A curve has equation where .
- (a)
Find in terms of and .
- (b)
Find the coordinates of the point on at which the normal is parallel to the -axis.
- (c)
Determine the nature of the stationary point.
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Worked solution
3(a)
1. Differentiate the given equation implicitly with respect to $x$, applying the product rule to the $xy$ term.
2. Isolate $\dfrac{dy}{dx}$ by collecting relevant terms on one side of the equation.
3(b)
1. Find the expression for $\frac{dy}{dx}$ by differentiating the equation of the curve implicitly (as required from part a).
Differentiating implicitly with respect to :
2. Relate the given normal condition to the gradient of the tangent.
If the normal is parallel to the -axis (a vertical line), the tangent to the curve must be parallel to the -axis (a horizontal line).
Therefore, the gradient of the tangent is zero: .
3. Substitute the relationship between $x$ and $y$ into the original equation to solve for $x$.
Substitute into :
Since , we can divide both sides by :
4. Find the corresponding $y$-coordinate to state the final point.
Substitute back to find :
The coordinates are .
or
3(c)
1. Find an expression for the second derivative $\frac{d^2y}{dx^2}$ at the stationary point by differentiating the result from part (a).
From part (a), the first derivative is:
Using the quotient rule to find the second derivative:
In part (b), we found the point where the normal is parallel to the -axis. This implies the tangent is parallel to the -axis, meaning it is a stationary point where and .
Substituting these into the second derivative expression heavily simplifies it:
2. Evaluate the second derivative using the coordinates of the stationary point to determine its nature.
From part (b), the coordinates of the stationary point are and .
Evaluate the denominator, :
Now, evaluate the second derivative:
Since , the stationary point is a local maximum.
Local maximum
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