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In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle.The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is opposite that angle to the length of the longest side of the triangle (the hypotenuse), and the cosine is the ratio of the length of the adjacent leg to that ...
Trigonometric functions and their reciprocals on the unit circle. All of the right-angled triangles are similar, i.e. the ratios between their corresponding sides are the same. For sin, cos and tan the unit-length radius forms the hypotenuse of the triangle that defines them.
A right triangle with the hypotenuse c. In a right triangle, the hypotenuse is the side that is opposite the right angle, while the other two sides are called the catheti or legs. [7] The length of the hypotenuse can be calculated using the square root function implied by the Pythagorean theorem.
For example, the sine of angle θ is defined as being the length of the opposite side divided by the length of the hypotenuse. The six trigonometric functions are defined for every real number , except, for some of them, for angles that differ from 0 by a multiple of the right angle (90°).
The adjacent leg is the other side that is adjacent to angle A. The opposite side is the side that is opposite to angle A. The terms perpendicular and base are sometimes used for the opposite and adjacent sides respectively. See below under Mnemonics. Sine (denoted sin), defined as the ratio of the side opposite the angle to the hypotenuse.
Fig. 1 – A triangle. The angles α (or A), β (or B), and γ (or C) are respectively opposite the sides a, b, and c.. In trigonometry, the law of cosines (also known as the cosine formula or cosine rule) relates the lengths of the sides of a triangle to the cosine of one of its angles.
The sine and the cosine functions, for example, are used to describe simple harmonic motion, which models many natural phenomena, such as the movement of a mass attached to a spring and, for small angles, the pendular motion of a mass hanging by a string. The sine and cosine functions are one-dimensional projections of uniform circular motion.
If an altitude is drawn from the vertex, with the right angle to the hypotenuse, then the triangle is divided into two smaller triangles; these are both similar to the original, and therefore similar to each other. From this: The altitude to the hypotenuse is the geometric mean (mean proportional) of the two segments of the hypotenuse. [2]: 243