What Is DEGREES Function In Google Sheets?
The DEGREES function in Google Sheets converts a selected angle in radians, that are determined based on the radius of the circle, to degrees. The Google Sheets DEGREES function is used while solving mathematical calculations, trigonometric equations and in financial analysis.
For example, the table below consists of values of angles in radians and we must convert the values to degrees.
Select cell C2, enter the formula =Degree(A2), press “Enter”, and drag the formula from cell C2 to C6 using the fill handle.
The output is shown above. Here, the DEGREES function accepted the angle values in radians and converts it to its degrees equivalent.
Use this DEGREES Function In Google Sheets Template to follow along with the examples in this article.
Download Excel TemplateKey Takeaways
- The DEGREES function in Google Sheets converts a mathematical angle’s value, given in radians, into degrees, because the angles in terms of degrees are easy to comprehend.
- Users can use the function to display an angle in degrees while performing trigonometric equations.
- The function accepts one mandatory argument, angle, as input. And the argument value can be a valid negative, positive, zero, integer, decimal, fractional number, or even a blank cell.
- The DEGREES function works as per the below formula:
- The PI() returns the Pi-value of 3.141592653589793238.
Syntax
The DEGREES formula in Google Sheets syntax is,
The one and only mandatory argument of the DEGREES formula in Google Sheets is,
- angle: It is the angle specified in radians that is converted to its degrees equivalent.
How To Use DEGREES Function In Google Sheets?
We can use the DEGREES function In Google Sheets in 2 ways, namely,
- Access from the Google Sheets ribbon.
- Enter in the worksheet manually.
Method #1 – Access from the Google Sheets ribbon
Step 1: Choose an empty cell for the output – select the “Insert” tab – click the “Function” option right arrow – click the “Math” option right arrow – select the “DEGREES” function, as shown below.
Step 2: The “DEGREES” formula appears, as shown below. Enter the argument as a cell reference.
Method #2 – Enter in the worksheet manually
Step 1: Select an empty cell for the output.
Step 2: Type =DEGREES ( in the cell. [Alternatively, type =D or =DEG and double-click the DEGREES function from the Google Sheets suggestions.]
Step 3: Enter the arguments as cell values, cell references or formula results and close the brackets.
Step 4: Press Enter to view the outcome.
Examples
Let us consider some examples to understand the DEGREES function effectively.
Example #1 – Converting Radians to Degrees
We have the data below that consists of a single angle value in Radians that we must convert to Degree in Google Sheets.
The procedure to convert Radians to Degree is,
Select cell C2 and enter the formula =DEGREES(B2), as shown below.
Press “Enter” to get the output shown below. We can keep the results as it is or reduce the decimal places as required.
[Alternatively, we can use the function from the ribbon as follows,
- First, select cell C6 – select the “Insert” tab – click the “Function” option right arrow – click the “Math” option right arrow – select the “DEGREES” function, as shown below.
- The formula appears, as shown below.
- Select the cell value as B2. Therefore the formula will be =Degrees(B2), as shown below
- Press “Enter” to get the output.
In this way, we can insert the Degree function to perform the conversion.]
Example #2 – Converting Multiple Radians to Degrees
The below table contains multiple radian values and let us convert the same to Degrees.
The steps to Converting Multiple Radians to Degrees are as follows:
Step 1: Select cell B2. Enter the formula =DEGREES(A2), as shown below.
Step 2: Press “Enter” to view the given angle in degrees. Look at the image below
Step 3: Drag the formula from cell B2 to B6 using the fill handle. It is to get the following results.
Step 4: Let us remove the decimal places of the results. Therefore, select Column B and click the “Decrease decimal places” option, click-by-click, to get the integer value, as shown below.
We will have the final results with approximate or some of the exact results, as shown below.
For a clearer understanding, let us see the cell C7 expression to check how the function works. The DEGREES() accepts the angle value 0.34906, in radians, as input, and returns its degrees equivalent, 20°.
