The equation of a curve is given by .
- (a)
Find in terms of and , simplifying your answer.
- (b)
The curve meets the line at point . Find
- (i)
the coordinates of
- (ii)
the equation of the tangent at .
- (i)
- (c)
The tangent to the curve at cuts the x-axis at and the normal to the curve at cuts the y-axis at . If denotes the origin, use the results above to give a geometrical description of the quadrilateral .
It won't just hand you the answer — it asks where you're stuck.How the checker works
Worked solution
3(a)
1. Differentiate both sides of the given equation implicitly with respect to $x$, applying the product rule and chain rule.
2. Collect all terms containing $\frac{dy}{dx}$ on one side to isolate the derivative.
3. Make $\frac{dy}{dx}$ the subject and simplify the expression by extracting and cancelling the common factor.
3(b)(i)
1. Substitute the equation of the line into the equation of the curve and solve for $x$.
Substitute into :
2. Find the corresponding $y$-coordinate to obtain the coordinates of $P$.
Substitute into :
Therefore, the coordinates of are .
3(b)(ii)
1. Find the coordinates of $P$ (from part b(i)).
Substitute into the curve equation :
Since , we have . Thus, is .
2. Find the expression for $\frac{dy}{dx}$ (from part a).
Differentiating the curve equation implicitly with respect to :
3. Evaluate the gradient of the tangent at point $P$.
Substitute and into :
The denominator is and the numerator is non-zero, so the gradient is undefined. This indicates that the tangent to the curve is a vertical line.
4. Determine the equation of the tangent at $P$.
A vertical tangent passing through has a constant -coordinate.
The equation of the tangent is therefore .
3(c)
1. Find the coordinates of $P$ and the equations of the tangent and normal at $P$ (from part b).
Substitute into the curve equation :
Hence , so is .
From (a), . At :
Thus, the tangent at is the vertical line , and the normal at is the horizontal line .
2. Determine the coordinates of $Q$ and $R$.
The vertical tangent intersects the x-axis at .
The horizontal normal intersects the y-axis at .
3. Describe the geometrical shape of the quadrilateral $OQPR$.
The vertices of the quadrilateral are , , , and .
Since lies on the y-axis and lies on the x-axis, .
The lengths of the sides are:
Because all four sides are of equal length and the internal angles are , is a square.
is a square.
AI analysis — may contain mistakes.
Worked this one out on paper? Snap your steps and Gigle's AI math checker will circle the step where it went wrong.
More questions on this topic
- 1The curve C has equation . It is given that C has only one turning point. Show that …
- 2The curve C has equation It is given that C has only one turning point. Show that …
- 3A curve has the equation where . Sketch , stating the coordinates of any points o…
- 4A curve has parametric equations where …
- 5It is given that where . Show that …