You are here

The Right Theta

by William Freed and Athanasios (Tom) Tavouktsoglou

This article originally appeared in:
College Mathematics Journal
March, 2008

Subject classification(s): Calculus | Single Variable Calculus | Functions of Single Variable
Applicable Course(s): 2.2 Trigonometry | 3.0 Calculus | 3.2 Mainstream Calculus II | 3.5 Non-mainstream Calc II

The formula \( \theta = \arctan(y/x) \) gives the angle associated with a point \( (x,y) \) in the plane, valid for \( \mid \theta \mid < \pi/2 \).  This capsule presents a formula that is valid for \( \mid \theta \mid < \pi \).


A pdf copy of the article can be viewed by clicking below. Since the copy is a faithful reproduction of the actual journal pages, the article may not begin at the top of the first page.

To open this file please click here.

Capsule Course Topic(s):
One-Variable Calculus | Calculus Functions
No votes yet