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Any Circle, Any Radius

Part of the Angles and the Unit Circle section of Coddy's Trigonometry journey. Lesson 45 of 55.

On a circle of radius r the picture is the unit circle scaled by r. Every length grows by the same factor, so the point at angle θ is (r cos θ, r sin θ).

A circle of radius 6 with the point P at 240°

On a circle of radius 6 the point at 240° has x = 6cos⁡(240∘)6\cos\left(240^{\circ}\right) and y = 6sin⁡(240∘)6\sin\left(240^{\circ}\right). 240° is in quadrant III with reference angle 60°, so cos⁡(240∘)=−12\cos\left(240^{\circ}\right) = \frac{-1}{2} and sin⁡(240∘)=−32\sin\left(240^{\circ}\right) = \frac{-\sqrt{3}}{2}. The point is (−3-3, −33-3\sqrt{3}).

A seat on a wheel or the tip of a fan blade is tracked the same way: the centre is the origin, the radius scales the unit circle, the angle picks the point.

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Challenge

A Ferris wheel of radius 20 m is centred at the origin. A seat sits at 150°, measured counterclockwise from the 3 o'clock position. Find its coordinates exactly: write a line x = ... and a line y = ..., with any root in simplest form and no decimals. Then press Check.

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This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

quiz iconTest yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

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