what is sec in math

In mathematics, the secant (sec) is a trigonometric function defined as the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to the length of the adjacent side in a right-angled triangle. It can also be expressed as the reciprocal of the cosine function, i.e., sec(x) = 1 / cos(x). The secant function is rarely used in comparison to the more common trigonometric functions such as sine, cosine, and tangent. It has various properties and can be graphed by finding the reciprocal of each cosine value. The secant function is also associated with its inverse function, denoted as arcsec or sec^-1. In calculus, the derivative of sec(x) is sec(x)tan(x)