Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
As Q approaches P along the curve, if the slope of the secant approaches a limit value, then that limit defines the slope of the tangent line at P. [1] The secant lines PQ are the approximations to the tangent line. In calculus, this idea is the geometric definition of the derivative. The tangent line at point P is a secant line of the curve
Slope illustrated for y = (3/2)x − 1.Click on to enlarge Slope of a line in coordinates system, from f(x) = −12x + 2 to f(x) = 12x + 2. The slope of a line in the plane containing the x and y axes is generally represented by the letter m, [5] and is defined as the change in the y coordinate divided by the corresponding change in the x coordinate, between two distinct points on the line.
A line through two points on a curve is called a secant line, so m is the slope of the secant line between (a, f(a)) and (a + h, f(a + h)). The second line is only an approximation to the behavior of the function at the point a because it does not account for what happens between a and a + h.
This is known as a secant line. If the two points that the secant line goes through are close together, then the secant line closely resembles the tangent line, and, as a result, its slope is also very similar: The dotted line goes through the points (,) and (,), which both lie on the curve =. Because these two points are fairly close together ...
As h approaches zero, the slope of the secant line approaches the slope of the tangent line. Therefore, the true derivative of f at x is the limit of the value of the difference quotient as the secant lines get closer and closer to being a tangent line: ′ = (+) ().
Given a line and any point A on it, we may consider A as decomposing this line into two parts. Each such part is called a ray and the point A is called its initial point. It is also known as half-line (sometimes, a half-axis if it plays a distinct role, e.g., as part of a coordinate axis). It is a one-dimensional half-space. The point A is ...
If is positive, then the slope of the secant line from 0 to is one; if is negative, then the slope of the secant line from to is . [12] This can be seen graphically as a "kink" or a "cusp" in the graph at x = 0 {\displaystyle x=0} .
The slope of the secant line passing through p and q is equal to the difference quotient (+) (). As the point q approaches p, which corresponds to making h smaller and smaller, the difference quotient should approach a certain limiting value k, which is the slope of the tangent line at the point p.