In 'soh cah toa', what trigonometric function does 'toa' refer to?

In the mnemonic "soh cah toa," each part refers to a specific trigonometric function and the relationship between the angles and sides of a right triangle. The 'toa' specifically stands for "tangent," which can be expressed in terms of the triangle's sides as the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the length of the adjacent side.

To elaborate, for any angle in a right triangle, the tangent is defined as:

[

\tan(\theta) = \frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{adjacent}}

]

This relationship is critical when solving problems involving right triangles, particularly when trying to find unknown angles or side lengths using trigonometric functions. Thus, 'toa' directly points to the tangent function in trigonometry, solidifying its role within the context of right triangle relationships.