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Find the cosine of an angle using the unit circle in the complex plane

Answer 1

Abigail Nelson

Henry Green

Given an angle \( \theta \) in the complex plane, the unit circle can be used to find the cosine of the angle. The cosine of the angle \( \theta \) is the x-coordinate of the point where the terminal side of the angle intersects the unit circle.

Let’s consider \( \theta = \frac{\pi}{4} \), find \( \cos(\theta) \).

On the unit circle, the coordinates of the point at angle \( \frac{\pi}{4} \) are \( \left( \cos \left( \frac{\pi}{4} \right), \sin \left( \frac{\pi}{4} \right) \right) \).

Since \( \frac{\pi}{4} \) is a 45-degree angle, the coordinates are \( \left( \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}, \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} \right) \).

Thus, the cosine of \( \frac{\pi}{4} \) is:

$ \cos \left( \frac{\pi}{4} \right) = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} $

Answer 2

Alex Thompson

Mia Harris

Given an angle ( heta ) in the complex plane, the unit circle can be used to find the cosine. The cosine of the angle ( heta ) is the x-coordinate of the point where the angle intersects the unit circle.

Consider ( heta = 0 ). The point on the unit circle at ( heta = 0 ) is ( (1, 0) ).

Thus, the cosine of ( heta = 0 ) is:

$ cos(0) = 1 $

Answer 3

Amelia Mitchell

Alex Thompson

Find the cosine of the angle ( frac{pi}{2} ) using the unit circle in the complex plane.

At ( heta = frac{pi}{2} ), the coordinates on the unit circle are ( (0, 1) ).

Therefore, the cosine of ( frac{pi}{2} ) is:

$ cos left( frac{pi}{2}
ight) = 0 $