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Explain with reference to a right-angled triangle why the tangent of 90° is undefined.​

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User Lienau
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Answer:

Explanation:

In a right-angled triangle, one of the angles is always 90° (the right angle). The tangent of an angle is defined as the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the length of the adjacent side.

However, in the case of a right-angled triangle, there is no side opposite to the 90° angle. The opposite side is the side that is opposite to one of the acute angles, and the adjacent side is the side that is adjacent to that acute angle. Since there is no acute angle opposite to the 90° angle, there is no opposite side to the 90° angle.

Therefore, the tangent of 90° is undefined because there is no opposite side to the 90° angle in a right-angled triangle. Mathematically, we can say that:

tan(90°) = opposite/adjacent = undefined/adjacent

Since the opposite side is undefined, the value of the tangent is undefined.

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User Bert Goethals
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