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arc sine

arc sine

1 8.7
An angle whose sine is a given number
  • noun
  • /ɑrk saɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : arcoseno
  • In trigonometry, the arc sine function is used to determine the angle when the sine value is known.

Examples

  • To find the angle of elevation, we can calculate the arc sine of the ratio between the opposite side and the hypotenuse.

  • Accordingly, the arc sine transformation was employed with these data to ensure compatibility with the parametric ANOVAs (Kerlinger, 1986).

    Academic text (1994)
  • The arc sine is essential when solving for angles in right triangles using the sine ratio.

Synonyms

arcsine
vsarc sine
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A function that gives the angle for a given sine value

is identical in meaning but differs in written form
arcsin
vsarc sine
  • Specialized
9.9

An angle whose sine equals a given number

is the same mathematical function but named in full words
inverse sine
vsarc sine
  • Specialized
8.0

A way to find the angle whose sine equals a given number

is the same concept but used as a descriptive phrase rather than notation

Surface Forms

arc sine singular
arc sines plural

Morphology

arc + sine

Both constituents are recognizable — 'arc' as a curved segment and 'sine' as the trigonometric function — so learners may sense a mathematical relation, but the specific meaning 'the angle whose sine is a given number' (i.e., the inverse sine) relies on technical mathematical usage of 'arc' that is not an obvious compositional reading for a general B1 learner. Because the meaning is partially inferable from the parts but requires subject-matter knowledge to map 'arc' to an inverse-function sense, the expression is best classified as semi-transparent.

Etymology

Arc sine comes from the words arc (a part of a circle) and sine (the height a point on the circle has for a given angle). So arc sine means 'the angle' you get when you know the sine number, that is, the angle whose sine equals the given number.