In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is, intuitively, the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point.
Sine, Cosine and Tangent are the main functions used in Trigonometry and are based on a Right-Angled Triangle. Before getting stuck into the functions, it helps to give a name to each side of a right triangle: Opposite is always opposite the angle. And Adjacent is always next to the angle.
The graph of tangent is periodic, meaning that it repeats itself indefinitely. Unlike sine and cosine however, tangent has asymptotes separating each of its periods.
The tangent is one of the six fundamental trigonometric functions in mathematics. In a right triangle, it is the ratio of the length of the side opposite a given angle to the length of the side adjacent to that angle.
Tangent of an angle in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the length of the adjacent side to the given angle. We write a tangent function as "tan".
A tangent is a straight line that touches a curve at exactly one point without crossing through it. Imagine gently placing a ruler against a ball - the point where the ruler touches the ball is where the tangent line meets the curve.
The word "tangent" comes from the Latin "tangere," meaning "to touch." Geometrically, the tangent is a line segment perpendicular to the x-axis, originating at point C and intersecting the extended side OP.
The tangent function is defined by tanx= (sinx)/ (cosx), (1) where sinx is the sine function and cosx is the cosine function. The notation tgx is sometimes also used (Gradshteyn and Ryzhik 2000, p. xxix).