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Question 1
A sketch of part of the curve C with equation y = 20 - 4x - 18/x, x > 0 is shown in Figure 3. Point A lies on C and has an x coordinate equal to 2. (a) Show tha... show full transcript
Step 1
Answer
To find the equation of the normal to the curve at point A, we first need to determine the slope of the tangent at A. We start by substituting the x-coordinate of A into the equation of the curve:
y = 20 - 4(2) - \frac{18}{2} = 20 - 8 - 9 = 3. Thus, point A is (2, 3).
Next, find the derivative to determine the slope of the tangent:
\frac{dy}{dx} = -4 + \frac{18}{x^2}.
Substituting x = 2: \frac{dy}{dx} = -4 + \frac{18}{2^2} = -4 + \frac{18}{4} = -4 + 4.5 = 0.5.
The slope of the normal line is the negative reciprocal of the slope of the tangent: \text{slope of normal} = -\frac{1}{0.5} = -2.
Using point-slope form of the line: y - y_1 = m(x - x_1), where (x_1, y_1) = (2, 3) and m = -2: y - 3 = -2(x - 2) y - 3 = -2x + 4 y = -2x + 7. Therefore, the equation of the normal line is confirmed as y = -2x + 7.
Step 2
Answer
To find the coordinates of point B, we need to find the intersection of the normal line and the curve C.
Set the equation of the normal line equal to the equation of the curve:
-2x + 7 = 20 - 4x - \frac{18}{x}.
Rearranging gives: 2x + 7 = 20 - 4x - \frac{18}{x}, 6x + 7 = 20 - \frac{18}{x}.
Multiply through by x to eliminate the fraction (assuming x ≠ 0): 6x^2 + 7x = 20x - 18.
Rearranging leads to: 6x^2 - 13x + 18 = 0.
Factoring the quadratic gives: (3x - 2)(2x - 9) = 0. This gives: x = \frac{2}{3} \quad or \quad x = \frac{9}{2}. Since we are interested in B (the other intersection), we use x = \frac{9}{2}.
Substitute x back into the equation of the curve to find y:
y = 20 - 4(\frac{9}{2}) - \frac{18}{\frac{9}{2}} = 20 - 18 + -4 = -2.
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