THE
UNIT CIRCLE
Welcome
to
my website. The purpose of this site is to explain the unit circle and
why it is important for trigonometry and the real world.
The
unit circle is the basis of Trigonometry. The results of the unit circle
are used in Calculus by engineers, physicists and mathematicians. They
rely heavily on this material to complete their tasks.
The unit circle is made by creating a circle with radius 1 unit. The special right triangles are used to identify the coordinates around the circle. Once the unit circle is complete, it can be used to relate the six trigonometric functions: sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant and cotangent.
Teachers
can help students learn the unit circle by having students examine the
special right triangles. Also, students could make their own unit circle
to refer to on future assignments.
Here is an example of a finished unit circle.
You could also go here to investigate different arc lengths of the unit circle.
Go
to page 2.
This website was created by Deanna Abernethy.
Contact Deanna
last updated: 10/07/03