What Is Opposite Over Adjacent

The third trig part, tangent, is abbreviated tan. This function uses just the measures of the two legs and doesn't utilise the hypotenuse at all. The tangent is described with this ratio: contrary/next. No restriction or rule on the respective sizes of these sides exists — the opposite side tin can be larger, or the adjacent side can be larger.

So, the tangent ratio produces numbers that are very large, very small, and everything in between.

Y'all run across that the tangents are

And in case yous're wondering whether the two tangents of the astute angles are always reciprocals (flips) of one another, the reply is yes.

The post-obit case shows you how to observe the values of the tangent for each of the acute angles in a correct triangle where the hypotenuse is 25 inches and i leg is seven inches.

Find the measure of the missing leg.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, a ² + b ² = c ², putting in 7 for a and 25 for c, and solving for the missing value, b, you observe that the unknown length is 24 inches:
Select names for the astute angles in club to make up one's mind the opposite and adjacent designations.

The easiest mode to do this is to draw a picture and label information technology.

The 2 astute angles are named with the Greek letters theta and lambda. The side opposite theta measures 7 inches, and the side adjacent to it measures 24 inches. For bending lambda, the opposite side measures 24 inches, and the adjacent side measures 7 inches.
Form the two tangent ratios past using the values 7, 24, and 25.

About This Article

This commodity is from the book:

Trigonometry For Dummies ,

About the volume author:

Mary Jane Sterling is the writer of Algebra I For Dummies and many other For Dummies titles. She has been teaching mathematics at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, for more 30 years and has loved working with future business executives, concrete therapists, teachers, and many others.