Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet that is used by business to manage data. By default, when you create a new Excel workbook the workbook will contain three worksheets. Sheet is a shortened name for a worksheet or spreadsheet in Excel. A worksheet is comprised of a grid or table composed of columns and rows making it convenient to organize, consolidate, calculate and enter data. Lotus 123 and VisiCalc introduced spreadsheet concepts on personal computers over a decade ago. Yet today Microsoft Excel is the most used spreadsheet application in the world.

One of the major benefits of Excel is that it allows the user to import, create, report and analyze on various large amounts of given data accurately and quickly. Excel 2007, 2010, and 2011 supports individual worksheets over one million rows with 16,000 columns. Which feature an array of statistical, financial, arithmetic and engineering functions. Excel also supports graphics and charts enabling the communication, analysis and collaboration of sets of diverse data. One of the Excel functions that benefit the users is the TAN function. A TAN function is included in the groups of trigonometric functions formulated in relation with degrees and radians.

TAN function, in Excel returns the tangent of the given angle. The syntax for TAN functions is “TAN(number)”. The number argument is considered the angle in radians that the user wants to get the tangent of.

REMARK:

Through multiplying the argument by PI()/180, you can get the conversion of the argument to radians if it is in degrees. The user can also use the RADIANS function.

Inserting the Tangents in Microsoft Excel:

Tangent in Excel is the trigonometric function calculating the connection between angles and sides of the right triangle. Since Excel uses radians in its calculations, the user must combine RADIANS function with the Excel’s TAN function. This is when you would like to place degrees with your worksheet’s calculation. The RADIANS function alters the radians into degrees using the formula of this function representing the angles as an angle in its degrees.

Instructions for Insertion:

  • Click the cell A1 inside the Excel worksheet. Type given radian angle you like to calculate the tangent then press the enter key.
  • Click the cell A2. Type in the formula of the TAN function and don’t forget to include an equal (=) sign. Include cell containing the radian angle within the “number” portion of TAN function. Press the Enter key.
  • Click the cell A3. Type the angle measured in degrees in which you want to calculate for the tangent of.
  • Click the cell A4. Type again the TAN function with the equal (=) sign. Include radian function as the TAN function “number” portion. Include cell containing the degree angle as “angle” of RADIANS function portion. Press the Enter key after you have finished typing. Excel alters the angle within the cell A3 into radians. Excel takes back one in A4 cell. This is now your given answer.