Geometry & Trigonometry
Intermediate

Reciprocal Trig Identities

Secant and cosecant as reciprocals.

Formula

sec⁡θ=1cos⁡θ, csc⁡θ=1sin⁡θ\sec\theta = \tfrac{1}{\cos\theta}, \ \csc\theta = \tfrac{1}{\sin\theta}

Variables

\thetaAngle

Example

At 60°: sec 60° = 1/cos60° = 2, csc 60° = 1/sin60° ≈ 1.155.

Did You Know?

Secant and cosecant are the "flipped" versions of cosine and sine, useful in calculus integrals.

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