Scribd
Upload
77 views3 pages

What Are Tangent Planes & Normal Lines?

1. This section discusses finding the equation of tangent planes and normal lines to surfaces. It provides the process to determine the tangent line to the curve of intersection of two surfaces. 2. To find the equation of the tangent plane and normal line at a point (x0, y0, z0) on a surface z = f(x, y), one takes the gradient of the function ∇F(x0, y0, z0), which is normal to the surface. 3. The equation of the tangent plane is given by the dot product of the gradient and the vector from the point to the plane. The normal line has equations giving x, y, z in terms of a

Uploaded by

Soumyadeep Maity
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
77 views3 pages

What Are Tangent Planes & Normal Lines?

1. This section discusses finding the equation of tangent planes and normal lines to surfaces. It provides the process to determine the tangent line to the curve of intersection of two surfaces. 2. To find the equation of the tangent plane and normal line at a point (x0, y0, z0) on a surface z = f(x, y), one takes the gradient of the function ∇F(x0, y0, z0), which is normal to the surface. 3. The equation of the tangent plane is given by the dot product of the gradient and the vector from the point to the plane. The normal line has equations giving x, y, z in terms of a

Uploaded by

Soumyadeep Maity
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Section 14.

7 Tangent Planes and Normal Vectors

14.71
Learning outcomes

After completing this section, you will inshaAllah be able to

1. find equation of tangent plane and normal line to a surface 2. determine tangent line to the curve of intersection of two surfaces

What are tangent planes & normal lines?

See class explanation

14.7 2
Equation of tangent plane & normal line to a surface Given a surface z = f ( x, y ) , we can write it as F ( x, y, z ) = c . i.e. we can think of the surface z = f ( x, y ) as a level surface

See section 14.6

F ( x, y, z ) = c of a function of three variables.


Hence, F ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) will be normal to the surface F ( x, y, z ) = c or

z = f ( x, y ) at ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) .

Given the surface F ( x, y, z ) = c .


The vector F ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) is normal to surface at ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) . The equation of the tangent plane at ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) is

What do we need for equation of plane and equation of line

Fx ( x0 , y0 , z0 )( x x0 ) + Fy ( x0 , y0 , z0 )( y y0 ) + Fz ( x0 , y0 , z0 )( z z0 ) = 0
The equation of the normal line at ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) is

x = x0 + Fx ( x0 , y0 , z0 )t , y = y0 + Fy ( x0 , y0 , z0 )t , z = z0 + Fz ( x0 , y0 , z0 )t

Example 14.7.1

Find the equation of tangent plane and normal line to the surface x = y 2 + z 2 2 at (1,1,0) .

Solution

Done in class

Note: to write Eq. in form F ( x, y, z ) = c

Example 14.7.2

Show that the equation of tangent plane to the ellipsoid


x2 y 2 z 2 + + = 1 at ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) can be written in the form a 2 b2 c2

x0 x y0 y z0 z + 2 + 2 = 1. a2 b c
Solution

Done in class

Example 14.7.3

Find the point on the surface z = 3x y at which the tangent


2 2

14.73

plane is parallel to the plane 6 x + 4 y z = 5 .


Solution

Done in class

Using gradient to find tangent lines to curves of intersection of two surfaces

Let F ( x, y, z ) = 0 , G ( x, y, z ) = 0 be two intersecting surfaces & ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) be a point on the curve of intersection. Then both F ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) and G ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) are normal to the curve of intersection.
G This implies v = F G is parallel to the

tangent line to the curve of intersection. Hence, we can write equation of the tangent line to the curve of intersection.

Example 14.7.4

Find the equation of tangent line to the curve of intersection of z = x 2 + y 2 and x 2 + 4 y 2 + z 2 = 9 at (1,1, 2) .

Solution

Done in class

Do Qs. 1-30 End of Section 14.7

You might also like