Why 360 Degrees?
The 360-degree system comes from the ancient Babylonians. It's roughly the number of days in a year and is easily divisible by many numbers (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12...).
Radians (The Natural Unit)
Mathematicians use radians because they are based on the radius of the circle.
- 2π Radians = 360 Degrees
- 1 Radian ≈ 57.3 Degrees
Gradians (The Metric Attempt)
Gradians (or "gons") were an attempt to make angles metric. In this system, a right angle is 100 gradians, and a full circle is 400. It's mostly used in surveying.
Key Takeaways
- Degrees are for navigation and daily life
- Radians are for calculus and engineering
- Your calculator has a button to switch between them—check it!