Find the angle corresponding to the point (1/2, -√3/2) on the unit circle
To find the angle that corresponds to the point $ \left( \frac{1}{2}, -\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} \right) $ on the unit circle, we look at the coordinates.
The x-coordinate is $ \frac{1}{2} $ and the y-coordinate is $ -\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} $. These values correspond to an angle in the fourth quadrant.
The reference angle with these coordinates is $ \frac{\pi}{3} $ because:
$$ \cos \theta = \frac{1}{2} \text{ and } \sin \theta = -\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} $$
Since the angle is in the fourth quadrant, the actual angle is:
$$ \theta = 2\pi – \frac{\pi}{3} = \frac{5\pi}{3} $$