Get the Trigonometric tangent of an array of angles given in degrees with Python

The trigonometric tangent function returns the ratio of sine to cosine for each angle. To calculate the tangent of angles given in degrees, we use NumPy's tan() function combined with degree-to-radian conversion.

Syntax

numpy.tan(x, out=None, where=True)

Parameters

• x ? Input array of angles in radians
• out ? Optional output array where results are stored
• where ? Optional condition to control where calculation is applied

Converting Degrees to Radians

Since numpy.tan() expects angles in radians, we multiply degrees by ?/180 ?

import numpy as np

# Array of angles in degrees
angles_deg = np.array([0, 30, 45, 60, 90])

# Convert to radians and calculate tangent
angles_rad = angles_deg * np.pi / 180
tangent_values = np.tan(angles_rad)

print("Angles (degrees):", angles_deg)
print("Tangent values:", tangent_values)

Angles (degrees): [ 0 30 45 60 90]
Tangent values: [0.00000000e+00 5.77350269e-01 1.00000000e+00 1.73205081e+00
 1.63312394e+16]

Complete Example

Let's create a comprehensive example with various angles ?

import numpy as np

print("Trigonometric tangent of angles in degrees")

# Array of angles in degrees
angles = np.array([0., 30., 45., 60., 90., 180., -180.])

print("Array of angles (degrees):")
print(angles)

print("\nArray datatype:", angles.dtype)
print("Array dimensions:", angles.ndim)
print("Number of elements:", angles.size)

# Calculate tangent (convert degrees to radians)
tangent_result = np.tan(angles * np.pi / 180)

print("\nTangent values:")
print(tangent_result)

Trigonometric tangent of angles in degrees
Array of angles (degrees):
[  0.  30.  45.  60.  90. 180. -180.]

Array datatype: float64
Array dimensions: 1
Number of elements: 7

Tangent values:
[ 0.00000000e+00  5.77350269e-01  1.00000000e+00  1.73205081e+00
  1.63312394e+16 -1.22464680e-16  1.22464680e-16]

Key Points

• Tangent of 90° approaches infinity (shown as very large number)
• Tangent of 180° and -180° are approximately zero due to floating-point precision
• Always convert degrees to radians using * np.pi / 180
• The function is equivalent to np.sin(x) / np.cos(x)

Conclusion

Use numpy.tan() with degree-to-radian conversion to calculate tangent values. Remember that tangent approaches infinity at 90° and multiples, which appears as very large numbers in the output.