TRIGONOMETRIC

FUNCTIONS
6.1 Radian Measure and Arc Length p. 337
6.2 Trig Ratios of Angles in Standard Position p. 341
6.3 The Unit Circle p. 373
6.4 Graphs of Trigonometric Functions p. 391
6.5 Transformations of Sinusoidal Functions p. 409
6.6 Applications of Sinusoidal Functions p. 427

Chapter Review Practice p. 437

6.1 Radian Measure and Arc Length

Radians – A new Way to Measure Angles

So far in your Trig Career, you’ve dealt with problems where angles
are measured in degrees. And it’s served you well!
We define one full rotation as 360°, which likely comes from our ancestors’
observation the motion of the sun and stars followed patterns on a 365-day cycle.
For simplicity, they decided to round to 360, which is a good thing, as it’s a highly composite number.
(360 is divisible by 180, 90, 60, 45, 30, etc)

That said, most of the mathematics and scientific communities use a different angular measure - radians.

Consider a circle with a radius of one. Recall that is the ratio of

1 The circumference of this circle is: circumference of a circle to its
diameter
2 2 1 circumference
diameter
is an irrational number, it’s decimal
This value is also the radian measure of form can only be approximated!
the angle , representing one full rotation. 3.14159265358979238….

We need not include “radians” or “rads” as a unit – any

One rotation is in radians. ° angle measure given without a degree symbol is assumed
to be in radians!
One radian is the measure of the angle formed by rotating the radius of a circle through an
arc equal in length to the radius.
Since one rotation is 2 360°, dividing both sides by 2 gives:
° (rad)
rad
Dividing both sides by gives: Dividing both sides by 180° gives:
°
(rad) °
°
One radian is So, to convert from radians to degrees: And to convert from degrees to radians:
°
approximately equal to °  Multiply the angle by  Multiply the angle by °
180°

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6.1 Radian Measure and Arc Length

Convert each angle to radians: Convert each angle to degrees:

Worked Examples 5
(a) 240° (b) 178.4° (c) (c) 6 rads
Round to the nearest hundredth 6 Round to nearest whole number

Solutions: Multiply by to convert to radians 180°

180° Multiply by to convert to degrees
240° (b) . $° 180° 180°
(a) $ ° 180° 180° (a) (b) rads
180°
5 180°
6
This time, leave the “ ” in, since
The “ ’s” cancel out Can’t cancel “ ’s” this
we’re answering as a decimal
Drop the “ ” to reduce 240⁄180 time, leave in calculation
% . rads and round answer
$ …then add
“ ” back Note, this is close to “ ” (3.14), ° % $$°
as 178.4° is closes to 180°

Class Example 6.11 Converting angle measurements

Leave answers in terms of a fraction of for (a) and (b), round (c) to the hundredth, (d) (e) and (f) to the nearest degree.
Convert each of the following angles to radians: Convert each of the following angles to degrees:
2 9
(a) 315° (b) 75° (c) 81.8° (d) (e) (f) 2.6 rads
3 2

Exploration 1 - Measure of Key Angles in Degrees and Radians

On the previous page we saw how one rotation, or 360°, is equal to 2 .
1 The five diagrams below show various angles . Use reasoning to state the measure of
each angle shown, in both degrees and radians. To get you started - the first is done!

____°
(degrees): 360 (degrees): ____ (degrees): ____ (degrees): ____

2
(radians): ____ (radians): ____ (radians): ____ (radians): ____

2 State the measure if the right angle from 3 … and as shown in each of these:
above is equally split as shown here….
(degrees): ' (degrees):
____ ____
(degrees): ____
(radians): ' (radians):
(radians): ____ '
____ ____

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 Chapter 6 – Trigonometric Functions

In our study of trigonometry, we often encounter angles which are multiples of 30° or 45°.
As such, it is useful to be familiar with their angular measure in radians.

180° 90° 60° 45° 30°

Measure in
radians:
$
90 is half of 180, so in 60 is one-third of 180, so 45 is 1/4 of 180, 30 is 1/6 of 180,
radians, “half of ” in radians, “1/3 of ” so … “1/4 of ” so … “1/6 of ”

Arc Length

Exploration 2 - Arc Length of a Circle Sector

 Recall how we saw that one radian is the measure of the angle formed by
rad rotating the radius of a circle through an arc equal in length to the radius.
1 Determine the measure of one radian, in degrees. (Nearest tenth)


Now, what if we doubled the arc length, without changing the radius? ( 2
How would this affect the sector angle, ?
?
2 Use reasoning to make a prediction of the measure of the
sector angle . How would it be affected?

 Finally, say we doubled the angle radius, whilst

keeping the sector angle the same.
2
3 Use reasoning to make a prediction on the length
of the sector arc. How would it be affected?
rad

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6.1 Radian Measure and Arc Length

The measure of a sector angle is equal to the ratio of the arc length and radius.
This is on your ) ) Where
formula sheet: *
* is the measure of the sector angle, in radians
) is the length of the arc around the angle
Rearranging gives a formula for arc
length: * is the length of the radius
) *

)
Worked Examples Determine each missing value. (a) (b)
168° 5.8 3.6
For (a), round to the nearest tenth,
for (b), round to the nearest degree. 20 cm

( (
Solutions: (a) Use , which rearranges to ) * (b) Use

( 20+, 168° 3.6

180 5.8
in radians 180°
% . % ° 0.62
) . cm this is in radians to convert to degrees

Class Example 6.12 Determining values using arc length formula

Determine each indicated missing value: 17.4 cm

(a) Determine the measure of angle , correct to the
nearest degree. 9 cm

(b) A pendulum swings through an angle of 40°, while forming an arc 8.4 cm in
length. Determine the total length of the pendulum, correct to the nearest 40°
tenth of a cm.

