Question

The point P

in simplest form?
=
✓lies on the unit circle shown below. What is the value of a
A
P (x, y)
(Note: the figure is not drawn to scale)
(1, 0)
X

Answer 1

I assume you are starting to learn about trig. I'll just do a quick solution and if you need clarification you can ask.

First find the angle from the positive x-axis to point P. By convention we call it
`\theta` (pronounced "theta").

We know that
`\theta=sin^(-1)((√(3))/(2))` so
`\theta=60`.

To find x, we evaluate
`cos(60)=(1)/(2)`.

So, x=1/2