Discrete amounts as Tan is varied (6)
I believe the answer is:
quanta
'discrete amounts' is the definition.
'quanta' can be an answer for 'amounts' ('quantum' can be a synonym of 'amount'). I am not certain of the 'discrete' bit.
'as tan is varied' is the wordplay.
'as' becomes 'qua' (I've seen this before).
'is varied' indicates an anagram.
'tan' is an anagram of 'nta'.
'qua'+'nta'='QUANTA'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for quanta that I've seen before include "Smallest amounts in physics" , "Packets of energy" , "Smallest discrete amounts" .)