cosθ
Definition
The cosine of an angle θ is the ratio of the length of the adjacent side to θ in a right triangle to the length of the hypotenuse.
Analogy
Imagine you are driving a car on a circular racetrack. Your position on this track can be represented by angles. As you move around, your x-coordinate changes based on your position. This changing x-coordinate represents cosine values.
Related terms
Sine (sinθ): The sine function represents vertical distances in a right triangle and is equal to opposite over hypotenuse.
Tangent (tanθ): The tangent function represents slopes and is equal to sine divided by cosine, or opposite over adjacent.
Secant (secθ): The secant function is equal to 1 divided by cosine, or hypotenuse over adjacent.
"cosθ" appears in:
Subjects (1)
Study guides (1)
Practice Questions (1)
- How can you determine the interval for integrating a polar function with sinθ or cosθ?
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