Thomas' Calculus 13th Edition

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32187-896-5
ISBN 13: 978-0-32187-896-0

Chapter 3: Derivatives - Practice Exercises - Page 179: 79

Answer

$c=4$

Work Step by Step

Step 1. Given $y=\frac{c}{x+1}$, we have $y'=-\frac{c}{(x+1)^2}$, which gives the slope of tangent lines to the curve. Step 2. The equation for the line passing the given two points can be written as $\frac{y+2}{3+2}=\frac{x-5}{0-5}$ or $y=-x+3$, which has a slope of $m=-1$ Step 3. For the line to be a tangent to the curve, we have $y'=m$ or $-\frac{c}{(x+1)^2}=-1$ or $c=(x+1)^2$, where $x$ is the value from the intersect point. Step 4. To find the intersect point, plug the line equation to the curve equation; we have $\frac{c}{x+1}=-x+3$ or $c=-(x-3)(x+1)$ Step 5. Comparing the results from steps 3 and 5, we have $(x+1)^2=-(x-3)(x+1)$. As $x\ne1$, we have $x+1=-x+3$ so that $x=1$ and $c=4$
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