Easy way of memorizing values of sine, cosine, and tangent
Dec 1, 2015 · Going around the unit circle, the cosine is the x-coordinate and the sine is the y-coordinate. So for the multiples of 90° (π/2 π / 2), these are easy: at 0, the x-coordinate is 1 …
Why are sine, cosine and tangent the "main" trig functions?
Jul 25, 2023 · So I know that the main trig functions are sine, cosine and tangent, while cosecant, secant and cotangent are simply known as the "reciporicals", but wouldn't it make …
How to best explain sine and cosine on the unit circle
Jun 4, 2025 · 2 I just recently did a project on the unit circle and the three main trig functions (sine, cosine, tangent) for my geometry class, and in it I was asked to provide an explanation …
Why do both sine and cosine exist? - Mathematics Stack Exchange
Aug 31, 2015 · However, geometrically it makes sense: things without "co" (sine, tangent and secant) are to do with the sine length in the unit circle, which is vertical; meanwhile things with …
How were the sine, cosine and tangent tables originally calculated?
With a Pentagon you can discover the sine of 36 degrees. With a Decagon you can discover the sine of 18 degrees. With Ptolemy's theorem you can establish Angle Addition Formulas, …
How Do Sine and Cosine Mathematically Describe a Circle (Proof)?
Jan 21, 2024 · In trigonometry and related fields, it's common knowledge that the sine and cosine functions are intimately connected with the unit circle. It's often taken for granted that these …
Why use sine and cosine when resolving vectors into components?
May 7, 2017 · We use the sine and cosine to decompose a vector into its horizontal and vertical components because the definition of sine and cosine (geometric wise) allows us to do so.
orthogonality - What does it mean when two functions are …
Jul 12, 2015 · I have often come across the concept of orthogonality and orthogonal functions e.g in fourier series the basis functions are cos and sine, and they are orthogonal. For vectors …
What exactly do the sin, cos, tan buttons do on a calculator?
12 I understand they mean sine, cosine, tangent, but what exactly is the calculator doing when I enter an angle and press those buttons? Edit: To help others better understand my question, …
Linear combinations of sine and cosine - Mathematics Stack …
Cosine and sine are position of a point that started at the x axis and was rotated by angle $\theta$. $a\cos\theta$ is the segment on the $x$ axis at distance $a$, while $b\sin\theta$ has …