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Why is the cosine of 90 equal to 0?

Updated: 4/28/2022
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14y ago

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That is the definition. If you take your unit circle (a circle with radius 1 centered at the origin (0,0). you start at (1,0) and go counterclockwise around the circle 90° you end up at (0,1) that 0 is the cosine of the angle 90°

In fact, you don't even need the unit circle. Take a circle of any radius r, and draw a ray at 90 degrees. This will intersect the y-axis. So as above, the coordinates are (0,r) (instead of (0,1)) so cos(90 degrees)=x/r=0/r=0

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Q: Why is the cosine of 90 equal to 0?
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What is the cosine of -90?

Cosine of -90 is 0.


How is cos 90 equal to 0?

The Unit Circle is a circle that has a radius of 1 and a center at the origin. If you look at the unit circle 90 degrees is at the point (0,1). Cosine is equal to the x value of a point on the Unit Circle. The line created to the point (0,1) on the unit circle when the degree is 90 is completely vertical, which in turn makes the x value 0 and thus, cosine of 90 = 0. Read more >> Options >> http://www.answers.com?initiator=FFANS


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Why is it cosine 90 degrees is 0?

It helps to think as the sine and cosine as coordinates of a unit circle - a circle of radius 1, with center at the origin of the coordinates, i.e., point (0, 0). In this case, as you go around on the circle (starting at the right, coordinates (1, 0), and going counterclockwise), the cosine of the angle is simply the x-coordinate, and the sine of the angle is simply the y-coordinate. At 90°, the x-coordinate is 0, therefore the cosine is 0. Also, at 90° the y-coordinate is 1, therefore the sine is 1 (that's the maximum value it can have).