Cotangent, Secant & Cosecant Calculator
Cotangent, Secant & Cosecant Calculator
Enter an angle in degrees or radians, and this calculator finds its cotangent, secant, and cosecant — the three reciprocal trigonometric functions.
These three functions are simply the reciprocals of the more familiar tangent, cosine, and sine — cotangent equals 1 divided by tangent, secant equals 1 divided by cosine, and cosecant equals 1 divided by sine — which is also exactly why each reciprocal function is undefined wherever its corresponding base function equals zero. They show up less often in everyday problems than sine, cosine, and tangent, but they're standard tools in calculus, engineering, and physics contexts where a formula happens to be cleaner expressed in reciprocal form.
- Cotangent, secant, and cosecant are simply the reciprocals of tangent, cosine, and sine, respectively: cot(θ) = 1/tan(θ), sec(θ) = 1/cos(θ), csc(θ) = 1/sin(θ).
- Each reciprocal function is undefined wherever its corresponding base function is zero: cotangent and cosecant are undefined when sine is zero (0°, 180°, 360°…), while secant is undefined when cosine is zero (90°, 270°…).
- These functions appear less often in basic problems than sine, cosine, and tangent, but are standard in calculus, physics, and engineering formulas.
How are cotangent, secant, and cosecant related to sine, cosine, and tangent?
They are reciprocals: cotangent is 1 divided by tangent, secant is 1 divided by cosine, and cosecant is 1 divided by sine.
What are cot, sec, and csc at 45°?
All three equal 1 or √2 depending on the function — cot(45°) = 1, sec(45°) = √2 ≈ 1.414, csc(45°) = √2 ≈ 1.414.
Cotangent, Secant & Cosecant Calculator
Enter an angle in degrees or radians, and this calculator finds its cotangent, secant, and cosecant — the three reciprocal trigonometric functions.
These three functions are simply the reciprocals of the more familiar tangent, cosine, and sine — cotangent equals 1 divided by tangent, secant equals 1 divided by cosine, and cosecant equals 1 divided by sine — which is also exactly why each reciprocal function is undefined wherever its corresponding base function equals zero. They show up less often in everyday problems than sine, cosine, and tangent, but they're standard tools in calculus, engineering, and physics contexts where a formula happens to be cleaner expressed in reciprocal form.
- Cotangent, secant, and cosecant are simply the reciprocals of tangent, cosine, and sine, respectively: cot(θ) = 1/tan(θ), sec(θ) = 1/cos(θ), csc(θ) = 1/sin(θ).
- Each reciprocal function is undefined wherever its corresponding base function is zero: cotangent and cosecant are undefined when sine is zero (0°, 180°, 360°…), while secant is undefined when cosine is zero (90°, 270°…).
- These functions appear less often in basic problems than sine, cosine, and tangent, but are standard in calculus, physics, and engineering formulas.
How are cotangent, secant, and cosecant related to sine, cosine, and tangent?
They are reciprocals: cotangent is 1 divided by tangent, secant is 1 divided by cosine, and cosecant is 1 divided by sine.
What are cot, sec, and csc at 45°?
All three equal 1 or √2 depending on the function — cot(45°) = 1, sec(45°) = √2 ≈ 1.414, csc(45°) = √2 ≈ 1.414.