Power BI - DAX Trigonometric Functions

Microsoft Power BI uses Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) to create custom calculations including measures, columns and tables. By understanding DAX we can develop high-performance data models for more efficient analysis. Among the many DAX functions trigonometric functions such as sine, cosine and tangent are important for modeling angles and periodic trends. These functions are used in fields like physics, engineering and data science.

Various DAX Trigonometric Functions

Lets apply some used DAX Trigonometric Functions to the sample dataset which contains various mathematical values that can be processed using trigonometric functions like SINE, COSINE, TAN and others. In Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) trigonometric operations return a value that is different from functions that return a table. These returned values are used to create measures which are important for most data analyses in Power BI.

The trigonometric and mathematical functions in Excel are quite similar to those in DAX. Below are some commonly used DAX trigonometric functions:

Note: When working with angles ensure they are in radians. If we have an angle in degrees we can convert it to radians using the RADIANS() function or multiply by π/180. We can also convert the result back to degrees using 180°/π.

1. DAX sin(θ) Function

The SIN function returns the sine of the specified angle.

Syntax:

SIN(number)

Example: Sine of 45° in radians:

sin = SIN(RADIANS(45))

Output:

2. DAX cos(θ) Function

The COS function returns the cosine value of the specified angle.

Syntax:

COS(expression)

Example: Cosine of 60° in radians:

cos = COS(RADIANS(60))

Output:

3. DAX tan(θ) Trigonometric Function

The TAN function returns the tangent of an angle.

Syntax:

TAN(number)

Example: Tangent of -3:

tan = TAN(-3)

Output:

4. DAX sinh(θ) Function

The SINH function returns the hyperbolic sine of a number.

Syntax:

SINH(number)

Example: Hyperbolic sine of 13:

sinh = SINH(13)

Output:

5. DAX cosh(θ) Function

The COSH function returns the hyperbolic cosine of any real number equal to or greater than 1.

Syntax:

COSH(number)

Example: Hyperbolic cosine of 12:

cosh = COSH(12)

Output:

6. DAX tanh(θ) Function

The TANH function returns the hyperbolic tangent of a number.

Syntax:

TANH(number)

Example: Hyperbolic tangent of 23:

tanh = TANH(23)

Output:

7. DAX cot(θ) Function

The COT function returns the cotangent of a real angle with a radian value.

Syntax:

COT(number)

Example: Cotangent of 25:

cot = COT(25)

Output:

8. DAX coth(θ) Function

The COTH function returns the hyperbolic cotangent of a hyperbolic angle whose absolute value must be greater than 1.

Syntax:

COTH(number)

Example: Hyperbolic cotangent of 37:

coth = COTH(37)

Output:

9. DAX asin(θ) Function

The ASIN function returns the arcsine (inverse sine) of a number. The returned angle is between -π/2 and π/2 in radians and the number must be between -1 and 1.

Syntax:

ASIN(number)

Example: Inverse sine of 0.8:

asin = ASIN(0.8)

Output:

10. DAX asinh(θ) Function

The ASINH function returns the inverse hyperbolic sine of a number.

Syntax:

ASINH(number)

Example: Inverse hyperbolic sine of 55:

asinh = ASINH(55)

Output:

11. DAX acos(θ) Function

The ACOS function returns the arccosine (inverse cosine) of a number. The returned angle is between 0 and π in radians.

Syntax: 

ACOS(number)

Example: Inverse cosine of -0.5:

acos = ACOS(-0.5)

Output:

12. DAX acosh(θ) Function

The ACOSH function returns the inverse hyperbolic cosine of a number. Number must be greater than or equal to 1.

Syntax: 

ACOSH(number)

Example: Inverse hyperbolic cosine of 60:

acosh = ACOSH(60)

Output:

13. DAX atan(θ) Function

The ATAN function returns the arctangent (inverse tangent) of a number. Returned angle is between -π/2 and π/2 in radians.

Syntax:

ATAN(number)

Example: Inverse tangent of 48:

atan = ATAN(48)

Output:

14. DAX atanh(θ) Function

The ATANH function returns the inverse hyperbolic tangent of a number where the number must be between -1 and 1 (excluding -1 and 1).

Syntax:

ATNH(number)

Example: Inverse hyperbolic tangent of 0.7:

atanh = ATANH(0.7)

Output:

15. DAX acot(θ) Function

The ACOT function returns the arccotangent (inverse cotangent) of a number.

Syntax:

ACOT(number)

Example: Inverse cotangent of 60:

acot = ACOT(60)

Output:

16. DAX acoth(θ) Function

The ACOTH function returns the inverse hyperbolic cotangent of a number.

Syntax:

ACOTH(number)

Example: Inverse hyperbolic cotangent of 33:

acoth = ACOTH(33)

Output:

By using these DAX Trigonometric Functions in Power BI we can enhance our data models with advanced calculations which enables more precise insights into angular and periodic data. These functions can be applied across a variety of data analysis tasks from engineering to finance and many more.