Find the point of intersection of a line passing through the origin at an angle θ with the unit circle
To find the point of intersection of a line passing through the origin at an angle $ \theta $ with the unit circle, we start by writing the equation of the line. The equation of the line in the form $ y = mx $ is:
$$ y = \tan(\theta) x $$
Since the line intersects the unit circle, we substitute $ y = \tan(\theta) x $ into the equation of the unit circle $ x^2 + y^2 = 1 $:
$$ x^2 + (\tan(\theta) x)^2 = 1 $$
Simplifying, we have:
$$ x^2 + x^2 \tan^2(\theta) = 1 $$
$$ x^2(1 + \tan^2(\theta)) = 1 $$
We use the trigonometric identity $ 1 + \tan^2(\theta) = \sec^2(\theta) $:
$$ x^2 \sec^2(\theta) = 1 $$
$$ x^2 = \cos^2(\theta) $$
So, we get two possible values for $ x $:
$$ x = \cos(\theta) $$
$$ x = -\cos(\theta) $$
For each $ x $, we find the corresponding $ y $:
When $ x = \cos(\theta) $:
$$ y = \tan(\theta) \cos(\theta) = \sin(\theta) $$
When $ x = -\cos(\theta) $:
$$ y = \tan(\theta) (-\cos(\theta)) = -\sin(\theta) $$
So, the points of intersection are:
$$ (\cos(\theta), \sin(\theta)) $$
$$ (-\cos(\theta), -\sin(\theta)) $$