Tangent facts for kids

The word tangent can mean different things:

• tangent, a trigonometric function
• tangent, a line which touches a curve.

Images for kids

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  At each point, the moving line is always tangent to the curve. Its slope is the derivative; green marks positive derivative, red marks negative derivative and black marks zero derivative. The point (x,y) = (0,1) where the tangent intersects the curve, is not a max, or a min, but is a point of inflection.