Question

The angle 60 is shown below in standard position, together with a unit circle.

A circle with a radius of 1 is shown with its center located at the origin on a coordinate grid. The radius forms a terminal side that makes a 60-degree-angle with the positive x-axis. The terminal side intersects the circle at (one half, the square root of 3 over 2).

Use the coordinates of the point of intersection of the terminal side and the circle to compute cot 60

Answer 1

Answer: 60 = 1/√3.

Explanation:

The cotangent of 60 degrees is equal to the x-coordinate of the point of intersection divided by the y-coordinate of the point of intersection. In this case, the x-coordinate is 0.5 and the y-coordinate is √3/2. Therefore, cot 60 = 0.5 / √3/2 = 1/√3.

So, cot 60 = 1/√3.