the unit circle

By Ana Zuniga
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ana-Zuniga

Dear Teacher,
Instead of giving students the unit circle to memorize, itll be more meaningful for your students to see
how the unit circle comes about and why the coordinates are what they are. This project is meant to
help students in both remembering the unit circle and understanding it. There are 2 worksheets
included in this project: Unit Circle Project Background Information and The Unit Circle. The first can be
done whole class as a way to introduce the lesson/project. The second can be done as part of the
project or you can even use it as a quiz after students complete the project.
Give each student a Unit Circle Project Directions worksheet. I assign this project independently. Its
quite easy to grade with a checklist since its out of 10 possible points so you can easily convert to a
percent and assign a letter grade. Ask students to attach the rubric to the back of the project for your
convenience. You can even ask them to grade each others work.
Unit Circle Project Grading Rubric

The main unit circle covers most of the poster board.

The unit circle has angle measures in degrees.
The unit circle has angle measures in radians.
The unit circle has the coordinates at each point.
The unit circle angle measurements are accurate (i.e., the amount of space from 30 degrees to
45 degrees should be less than the amount of space from 60 degrees to 90 degrees).
The student drew 5 separate circles to show derivations.
All derivations were drawn by dropping perpendicular lines towards the x-axis.
The student has identified each triangle as either a 45-45-90 or 30-60-90.
It is neat, colorful, and creative.
All mathematics is correct. Student has explained the derivations correctly and shown all work.
Total number of points: _______/10

Grade: _________

Name __________________________ Date ______________ Period ________

Unit Circle Project Grading Rubric

The main unit circle covers most of the poster board.

The unit circle has angle measures in degrees.
The unit circle has angle measures in radians.
The unit circle has the coordinates at each point.
The unit circle angle measurements are accurate (i.e., the amount of space from 30 degrees to
45 degrees should be less than the amount of space from 60 degrees to 90 degrees).
The student drew 5 separate circles to show derivations.
All derivations were drawn by dropping perpendicular lines towards the x-axis.
The student has identified each triangle as either a 45-45-90 or 30-60-90.
It is neat, colorful, and creative.
All mathematics is correct. Student has explained the derivations correctly and shown all work.
Total number of points: _______/10

Grade: _________

Name __________________________ Date ______________ Period ________

Unit Circle Project Grading Rubric

The main unit circle covers most of the poster board.

The unit circle has angle measures in degrees.
The unit circle has angle measures in radians.
The unit circle has the coordinates at each point.
The unit circle angle measurements are accurate (i.e., the amount of space from 30 degrees to
45 degrees should be less than the amount of space from 60 degrees to 90 degrees).
The student drew 5 separate circles to show derivations.
All derivations were drawn by dropping perpendicular lines towards the x-axis.
The student has identified each triangle as either a 45-45-90 or 30-60-90.
It is neat, colorful, and creative.
All mathematics is correct. Student has explained the derivations correctly and shown all work.
Total number of points: _______/10

Grade: _________

Name _______________________________ Date _______________________ Period ____________

Unit Circle Project: Background Information
Directions: Fill in the blanks.
The unit circle is a circle centered at the origin (the point ________) with a radius of 1. Since the
equation of a circle is (x h)2 + (y k)2 = r2, where (h, k) is the center of the circle and r is the radius of
the circle, then the equation of the unit circle is ____________________________________________.
The circumference of a circle is found by using the formula C = _______. Because the radius of the unit
circle is equal to _____, then the circumference of the unit circle is ______.
When measured in degrees, one full revolution of a circle is equal to ________ degrees. If we split the
circle into 4 equal parts, then at each corner the angles go up by _____ degrees (divide 360 by 4). If we
split the circle into 8 equal parts, then from one point to the other we would need to add by ______
degrees. If we split the circle into 12 equal parts, then from one point to the other we would need to
add by _____ degrees.

Name _____________KEY_________________ Date _______________________ Period ____________

Unit Circle Project: Background Information
Directions: Fill in the blanks.
The unit circle is a circle centered at the origin (the point __(0, 0)______) with a radius of 1. Since the
equation of a circle is (x h)2 + (y k)2 = r2, where (h, k) is the center of the circle and r is the radius of
the circle, then the equation of the unit circle is _____x2 + y2 = 1__________________________.
The circumference of a circle is found by using the formula C = __2r o r C=d____. Because the radius
of the unit circle is equal to ___1__, then the circumference of the unit circle is __2 ____.
When measured in degrees, one full revolution of a circle is equal to __360______ degrees. If we split
the circle into 4 equal parts, then at each corner the angles go up by __90___ degrees (divide 360 by 4).
If we split the circle into 8 equal parts, then from one point to the other we would need to add by
___45___ degrees. If we split the circle into 12 equal parts, then from one point to the other we would
need to add by __30___ degrees.

Name _________________________________________ Date ________________ Period ________

The Unit Circle
Directions: Fill in ( ___ , ___ ) with the correct ordered pair at each point. Then fill out the chart on the
back of the page.

( ___ , ___ )
C
( ___ , ___ )
D

B( ___ , ___ )

( ___ , ___ )

( ___ , ___ )

( ___ , ___ )

F
H ( ___ , ___ )
G
( ___ , ___ )

Degree
Measure
Point A

Point B
Point C

Point D

Point E
Point F

Point G

Point H

Radian
Measure

Sin

Cos

Tan

Csc

Sec

Cot

Unit Circle Project Directions

On a poster board, draw the unit circle. It must include the angle measures in both degrees and radians.
You must also include the coordinates at each point. It must cover most of the poster. Then choose five
points (none that are on the axes, so not 90, 180, or 270 degrees) and draw five separate circles. For
each circle show ALL work for deriving the coordinates of that angle measure, including any rationalizing
that you do. See the example below.
Your project must be neat. Your angle measurements should be precise and use your creativity in
presenting your project (bright colors, etc.). Attach the grading rubric to the back of your project.
Example: Lets say Im going to show the derivation for 135 degrees (3/4), then I would go to that
point, drop a perpendicular towards the x-axis thus forming a right triangle. The hypotenuse measures 1
(because its the unit circle and the radius is one). The central angle at this point (the reference angle)
measures 45 degrees (180 135 = 45 degrees). Therefore, this is a 45-45-90 special right triangle. Then
use the rules of the 45-45-90 to explain why the coordinates at this point are (-

This is a 45-45-90 triangle.

Both legs measure the same
since its an isosceles right
triangle. Because the
hypotenuse is 1, then to go
from the hypotenuse to the
leg I have to divide by .
Because you cant be left
with radicals in the
denominator, I must then
rationalize by multiplying
both numerator and
denominator by

Each

side therefore measures

Since 135 degrees is located in

the second quadrant, the xcoordinate must be negative.
Hence, thats why the
coordinates at this point are

Sample Unit Circle Projects