Example #3 – Converting the Result of a Function to Degrees
We will Convert the Result of a Function to Degrees using the following data that consists of cosines of different angles. We will also understand with this example, how to use the DEGREES() in trigonometric calculations.
The steps to Converting the Result of a Function to Degrees are as follows:
Step 1: First, we will use the ACOS function to determine the arccosine or inverse cosine of the given radians. Then, we will convert the derived results to Degrees.
Select cell B3, enter the formula =ACOS(A3) and press Enter, as shown below.
Step 2: Next, using the fill handle, drag the formula from cell B3 to B7, to get the output.
The ACOS() accepts the given number (the cosine of an angle) as input and returns the angle, the inverse cosine, in radians, as shown below.
Step 3: Finally, let us convert the ACOS function results in Column B, that are in radians, to degrees. Therefore, select cell C3, enter the formula=DEGREES(B3) and press Enter.
Step 4: Using the fill handle, drag the formula from cell C3 to C7 to get the following converted results.
The DEGREES() accepts the ACOS() output, an angle in radians and returns the angle in degrees.
Example #4
The below table shows a list of negative angles in radians let us convert it to Degrees in Google Sheets.
The steps to convert negative Radians values to Degrees are as follows:
Step 1: Select cell B2, enter the formula =DEGREES(A2) and press “Enter”, as shown below.
Step 2: Drag the formula from cell B2 to B6 using the fill handle. Note, the negative angle values in Radian, return negative angle values in Degrees, as shown below.
Important Things To Note
- We will get #VALUE! error if the values are non-numeric.
- The #NAME? error occurs,
- For an invalid text as the argument value, or
- When the parameter of the function, comprises unrecognized text.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We often forget in which category a function falls, here, the “DEGREES” function. Then, we can insert the function as follows:
Choose an empty cell – select the “Insert” tab – click the “Function” option right arrow – click the “All” option right arrow – select the “DEGREES” function, as shown below.
However, as always, entering the function manually is the best way to avoid confusion.
Alternatively, we can find the Functions icon to insert the DEGREES function in Google Sheets by following the path shown below.
• Choose an empty cell – click the “More” option represented by the three vertical dots at the end of the toolbar, as shown below.
• A list of icons appears when we click the “More” option. Here, click the “Functions” icon, as shown below.
• Here, click the “Functions” option – click the “All” option right arrow – select the “DEGREES” function, as shown below.
• The people unaware of mathematics use degrees instead of radians. Mathematicians use radians to make the discussion about the angles in trigonometry.
• Generally, a circle consists of 360 degrees, equal to 6.28 radians or 2P radians. Here, P is the constant, equivalent to a rounded value of 3.14.
• The authentic relationship between the radian and degrees is 1 radian = 57.3 degrees.
Manually, radians are converted into degrees by following the below steps.
180 degrees = 3.14159 radians
Or
1 degree = (3.14159/180) radians
Or
Degrees = (Radians * 180) / PI
• However, MS Excel and Google Sheets typically considers angles in radians, when the equations to solve are trigonometric.
• Universally, understanding angle values in degrees is more straightforward. Hence, applying the DEGREES function while performing trigonometric calculations can help obtain angles in degrees instead of radians.
The DEGREES function has a lot of significance in various applications.
a. In trigonometry, it is used to solve real-time calculations and providing solutions.
b. It is used in different versions of Excel, including Excel 2000, Excel XP, Excel 2003, Excel 2007, Excel 2010, Excel 2013, Excel 2016, Excel Office 365, Excel 2021, Google Sheets and Mac Excel 2011.
c. It is frequently used in financial analysis by financial analysts and by non-mathematicians in to easily convert the radians to degrees.
d. The DEGREES function is useful while solving trigonometric equations involving Google Sheets functions such as ACOS, ASIN, and ATAN.
e. We can use the DEGREES function in mathematical equations when the requirement is to convert a value in radians to degrees.
Use this DEGREES Function In Google Sheets Template to follow along with the examples in this article.
Download Excel Template