SIN function

The SIN function in Excel is a mathematical function that calculates the sine of an angle in radians. It is widely used in trigonometry to find the ratio of the length of the side opposite an angle to the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle.

Syntax

SIN(number)

Arguments

numberThe angle in radians for which you want to find the sine. This argument is required.

How to use

To use the SIN function in Excel, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the cell where you want the result to appear.
  2. Type “=SIN(” in the cell.
  3. Provide the angle in radians as the argument. You can enter a number directly or refer to a cell that contains the angle value.
  4. Close the function with a closing parenthesis, and press Enter.

Here’s an example:

This formula calculates the sine of 1.047 radians, which is approximately 0.865.

You can also use cell references for the angle. For example, if cell A1 contains the angle in radians:

This formula will calculate the sine of the angle stored in cell A1.

If you need to convert an angle from degrees to radians, you can use the RADIANS function in combination with the SIN function. Here’s how:

This formula will find the sine of 30 degrees after converting it to radians.

Additional Information

The result of the SIN function will always be a value between -1 and 1, inclusive. A sine value of 1 indicates a 90-degree angle (π/2 radians), while a sine value of -1 indicates a 270-degree angle (3π/2 radians). If you’re working with degrees, don’t forget to convert them to radians using the RADIANS function before using the SIN function.

Tomasz Decker is an Excel specialist, skilled in data analysis and financial modeling.