AP Calculus AB Exam Question - Implicit Differentiation
Consider the implicitly defined equation of a curve:
x3−y3+3xy=6(a)(b) Find the equation of the tangent line to the curve at the point (1,1).
Answer
(a) To find dxdy using implicit differentiation, we'll differentiate both sides of the equation with respect to x, treating y as an implicit function of x.
Taking the derivative of x3−y3+3xy with respect to x using the chain rule, we get:
dxd(x3−y3+3xy)=dxd(6)Using the power rule, the chain rule, and the product rule, we can differentiate each term:
3x2−dxd(y3)+3(xdxdy+y)=0We differentiate y3 using the chain rule:
dxd(y3)=3y2⋅dxdySubstituting this back into our equation, we have:
3x2−3y2⋅dxdy+3(xdxdy+y)=0Now, let's isolate dxdy on one side of the equation:
3x2+3xdxdy−3y2dxdy+3y=03xdxdy−3y2dxdy=−3x2−3ydxdy(3x−3y2)=−3x2−3ydxdy=3x−3y2−3x2−3ydxdy=x−y2−x2−yHence, the expression for dxdy in terms of x and y is x−y2−x2−y.
(b) To find the equation of the tangent line to the curve at the point (1,1), we'll substitute x=1 and y=1 into the expression for dxdy derived in part (a).
dxdy=(1)−(1)2−(1)2−(1)=0−2Here, we encounter an indeterminate form (0−2). To resolve this, we'll find the limit as x approaches 1 and y approaches 1.
Let's differentiate the given equation implicitly to find dx2d2y:
dxd(3x2+3xdxdy−3y2dxdy)=dxd(−3x2−3y)6x+3(dxdy)2+3xdx2d2y−3(dxdy)2−6ydxdy=−6x−36x−6ydxdy+3xdx2d2y=−6x−36x−6ydxdy+3xdx2d2y=−6x−36x−6y(x−y2−x2−y)+3xdx2d2y=−6x−36x+x−y26xy+3xdx2d2y=−6x−3x−y26xy+3xdx2d2y=−9x−33x(x−y22y+dx2d2y)=−9x−3Now, substitute x=1 and y=1 into this equation to find dx2d2y:
3(1)(1−(1)22(1)+dx2d2y)=−9(1)−306+3dx2d2y=−9−33dx2d2y=−12dx2d2y=−4Therefore, the second derivative of y with respect to x evaluated at (1,1) is −4.
Now, let's use the point-slope form to find the equation of the tangent line:
y−y1=m(x−x1)y−1=(−4)(x−1)y−1=−4x+4y=−4x+5Hence, the equation of the tangent line to the curve at the point (1,1) is y=−4x+5.