How to Use Excel's Degrees Function

Excel's DEGREES function converts radians into degrees and is the inverse function of RADIANS. Both radians and degrees are units of circular measure and converting between the two is a frequent requirement in trigonometry. The following steps will show how to use Excel's DEGREES function.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Learn the syntax for DEGREES. It is DEGREES(radian_angle) where radian_angle is the measure of an angle in units of radians.

2. Study the radian. This unit of circular measure is based on the equation c = 2 pi r where c is the circumference of a circle, pi is a constant equal to approximately 3.14 and r is the radius. Using the unit circle with a radius of 1 we have c = 2 pi = about 6.28. A complete circle is approximately 6.28 radians.

3. Examine the degree. This unit of circular measure divides a circle into 360 parts and was probably chosen because 360 has many factors and also because it is close to the number of days in the year.

4. Convert radians to degrees to check the result of DEGREES. Divide the number of degrees in a circle by the number radians in a circle to get 360/2 pi = 180/pi. We therefore multiply radians by 180/pi to get degrees.

5. Look at some examples of DEGREES; =DEGREES(PI) returns 180. Use this example as a check of the DEGREES function; =DEGREES(.2) returns 11.4591559. Multiply .2 by 180/pi to get 11.4591559; =DEGREES(7) returns 401.0705. Note that this is greater than the number of degrees in a circle.