Tangent Function and Unit Circle

Tangent Function and Unit Circle
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2020-03-10 20:57
This example dynamically demonstrates the relationship between the tangent function graph and the unit circle, visually showing the geometric meaning of the tangent value. Core math concepts include the unit circle, trigonometric function definitions, tangent lines, and analytical geometry. Construction highlights use of GeoGebra commands like Intersect (intersection), Point (point), Circle (circle), OrthogonalLine (perpendicular line), Line (line), Segment (segment), and Ray (ray). Suitable for high school students to understand the connection between trigonometric functions and geometric shapes, or for teaching the geometric meaning of derivatives in calculus.

GeoGebra Commands & Parameters

  1. Intersect(xAxis, yAxis) → A
  2. Point(xAxis) → B
  3. Circle(A, B) → c
  4. Point(c) → C
  5. OrthogonalLine(B, xAxis) → f
  6. Line(A, C) → g
  7. Intersect(f, g) → D
  8. Segment(B, D) → h
  9. Intersect(p, q, (157.74532, 0.7852584292924828)) → E
  10. Intersect(p, q, (157.74532, 0.7852584292924828)) → F
  11. Intersect(f, g) → G
  12. Intersect(r, q, (0.6656881316171875, 0.7852597405536458)) → H
  13. Point(xAxis) → J
  14. OrthogonalLine(J, xAxis) → i
  15. OrthogonalLine(K, xAxis) → j
  16. Intersect(j, xAxis) → L
  17. Intersect(g, i) → M
  18. Point(g) → N
  19. Ray(M, N) → k