Clockwise Unit Circle Math
The point angles are measured from is where x 1 and y 0 on the right hand side of the circle.
Clockwise unit circle math. This article discusses how the unit circle represents the output of the trigonometric functions see also. We wrap the positive part of the number line around the unit circle in the counterclockwise direction and wrap the negative part of the number line around the unit circle in the clockwise direction. When a ray is drawn from the origin of the unit circle it will intersect the unit circle at a point x y and form a right triangle with the x axis as shown above the hypotenuse of the right triangle is equal to the radius of. Because a right triangle can only measure angles of 90 degrees or less the circle allows for a much broader range.
One of the most important uses of the unit circle is in trigonometry. The unit circle chart which shows the points corresponding to special angles on the unit circle the unit circle radians page which discusses the radians and the unit circle and the applications of the. It is drawn on a set of axes so that its centre is at the 0 0 point of the axes. The positive angles on the unit circle are measured with the initial side on the positive x axis and the terminal side moving counterclockwise around the origin the figure shows some positive angles labeled in both degrees and radians.
We wrap the number line about the unit circle by drawing a number line that is tangent to the unit circle at the point 1 0. A unit circle has a radius of one. Imagine an xy coordinate system starting at the center of this circle. The unit circle is a circle with a radius of 1.
Angles increase as you move counter clockwise.