Calculus (3rd Edition)

Published by W. H. Freeman
ISBN 10: 1464125260
ISBN 13: 978-1-46412-526-3

Chapter 14 - Calculus of Vector-Valued Functions - 14.4 Curvature - Exercises - Page 735: 18

Answer

The curvature at $t=1$: $\kappa \left( 1 \right) = \frac{{n\left( {n - 1} \right)}}{{{{\left( {1 + {n^2}} \right)}^{3/2}}}}$

Work Step by Step

We have $y = {t^n}$. Write $y = f\left( t \right) = {t^n}$. So, $f'\left( t \right) = n{t^{n - 1}}$ and $f{\rm{''}}\left( t \right) = n\left( {n - 1} \right){t^{n - 2}}$. By Eq. (5) of Theorem 2, the curvature is given by $\kappa \left( t \right) = \frac{{\left| {f{\rm{''}}\left( t \right)} \right|}}{{{{\left( {1 + f'{{\left( t \right)}^2}} \right)}^{3/2}}}}$ $\kappa \left( t \right) = \frac{{\left| {n\left( {n - 1} \right){t^{n - 2}}} \right|}}{{{{\left( {1 + {n^2}{t^{2n - 2}}} \right)}^{3/2}}}}$ The curvature at $t=1$: $\kappa \left( 1 \right) = \frac{{n\left( {n - 1} \right)}}{{{{\left( {1 + {n^2}} \right)}^{3/2}}}}$
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