Understanding Cofunction of Tangent | Definition, Calculation, and Examples

cofunction of tangent

The cofunction of tangent is the reciprocal of the tangent function

The cofunction of tangent is the reciprocal of the tangent function. In other words, it is obtained by taking the inverse of the ratio of the length of the side opposite an acute angle in a right triangle to the length of the adjacent side. The notation for the cofunction of tangent is cot.

Mathematically, if t represents an acute angle in a right triangle, then the cotangent of t, denoted as cot(t), is defined as the ratio of the adjacent side length to the opposite side length:

cot(t) = adjacent side length / opposite side length

This can also be expressed using the trigonometric identity:

cot(t) = 1 / tan(t)

So, if you know the value of the tangent of an angle, you can find the value of its cotangent by taking the reciprocal.

For example, if the tangent of an angle is 2, then the cotangent of that angle would be:

cot(angle) = 1 / tan(angle)
= 1 / 2
= 0.5

Therefore, the cotangent of the angle is 0.5.

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