Prepared by:

Hazelyn C. Carreon
MAED-MATH

An angle is formed by joining the endpoints

of two half-lines called rays.
The side you measure to is called the terminal side.

Angles measured counterclockwise are given a

positive sign and angles measured clockwise are
given a negative sign.

Negative Angle
This is a
clockwise
rotation.

m
r
Te

l
a
in

de
i
S

Positive Angle
This is a
counterclockwise
rotation.

Initial Side

The side you measure from is called the initial side.

Its Greek To
Me!

It is customary to use small letters in the Greek alphabet

to symbolize angle measurement.

alpha

theta

beta

phi

gamma

delta

Te
rm
i

na
lS

ide

We can use a coordinate system with angles by putting

the initial side along the positive x-axis with the vertex
at the origin.
Quadrant
Quadrant I
II
angle
angle

negative

positive

Initial Side

Quadrant
If the terminal side is along
IV
an axis it is called a
angle
quadrantal angle.
We say the angle lies in whatever quadrant the terminal
side lies in.

We will be using two different units of

measure when talking about angles: Degrees
and Radians
If we start with the initial side and go all of
= 360
the way around in a counterclockwise
direction we have 360 degrees

= 90
If we went 1/4 of the way in
a clockwise direction the
angle would measure -90

= - 90

You are probably already

familiar with a right angle
that measures 1/4 of the
way around or 90

Lets talk about degrees first. You are probably already

somewhat familiar with degrees.

What is the measure of this angle?

You could measure in the positive
= - 360 +
direction and go around another rotation
which would be another 360
45
= - 315

= 45

You could measure in the positive

direction

= 360 + 45 = 405

You could measure in the negative

direction
There are many ways to express the given angle.
Whichever way you express it, it is still a Quadrant I
angle since the terminal side is in Quadrant I.

If the angle is not exactly to the next degree it can be

expressed as a decimal (most common in math) or in
degrees, minutes and seconds (common in surveying
and some navigation).
1 degree = 60 minutes

1 minute = 60 seconds

= 2548'30"
degrees
seconds
minutes
To convert to decimal form use conversion fractions.
These are fractions where the numerator = denominator
but two different units. Put unit on top you want to
convert to and put unit on bottom you want to get rid of.
Let's convert the
seconds to
minutes

30" 1'

60"

= 0.5'

1 degree = 60 minutes

1 minute = 60 seconds

= 2548'30" = 2548.5' = 25.808

Now let's use another conversion fraction to get rid of

minutes.

48.5' 1

60'

= .808

Another way to measure angles is using what is called

radians.

te
rm
si ina
de l

Given a circle of radius r with the vertex of an angle as the

center of the circle, if the arc length formed by intercepting
the circle with the sides of the angle is the same length as
the radius r, the angle measures one radian.

arc length is
also r

r
r

initial side

radius of circle is r

This angle measures

1 radian

Arc length s of a circle is found with the following

formula:
IMPORTANT: ANGLE
MEASURE MUST BE IN
RADIANS TO USE FORMULA!

s = r

arc length

radius

measure of angle

Find the arc length if we have a circle with a radius of 3

meters and central angle of 0.52 radian.
arc length to find is in black
= 0.52
3

s = r30.52

= 1.56 m

What if we have the measure of the angle in degrees? We

can't use the formula until we convert to radians, but how?

We need a conversion from degrees to radians. We

could use a conversion fraction if we knew how many
degrees equaled how many radians.
Let's start with
the arc length
formula
cancel the r's

s = r

2r = r
2 =

2 radians = 360

If we look at one revolution

around the circle, the arc
length would be the
circumference. Recall that
circumference of a circle is
2r
This tells us that the
radian measure all the
way around is 2. All the
way around in degrees is
360.

2 radians = 360

radians = 180

Convert 30 to radians using a conversion fraction.

30 2 radians
360
=

The fraction can be

reduced by 2. This
would be a simpler
conversion fraction.

