When a tangent meets the radius at the point of contact, what type of angle does it form?

When a tangent meets the radius at the point of contact, it forms a right angle. This is a fundamental property of circles in Euclidean geometry. A tangent to a circle is a line that touches the circle at exactly one point, known as the point of tangency. The radius that connects the center of the circle to the point of tangency is perpendicular to the tangent line.

This relationship can be understood more deeply by considering the definitions: an angle formed by two lines is defined as right whenever the two lines meet at a 90-degree angle. Since the radius and tangent intersect perpendicularly at the point of contact, the angle that they create is, indeed, a right angle.

The other options do not accurately reflect the geometric relationship between the tangent and the radius. An acute angle is less than 90 degrees, an obtuse angle is greater than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees, and a straight angle is exactly 180 degrees, none of which apply to the scenario described.