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Calc 3 Lecture Notes Section 12.4 1 of 7

The document provides lecture notes on tangent planes and linear approximations in multivariable calculus. It defines the tangent plane to a surface as analogous to the tangent line to a curve. It then presents the key steps to compute the equation of the tangent plane to a surface z=f(x,y) at a given point (a,b,f(a,b)). It also defines differentials, increments, and the total differential, and shows how to use a linear approximation to estimate changes near a given point on a multivariable function.

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74 views7 pages

Calc 3 Lecture Notes Section 12.4 1 of 7

The document provides lecture notes on tangent planes and linear approximations in multivariable calculus. It defines the tangent plane to a surface as analogous to the tangent line to a curve. It then presents the key steps to compute the equation of the tangent plane to a surface z=f(x,y) at a given point (a,b,f(a,b)). It also defines differentials, increments, and the total differential, and shows how to use a linear approximation to estimate changes near a given point on a multivariable function.

Uploaded by

Nicholas Mutua
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Calc 3 Lecture Notes

Section 12.4

Page 1 of 7

Section 12.4: Tangent Planes and Linear Approximations Big idea: The object tangent to a 2D surface embedded in three dimensions is a plane. The equation of the tangent plane is similar in form to the equation of a tangent line to a curve in two dimensions. Big skill: You should be able to compute the tangent plane to a curve and the total differential of a function. Recall that in two dimensions, the equation for the tangent line to a curve described by y = f(x) at x = a is given by: y = f(a) + f (a)(x a).

Now lets use tangent lines to find the tangent plane to the surface z = 4 x 2 y 2 at (a, b, f(a, b)) = (1, 1, 2): 1. Find equations of tangent lines in the planes x = 1 and y = 1.

Calc 3 Lecture Notes

Section 12.4

Page 2 of 7

2. Find vectors parallel to the tangent lines; use P1P = ta

3. Take cross product to get a vector normal to the plane.

4. Get eqn. of plane from nP1P = 0.

Calc 3 Lecture Notes

Section 12.4

Page 3 of 7

Now lets do this calculation for any surface z = f ( x, y ) : at the point (a, b, f(a, b)) 1. Find equations of tangent lines in the planes x = a and y = b.

2. Find vectors parallel to the tangent lines; use P1P = ta

3. Take cross product to get a vector normal to the plane.

4. Get eqn. of plane from nP1P = 0.

Theorem 4.1: Equation of a Plane Tangent to a Surface Suppose that f(x, y) has continuous first partial derivatives at (a, b). A normal vector to the tangent plane at z = f(x, y) at (a, b) is then <fx(a, b), fy(a, b), -1>. Further, an equation of the tangent plane is given by: z = f(a, b) + fx(a, b)(x a) + fy(a, b) (y b). Also, the equation of the normal line through the point (a, b, f(a, b)) is given by: x = a + fx(a, b)t, y = b + fy(a, b)t, z = f(a, b) t.

Calc 3 Lecture Notes

Section 12.4

Page 4 of 7

Practice: 1. Find the equation of the tangent plane and normal line to the surface z = x 2 y 2 +1 for { (x, y) } = {(1, 1), (1, 0), (0, 1), (0, 0)}

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

Notice: What is the equation of the tangent plane at extrema?

Calc 3 Lecture Notes

Section 12.4

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Just as the tangent line is a linear approximation for a curve near the tangent point, the tangent plane is a linear approximation for a surface near the tangent point. Thus, the linear approximation L(x, y) to a function f(x, y) at the point (a, b) is: L(x, y) = f(a, b) + fx(a, b)(x a) + fy(a, b) (y b). Increments and Differentials Review of the differential from functions of one variable: dy Recall that the expression is not a ratio, but instead represents the derivative of y with respect dx to x. So, we introduce two new variables dx and dy with the property that if their ratio exists, then it will be equal to the derivative. Defintion: The Differential of a Univariate Function Let y = f(x) be a differentiable function. The differential dx is an independent variable. The differential dy is: dy = f (x)dx. Geometrically, dy is the vertical change (shown as L in the image below) along the tangent line of a curve when x = a changes by an amount dx = x. The quantity y = f(a + dx) f(a) is called the increment in y. In the limit x 0, y dy. The error 0 as x 0 as well.

Defining differentials allows us to re-write a derivative in calculus in much the same way we can re-write a slope in algebra: dy y = f ( x ) dy = f ( x ) dx m= y = mx dx x Every differentiation formula in calculus has a corresponding form using differentials: d ( u + v ) du dv = + d ( u + v ) = du + dv dx dx dx d ( uv ) du dv = v+u d ( uv ) = vdu + udv dx dx dx

Calc 3 Lecture Notes

Section 12.4

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Now lets expand this notion into three dimensions. Well begin with the increment z and the error between the increment and the linear approximation as we move away from the point (a, b, f(a, b)), which will lead us to the total differential. The quantity z = f(a + x, b + y) f(a, b) is called the increment in z. Theorem 4.2: Increment for a Function of Two Variables in Terms of Partial Derivatives Suppose that z = f(x, y) is defined on the rectangular region R = {(x, y) | x0 < x < x1 and y0 < y < y1} and fx and fy are defined on R and are continuous at (a, b) R. Then for (a + x, b + y) R, z = fx(a, b)x + fy(a, b)y + 1x + 2y, where 1 and 2 are functions of x and y that both tend to zero as x and y tend to zero. Picture:

Definition 4.1: Differentiability of a Function of Two Variables Let z = f(x, y). We say that z is differentiable at (a, b) if we can write z = fx(a, b)x + fy(a, b)y + 1x + 2y, where 1 and 2 are functions of both x and y and 1 and 2 0 as (x, y) 0. We say that f is differentiable on a region R R2 whenever f is differentiable at every point in R. DEFINITION: Total Differential of a Function of Two Variables dz = f x ( x, y ) dx + f y ( x, y ) dy Practice: 3. Write the increment for the function z = f(x, y) = 5x2 3xy in the form of theorem 4.2, then compute its total differential.

Calc 3 Lecture Notes

Section 12.4

Page 7 of 7

Definition 4.2: Linear Approximation for a Function of Three Variables The linear approximation to f ( x, y, z ) at the point ( a, b, c ) is given by:

L ( x , y , z ) = f ( a , b, c ) + f x ( a , b , c ) ( x a ) + f y ( a , b , c ) ( y b ) + f z ( a , b , c ) ( z c )

Practice: 4. Suppose that the sag S in a beam of length L, width w, and height h is given by L4 S ( L, w, h ) = 0.0004 3 , and that the length is 36 1, the width is 2 0.4, and the height wh is 6 0.8. Use a linear approximation to estimate the range in sag of the beam.

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