180

radians 0.52

Can leave with or use button

on your calculator for decimal.

Convert /3 radians to degrees using a conversion fraction.

180
radians
3
radians

= 60

Area of a Sector of a Circle

The formula for the area of a

sector of a circle (shown in
red here) is derived in your
textbook. It is:

Again must be in RADIANS

so if it is in degrees you must
convert to radians to use the
formula.

1 2
A r
2

Find the area of the sector if the radius is 3 feet and = 50

radians
= 0.873 radians
50
180

1 2
A 3 0.837
2
3.77 sq ft

A Sense of Angle Sizes

45
4

30
6

90
2

See if you can guess

the size of these
angles first in degrees
and then in radians.

2
120
3
5
150
6

60
3
180

3
135
4

You will be working so much with these angles, you

should know them in both degrees and radians.

Measuring Angles
The measure of an angle is determined by the amount of rotation from
the initial side to the terminal side.
There are two common ways to measure angles, in degrees and in
radians.
Well start with degrees, denoted by the symbol .
One degree (1) is equivalent to a rotation of

15

1
360

of one revolution.

Measuring Angles

Classifying Angles
Angles are often classified according to the quadrant
in which their terminal sides lie.
Ex1: Name the quadrant in which each angle lies.
50

Quadrant 1

208 Quadrant 3
-75 Quadrant 4

II

III

IV

Classifying Angles
Standard position angles that have their terminal side on
one of the axes are called quadrantal angles.
For example, 0, 90, 180, 270, 360, are quadrantal
angles.

Coterminal Angles
Angles that have the same initial and terminal sides are
coterminal.

Angles and are coterminal.

Example of Finding Coterminal Angles

You can find an angle that is coterminal to a given angle by
adding or subtracting multiples of 360.
Ex 2:
Find one positive and one negative angle that are
coterminal to 112.
For a positive coterminal angle, add 360 : 112 + 360 = 472
For a negative coterminal angle, subtract 360: 112 - 360 = -248

Ex 3. Find one positive and one negative angle that is

coterminal with the angle = 30 in standard position.

Ex 4. Find one positive and one negative angle that is

coterminal with the angle = 272 in standard position.

Radian Measure
A second way to measure angles is in radians.

Definition of Radian:
One radian is the measure of a central angle that intercepts
arc s equal in length to the radius r of the circle.
In general,

Radian Measure
2 radians corresponds to 360

radians corresponds to 180

radians corresponds to 90
2

2 6.28
3.14

1.57
2

Radian Measure

6.1 Radian and Degree Measure

Conversions Between Degrees and Radians

1. To convert degrees to radians, multiply degrees by

180
2.

180
To convert radians to degrees, multiply radians by

25

Ex 5. Convert the degrees to radian measure.

a)

60

b)

30

c)

-54

d)

-118

e)

45

Ex 6. Convert the radians to degrees.

a)
6b)

c)
2
d)

11

18

Ex 7. Find one positive and one negative angle that is

coterminal with the angle =

in standard position.
3

Ex 8. Find one positive and one negative angle that is

7
coterminal with the angle =
in standard position.
5

Degree and Radian Form of Special Angles

90

120

60

135

45

150

30

180

360

210

330

225

315

240

300
270

29

Class Work
Convert from degrees to radians.
1.54
2.-300
Convert from radians to degrees.
11
3.

4. 13

12

Find one postive angle and one negative angle in

standard position that are coterminal with the
given angle.
5.135

11
6. 6

References:
Active Math (Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry & Statistics) by
Jude Ildefonso P. Tidalgo and Mariano M. Melendres, Innovative
Educational Materials, Inc., 2011, pp. 195-208
Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry & Statistics: Patterns and
Practicalities by Minie Rose C. Lapinid and Olivia N. Buzon, Don
Bosco Press, Inc., 2007, pp.195-209
http://www.themathpage.com/aTrig/measure-angles.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-hgeXamzEo
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/algtrig/ATT3/reference
Angles.htm