Unit 2

Trigonometry

Graphing the Tangent Function

If «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»P«/mi»«mfenced»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mfenced»«mo»=«/mo»«mfenced»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mspace width=¨0.33em¨/»«mi»y«/mi»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» is the intersection of the unit circle and the terminal arm of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mstyle»«/math», «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»tan«/mi»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«mo»=«/mo»«mfrac»«mi»y«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfrac»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math». So far, this is how the tangent ratio has been defined using the unit circle.

However, it is possible to define the tangent ratio using only a single coordinate related to the unit circle, instead of two.

Start by drawing a vertical line through «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mfenced»«mrow»«mn»1«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mspace width=¨0.33em¨/»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«/mstyle»«/math». Extend the terminal arm of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mstyle»«/math» so it intersects this new line. Let «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»Q«/mi»«mfenced»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» be the point of intersection of the terminal arm of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mstyle»«/math» and the vertical line, and let the distance between the points «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mfenced»«mrow»«mn»1«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mspace width=¨0.33em¨/»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«/mstyle»«/math» and «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»Q«/mi»«mfenced»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» be «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»z«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math».

A new triangle is formed that is similar to the one with legs «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»x«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» and «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»y«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math», so


This means the length «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»z«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» is equal to the tangent of angle «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mstyle»«/math», and therefore «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»Q«/mi»«mfenced»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mfenced»«mo»=«/mo»«mfenced»«mrow»«mn»1«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mspace width=¨0.33em¨/»«mi»tan«/mi»«mo»§#952;«/mo»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».

This definition can also be used to graph the tangent function.