Circular

Functions
Unit Circle

The unit circle is the circle

centered at the origin and has
radius 1.
The Unit Circle

(0,1)

(-1,0) (1,0)

(0,-1)
Arcs

Arcs are “parts” of a circle with

two endpoints, the initial point
and terminal point.
 Wrapping Function
We will ‘wrap’ the real number line
around the unit circle.
 3

2 2

1 1

0
4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4

-1 1

-2 2
 3

2 1
1

3
0
4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4

-1 1

-2 2
 3

2 1
1

3
0
4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4

-1
1
2
-2
 3

2
 Each real number corresponds
2 to a length of an arc whose initial
1 1 point is 1,0  .
3
0  In counterclockwise direction,
-1 1 2 3 4 5
the arc is positive.
-1
1
2  In clockwise direction, the arc
is negative.
-2
• Each real number corresponds to a
length of an arc in a unit circle
whose initial point is at (1,0).
• In the counterclockwise direction,
the length of an arc is positive;
• while in the clockwise direction,
the length of an arc is negative.
Wrapping Function

Definition
The wrapping function P is a
function from to U such that

where (x, y) is the terminal point of

the arc with length t.
 
2
Examples
 0
2

3
2
 Special Real Numbers

The following are the wrapping

function values of some special
real numbers.
Multiples of
Multiples of
Multiples of
 Coterminal Acs

Coterminal arcs are arcs with the same

terminal point.

Example:
Arcs of length 0 and are coterminal.

Thus, .
Coterminal Arcs
Examples
Examples
A Tip:
Negative Arclengths
If an arc has length   0
and P     x, y  , then
P      x,  y  .