Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first video
Multiple Choice
What is the slope of the tangent line to the curve at the point ?
A
B
C
D
Verified step by step guidance
1
Step 1: Recognize that the problem involves finding the slope of the tangent line to the curve x^2 + y^2 = 2 at the point (1, 1). To do this, we need to use implicit differentiation since the equation involves both x and y.
Step 2: Differentiate both sides of the equation x^2 + y^2 = 2 with respect to x. Remember that y is a function of x, so when differentiating y^2, apply the chain rule. The derivative of x^2 is 2x, and the derivative of y^2 is 2y * (dy/dx). The result is: .
Step 3: Solve for dy/dx, which represents the slope of the tangent line. Rearrange the equation to isolate dy/dx: .
Step 4: Substitute the given point (1, 1) into the expression for dy/dx. At this point, x = 1 and y = 1, so substitute these values into .
Step 5: Simplify the expression after substitution to determine the slope of the tangent line. The slope is .