terminal ray

Let an angle whose in radians is $\theta$ be placed the Cartesian plane such that one of its rays $R_1$ corresponds to the nonnegative $x$ axis and one can go from the point $(1,0)$ to the point that is the intersection of the other ray $R_2$ of the angle with the circle $x^2+y^2=1$ by traveling exactly $\theta$ units on the circle. (If $\theta$ is positive, the distance should be traveled counterclockwise; otherwise, the distance $|\theta |$ should be traveled clockwise. Also, note that “other ray” is used quite loosely, as it may also correspond to the nonnegative $x$ axis also.) Then $R_2$ is the terminal ray of the angle.

The picture below shows the terminal ray $R_2$ of the angle $\theta ={\displaystyle \frac{2\pi }{3}}$.

Title	terminal ray
Canonical name	TerminalRay
Date of creation	2013-03-22 16:06:11
Last modified on	2013-03-22 16:06:11
Owner	Wkbj79 (1863)
Last modified by	Wkbj79 (1863)
Numerical id	12
Author	Wkbj79 (1863)
Entry type	Definition
Classification	msc 51-01
Related topic	Trigonometry
Related topic	CyclometricFunctions