
On the unit circle, tan(θ) is the length of the line segment formed by the intersection of the line x=1 and the ray formed by the terminal side of the angle as shown in blue in the figure above. On the unit circle, θ is the angle formed between the initial side of an angle along the x-axis and the terminal side of the angle formed by rotating the ray either clockwise or counterclockwise. Using the unit circle definitions allows us to extend the domain of trigonometric functions to all real numbers. The right triangle definition of trigonometric functions allows for angles between 0° and 90° (0 and in radians). A unit circle is a circle of radius 1 centered at the origin. Trigonometric functions can also be defined with a unit circle.

If Jack does not move, the tree will land on him if it falls in his direction, since 19.56 > 17. Since we know the adjacent side and the angle, we can use to solve for the height of the tree. Given that the angle from Jack's feet to the top of the tree is 49°, what is the height of the tree, h? If the tree falls towards Jack, will it land on him? Jack is standing 17 meters from the base of a tree. Given a triangle and the tangent formula above, we can find the tangent as shown in the following examples. Tangent is related to sine and cosine as: The other two most commonly used trigonometric functions are cosine and sine, and they are defined as follows: Hypotenuse: the longest side of the triangle opposite the right angle.Adjacent: the side next to θ that is not the hypotenuse.The sides of the right triangle are referenced as follows: This is sometimes referred to as the tangent formula, and is written as follows: Right triangle definitionįor a right triangle with one acute angle, θ, the tangent value of this angle is defined to be the ratio of the opposite side length to the adjacent side length. The right-angled triangle definition of trigonometric functions is most often how they are introduced, followed by their definitions in terms of the unit circle. Tangent, like other trigonometric functions, is typically defined in terms of right triangles and in terms of the unit circle.


Tangent, written as tan(θ), is one of the six fundamental trigonometric functions. Home / trigonometry / trigonometric functions / tangent Tangent
