Calculus: Early Transcendentals 8th Edition

Published by Cengage Learning
ISBN 10: 1285741552
ISBN 13: 978-1-28574-155-0

Chapter 3 - Section 3.5 - Implicit Differentiation - 3.5 Exercises - Page 216: 47

Answer

Any tangent line at a point $P$ is perpendicular to the radius $OP$

Work Step by Step

Let the center of the circle be $O=(a,b)$ and let the radius be $r$ Then the equation for the circle is: $(x-a)^2+(y-b)^2 = r^2$ We can find $y'$: $2(x-a)+2(y-b)~y' = 0$ $y' = -\frac{x-a}{y-b}$ A line that is tangent at the point $P=(x_0,y_0)$ has the slope $m_t = -\frac{x_0-a}{y_0-b}$ We can find the slope $m_r$ of the radius $OP$: $m_r = \frac{y_0-b}{x_0-a}$ Since $m_t = -\frac{1}{m_r}$, the tangent line is perpendicular to the radius $OP$
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