Determining the value of cos 60° using the unit circle and cosine function’s special values

cos 60°

The value of cos 60° can be determined using the unit circle or by using the cosine function’s special values

The value of cos 60° can be determined using the unit circle or by using the cosine function’s special values.

Using the unit circle:
The unit circle is a circle with a radius of 1, centered at the origin (0,0) in a coordinate plane. To find cos 60° using the unit circle, we need to locate the angle measure of 60° along the circumference of the unit circle.

Starting from the positive x-axis (0°), if we move counterclockwise by 60°, we reach the second quadrant where the angle intersects the unit circle. The point of intersection is at the coordinates (-0.5, √3/2) or (-1/2, √3/2).

Therefore, cos 60° is equal to -1/2.

Using the cosine function’s special values:
The cosine function has specific values for some commonly used angles. One of these angles is 60°.

cos 60° = 1/2

In summary, cos 60° is equal to -1/2 or 1/2 depending on how we approach the problem.

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