8.3 Radians
Definition of a Radian • Converting Angle Measurements • Evaluations on a Calculator
For many problems in which trigonometric functions are used, particularly those involving the solution of triangles, degree measurements of angles are convenient and quite sufficient. However, division of a circle into 360 equal parts is by definition, and it is arbitrary and artificial (see the margin comment on page 55).
In numerous other types of applications and in more theoretical discussions, the radian is a more meaningful measure of an angle. We defined the radian in Chapter 2 and reviewed it briefly in Chapter 4. In this section, we discuss the radian in detail and start by reviewing its definition.
A radian is the measure of an angle ...
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