8.4 cm

(c) Determine the length of the indicated arc, correct to the nearest tenth of a cm.

2
) 15

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 Chapter 6 – Trigonometric Functions

Angles in Standard Position Exploration 3

0 ,
An angle is in standard position when its vertex is at the
origin and ray forming its initial arm is on the positive --axis.
30° or
6
The diagram on the right shows the , measuring 30°, or 6 ,

in standard position. Its terminal arm passes through . 3, 1 .

1 In each diagram below the terminal arm is the same as for above. Determine the measure of each
angle shown, in both degrees and radians. Hint: For (c) and (d) the angles are negative.

(a) . 3 ,1
(b) (c) . 3 ,1
(d) . 3 ,1
. 3 ,1

2 In each shaded region, label all four quadrantal (multiple of 90°)

within one rotation of the coordinate plane.
See diagram on top of next page to confirm your answers!

3 In each diagram below the terminal arm is the same. Determine the measure of each angle shown, in
both degrees and radians..

(a) (b)

60°

(c) (d)

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6.1 Radian Measure and Arc Length

An angle is in standard position when its vertex is at the or 90°

2
origin and ray forms its initial arm is on the positive --axis.
The angle of rotation is formed by rotating a second
ray counter-clockwise, such that this terminal arm is
in any of the four quadrants. or 180°
0 or 2
Angles that have the same terminal arm are called coterminal angles. Initial arm

The smallest positive coterminal angle (within the first positive rotation) is
called the principal angle.
3
or 270°
2

The following three angles are coterminal:

Principal Angle A coterminal angle – found Another coterminal angle – this
by adding one rotation time by subtracting one rotation

$ ° 360°
$ ° 1 360°

$ ° °
$ °

Let’s look at that again, this time using RADIANS. (Starting with the principal angle, 45°, which is ):
4
$
8
4 4
2
$ $ $

1 (one rotation)
$
8
1
4 4

When working with radians, students are encouraged to do all work / “think” in radians! (As shown
above, in determining the two “closest” coterminal angles to 4 )
4
That said, there is always the option of working in degrees / converting! This method is shown
below, where we’ll again find the closest to coterminal angles to , in radians.
4

Finding the closest positive coterminal angle And finding the closest negative coterminal angle
to , using the CALC / converting to degrees. to , using the CALC / converting to degrees.
4 4

Add the “ ” back,

9
this gives
4

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 Chapter 6 – Trigonometric Functions

For an angle in standard position , coterminal angles can

be found by adding or subtracting any multiple of 360°.
(That is, adding / subtracting any number of rotations)
In the diagram on the right, 4 is the principal angle,
1 ° 3
3 is a coterminal angle found by adding 360° once 4

In the diagram below, 5 is a And 6 is a coterminal angle

coterminal angle found by adding found by subtracting 360°
360° twice:
1 ° $ °
 Any angle coterminal to can
be found by adding any (positive
or negative) multiples of 360°.
7 1 ° 7
OR 7 1 , 8∈:

Class Example 6.13 Determining coterminal angles

Determine the closest three coterminal angles for each – such that two coterminal angles are positive, and one
is negative. Sketch each given principal angle. Provide coterminal angles using the same angular measure as
given in each question.
5
(a) 120° (b) (c) (d) 330°
4 6

8
Worked Example Given the angle , sketch, and determine the principal angle.
3
Solution: First find the principal angle. We do that by adding / subtracting “2 ”
8
multiples of one rotation (either °, or, in this case, )  1
3

8 This is still not between 0 and

8  Then, sketch 2 , so we add another
3
3
2
1
3
 Show one full negative
2
rotation, plus another (negative) , $
3  principal angle
6 2
3 3

“ 2 ” See next page for an alternative, calculator method

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6.1 Radian Measure and Arc Length

To find the principal angle,

Replace with ° to
for an angle given
8 express as $ °
in radians such as …
3 Add rotations ( °) until you
Another method is to first arrive at an angle between °
convert to degrees. and °
(Though once again - you are Finally, convert back to radians $
This is
encouraged to “think” in radians!)

Class Example 6.14 Sketching rotation angles, determining principal angles

For each of the following, sketch the given rotation angle, and determine the principal angle in the same
angular measure unit.
13
(a) 315° (b) (c) 17 (d) 960°
4 3

Stating coterminal angles in general form

As we’ve seen, any angle has an infinite number of coterminal angles. Each time you make a full
rotation from a terminal arm, you arrive back at the same place and can repeat the process.
Angles coterminal with a principal angle can be expressed: 1 7 ; 7 ∈ ; or 1 °7 ; 7 ∈ ;
Note: 7 ∈ ; reads: 8 is an element of the integers
This is another way of saying:
Recall that integers are pos or neg whole numbers. This language
add / subtract any whole number of full
allows us to represent all possible cases for coterminal angles.
rotations!

Class Example 6.15 Sketching rotation angles, determining principal angles

For each of the following angles, state the general form of all coterminal angles. (Start with the principal angle)
31 7
(a) 210° (b) (c)
6 4

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