Linear approximations, Mathematics

Assignment Help:

Linear Approximations

In this section we will look at an application not of derivatives but of the tangent line to a function. Certainly, to get the tangent line we do have to take derivatives, thus in some way this is an application of derivatives as well.

Given a function, f ( x ) , we can determine its tangent at x = a .  The equation of the tangent line, that we'll call L ( x ) for this discussion, is,

                            L ( x ) = f ( a ) + f ′ ( a ) ( x - a )

 Take a look at the given graph of a function & its tangent line.

2178_l hospital limit.png

From the graph we can illustrates that near x = a the tangent line & the function have closely the similar graph.  On instance we will utilizes the tangent line, L ( x ) , as an approximation to the function, f ( x ) , near x = a .  In these cases we call the tangent line the linear approximation to the function at x = a .


Related Discussions:- Linear approximations

Pythagorean theorem, How do you find the perimeter of an irregular shape us...

How do you find the perimeter of an irregular shape using Pythagorean theorem?

Calculate values of kinetics , A reaction following first-order kinetics wa...

A reaction following first-order kinetics was studied by determining the reactant concentrations at equal time intervals. Each successive pair of concentrations, [A] o and [A] 1

Economics, A mortgage lender seeks to maximize the expected value of its po...

A mortgage lender seeks to maximize the expected value of its portfolio. The portfolio, of course, is the sum of all of the mortgages in it, so no generality is lost by examining t

Fundamental theorem of integral facts , Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Pa...

Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Part II  Assume f(x) is a continuous function on [a,b] and also assume that F(x) is any anti- derivative for f(x). Hence, a ∫ b f(x) dx =

Determine how much more time it will take to reach the base, A man on a top...

A man on a top of a tower observes a truck at an angle of depression α where tanα = 1/√5 and sees that it is moving  towards the base of the tower. Ten minutes later, the angle of

Determine the area of the inner loop - polar coordinates, Determine or find...

Determine or find out the area of the inner loop of r = 2 + 4 cosθ. Solution We can graphed this function back while we first started looking at polar coordinates.  For thi

Estimate the area of this field in terms of x and y, Jonestown High School...

Jonestown High School has a soccer field whose dimensions can be expressed as 7y 2 and 3xy. What is the area of this field in terms of x and y? Since the area of the soccer ?e

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd