Cosine

For a real angle $\theta$, $\cos \theta$ is the horizontal coordinate on the unit circle reached by a counterclockwise rotation through $\theta$ radians. For an acute angle in a right triangle, it is the adjacent side divided by the hypotenuse. Basic values includeAt $\theta =2\pi /3$, the horizontal coordinate is $-1/2$ even though the vertical sine coordinate remains positive. A positive angle need not produce a positive cosine.

Reflection across the horizontal axis leaves this coordinate unchanged, giving $\cos (-\theta )=\cos \theta$: cosine is an even function. A full turn gives $\cos (\theta +2\pi )=\cos \theta$. For real arguments, its range is $[-1,1]$ and its zeros of a function occur at $\theta =\pi /2+k\pi$. A quarter-turn shifts between the two coordinate traces, with $\cos \theta =\sin (\theta +\pi /2)$.