a circle in a plane that subtends an arc whose length equals the radius of the circle. [6] More generally, the magnitude in radians of a subtended angle is equal to the ratio of the arc length to the radius of the circle; that is, =, where θ is the magnitude in radians of the subtended angle, s is arc length, and r is radius.
Scientific calculators have buttons for calculating the main trigonometric functions (sin, cos, tan, and sometimes cis and their inverses). [51] Most allow a choice of angle measurement methods: degrees, radians, and sometimes gradians. Most computer programming languages provide function libraries that include the trigonometric functions. [52]