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Secant
(redirected from secants)

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secant, in mathematics.

1 In geometry, a secant is a straight line cutting a curve or surface. If it intersects the curve in two different points, as in the secant of a circle circle, closed plane curve consisting of all points at a given distance from some fixed point, called the center. A circle is a conic section cut by a plane perpendicular to the axis of the cone.
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, the segment of the secant between the points is called a chord. The limiting position of a secant, if such a limit exists, is called the tangent tangent, in mathematics.

1 In geometry, the tangent to a circle or sphere is a straight line that intersects the circle or sphere in one and only one point.
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 to the curve or surface at that point.

2 A trigonometric function. See trigonometry trigonometry [Gr.,=measurement of triangles], a specialized area of geometry concerned with the properties of and relations among the parts of a triangle. Spherical trigonometry is concerned with the study of triangles on the surface of a sphere rather than in the
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secant
1. (of an angle) a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to that of the adjacent side; the reciprocal of cosine
2. a line that intersects a curve

secant [′sē‚kant]
(mathematics)
The function given by the reciprocal of the cosine function. Abreviated sec.
The secant of an angleAis 1/cosA.
A line of unlimited length that intersects a given curve.

Secant 

a trigonometric function. In a right triangle, the secant of an acute angle is defined as the ratio of the hypotenuse to the leg adjacent to the angle. The secant is denoted by sec.



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The secants, each measuring 30 inches in diameter, were drilled down to a depth of 55 feet around the perimeter of the site, forming a secure bathtub.
 
 
 
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