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A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually denoted by ° (the degree symbol), is a measurement of a plane angle in which one full rotation is 360 degrees. [4] It is not an SI unit—the SI unit of angular measure is the radian—but it is mentioned in the SI brochure as an accepted unit. [5]
[18] [19] Today, the degree, 1 / 360 of a turn, or the mathematically more convenient radian, 1 / 2 π of a turn (used in the SI system of units) is generally used instead. In the 1970s – 1990s, most scientific calculators offered the gon (gradian), as well as radians and degrees, for their trigonometric functions. [23]
One radian is defined as the angle at the center of a circle in a plane that subtends an arc whose length equals the radius of the circle. [6] More generally, the magnitude in radians of a subtended angle is equal to the ratio of the arc length to the radius of the circle; that is, =, where θ is the magnitude in radians of the subtended angle, s is arc length, and r is radius.
However, in mathematical literature the angle is often denoted by θ instead. Angles in polar notation are generally expressed in either degrees or radians (2 π rad being equal to 360°). Degrees are traditionally used in navigation, surveying, and many applied disciplines, while radians are more common in mathematics and mathematical physics. [9]
An arc of a circle with the same length as the radius of that circle corresponds to an angle of 1 radian. A full circle corresponds to a full turn, or approximately 6.28 radians, which is expressed here using the Greek letter tau (τ). Some special angles in radians, stated in terms of 𝜏. A comparison of angles expressed in degrees and radians.
In degrees Description radian: 2π: ≈57°17′ The radian is determined by the circumference of a circle that is equal in length to the radius of the circle (n = 2 π = 6.283...). It is the angle subtended by an arc of a circle that has the same length as the circle's radius. The symbol for radian is rad.
Basis of trigonometry: if two right triangles have equal acute angles, they are similar, so their corresponding side lengths are proportional.. In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) [1] are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths.
As discussed in § Constructibility, only certain angles that are rational multiples of radians have trigonometric values that can be expressed with square roots. The angle 1°, being π / 180 = π / ( 2 2 ⋅ 3 2 ⋅ 5 ) {\displaystyle \pi /180=\pi /(2^{2}\cdot 3^{2}\cdot 5)} radians, has a repeated factor of 3 in the denominator and therefore ...