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 "DEGREES" is the degrees of an angle that is being converted to radians:


   =DEGREES/(180/pi())

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


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

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

Last Reviewed: March 12, 1999