XL: Trigonometric Functions Returning Incorrect Values

ID: Q41064

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 4.0
Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 1.x, 2.2, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0

SUMMARY

Trigonometric functions in Microsoft Excel calculate the result based on radians, not degrees.

An angle in radians equals angle/(180/PI()) in degrees. The following formula converts degrees into radians, where angle is the number of degrees in the angle that is being converted to radians:

=angle/(180/pi())

For example, to find the sine of a 43-degree angle, use the following formula:

=SIN(43/(180/pi()))

Beginning with Excel 4.0, Excel also includes the RADIANS() function, which is used as follows:

=RADIANS(angle)
=SIN(RADIANS(43))

Additional query words: 1.0 1.00 1.03 1.04 1.06 1.5 1.50 2.20 3.0 5.0 7.0 98 97

Keywords :
Version : MACINTOSH:1.x,2.2,3.0,4.0,5.0; WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,7.0,97
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type :