Combined Science GCSE
Tangent
What Tangent means in Combined Science GCSE, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Tangent
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
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Reference: AQA
A straight line drawn so it touches the curve at the required time and has the same slope as the curve at that point.
A line drawn at the point of interest on a curved section, whose gradient gives the acceleration at that point.
A straight line that touches the curve at the chosen time and follows its direction.
Drawing one to the curve allows finding the rate at a particular moment.
Topics that use Tangent
- Acceleration (AQA GCSE)
- Calculating rates of reactions (AQA GCSE)
Related terms
- Acceleration
- Acceleration of free fall
- Area under a velocity–time graph
- Average acceleration
- Change in velocity
- Deceleration
- Decomposition of complex shapes
- Distance and displacement
Using Tangent in the exam
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