COS in Collabora Office: Calculate Horizontal Components in Radians

• Introduced: documented in Collabora Office 26.04 Help; the original introduction version is not established by the reviewed history.
• Availability: the official COS reference documents support in Calc’s 26.04 desktop manual.
• Scope: this evidence does not establish identical behavior in Collabora Online, mobile clients or older releases.
• Checked: October 14, 2026 against the captured 26.04 manual. Examples were calculated independently; no native Collabora execution was performed.

=COS(number)

The argument is an angle, not a percentage or a distance. For a degree value in A2, use =COS(RADIANS(A2)). A displayed degree symbol does not change the value’s unit.

On a unit circle, cosine supplies the horizontal coordinate. Its mathematical range is −1 to 1. In a right-triangle setting, cosine is adjacent side divided by hypotenuse; the geometric context determines which interpretation is useful.

Enter 0, 60, 90, 180, 360 in A2:A6. In B2 enter and fill down:

=COS(RADIANS(A2))

Expected results: approximately 1, 0.5, 0, −1, 1. A tiny value near zero at 90 degrees is a numerical residual, not a meaningful nonzero horizontal component.

For a direct radian check, =COS(PI()/3) is approximately 0.5. The PI function avoids copying an unnecessarily short decimal approximation into every formula.

Suppose a point has radius 10 and angle 60 degrees measured counterclockwise from the positive horizontal axis:

=10*COS(RADIANS(60))

Expected result: 5. The radius gives the output’s distance units; cosine itself is dimensionless.

At 120 degrees, =10*COS(RADIANS(120)) is approximately −5. The sign places the point to the left of the origin. For the same point’s vertical coordinate, use SIN with the same radius and angle.

=COS(RADIANS(60))
=COS(RADIANS(-60))

Expected results: approximately 0.5 for both. Cosine is an even function, so changing the angle’s sign does not change its cosine.

This is why cosine alone cannot distinguish positions reflected across the horizontal axis. If you know both x and y coordinates and need a direction with quadrant information, examine ATAN2 rather than assuming ACOS can recover every original angle.

For a constructed periodic pattern, use:

=2+3*COS(RADIANS(A2))

At degree inputs 0, 60, 180, 360, expected outputs are approximately 5, 3.5, −1, 5. The center is 2 and the amplitude is 3; the minimum is therefore 2−3, and the maximum is 2+3.

These parameters describe this illustrative model, not a claim about observed data. Changing the input angle changes the phase; changing the amplitude changes the vertical spread.

For example, =2+3*COS(RADIANS(60+30)) is approximately 2, since the extra 30 degrees shifts the input to 90 degrees. Keep phase offsets in the same unit as the angle before converting.

With 37 in A2:

=SIN(RADIANS(A2))^2+COS(RADIANS(A2))^2

Expected result: approximately 1. Both functions must receive the same angle. This is a useful consistency check of a constructed coordinate calculation, although it cannot detect a common unit mistake when both functions use the same unintended angle.

A separate known-angle test, such as 60 degrees yielding 0.5 for cosine, remains necessary.

=COS(60) treats 60 as radians and is approximately −0.952412980, unlike the degree-converted result 0.5. Check units before altering signs or rounding the answer.

ACOS returns an angle from 0 through π. Consequently, applying ACOS to the cosine of an arbitrary signed angle need not return that original angle. For example, the principal inverse of cosine at −60 degrees is +60 degrees.

Do not use exact-zero tests for results involving approximate π values without an appropriate tolerance. Retain more internal precision than the display requires, and test the full chain of formulas in the target workbook when small differences matter.

• Collabora Office 26.04 Help: COS — direct product-specific definition and syntax.
• Editorial testing standards.

The examples use semicolon argument separators. Displayed decimals are rounded expected values, not exact native outputs. Mathematical identities are explanatory calculations; product support is limited to the cited documentation scope.