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Tangent line at (a, f(a)) In mathematics, a linear approximation is an approximation of a general function using a linear function (more precisely, an affine function). They are widely used in the method of finite differences to produce first order methods for solving or approximating solutions to equations.
Symbolab is an answer engine [1] that provides step-by-step solutions to mathematical problems in a range of subjects. [2] It was originally developed by Israeli start-up company EqsQuest Ltd., under whom it was released for public use in 2011. In 2020, the company was acquired by American educational technology website Course Hero. [3] [4]
Suppose that a curve is given as the graph of a function, y = f(x). To find the tangent line at the point p = (a, f(a)), consider another nearby point q = (a + h, f(a + h)) on the curve. The slope of the secant line passing through p and q is equal to the difference quotient (+) ().
With this in mind Descartes would construct a circle that was tangent to a given curve. He could then use the radius at the point of intersection to find the slope of a normal line, and from this one can easily find the slope of a tangent line. This was discovered about the same time as Fermat's method of adequality.
The tangent line is the best linear approximation of the function near that input value. For this reason, the derivative is often described as the instantaneous rate of change , the ratio of the instantaneous change in the dependent variable to that of the independent variable. [ 1 ]
An osculating curve from a given family of curves is a curve that has the highest possible order of contact with a given curve at a given point; for instance a tangent line is an osculating curve from the family of lines, and has first-order contact with the given curve; an osculating circle is an osculating curve from the family of circles ...
The curve was first proposed and studied by René Descartes in 1638. [1] Its claim to fame lies in an incident in the development of calculus.Descartes challenged Pierre de Fermat to find the tangent line to the curve at an arbitrary point since Fermat had recently discovered a method for finding tangent lines.
In geometry, the tangential angle of a curve in the Cartesian plane, at a specific point, is the angle between the tangent line to the curve at the given point and the x-axis. [1] (Some authors define the angle as the deviation from the direction of the curve at some fixed starting point.