Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Deriving a Secant and Cosecant.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 18, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Excel includes many built-in functions that allow you to use a wide range of trigonometric functions. Two that are not included, however, are functions for determining a secant and a cosecant. Let's assume that an angle value, in radians, is stored in cell B7. If you need to know the secant of the angle, you can use the following formula:
=1/COS(B7)
Likewise, if you need to know the cosecant of the angle, the following formula will do the trick:
=1/SIN(B7)
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10084) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Deriving a Secant and Cosecant.
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2019-07-22 12:46:34
Gene Osten
Note: I would suggest a check for division for zero. Both SIN(θ) and COS(θ) can have the value zero.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
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