Scribd
Upload
69 views1 page

The Tangent Vector To A Curve

This document defines and discusses the tangent vector to a space curve. The tangent vector at a point P0 on a curve C parametrized by r(t) is defined as the limit of the vector from P0 to nearby points P as this distance approaches 0. Geometrically, the tangent vector r'(t0) at P0 is the direction of the tangent line to the curve C at P0. The tangent line is the line through P0 in the direction of r'(t0).

Uploaded by

Oey Mirabueno
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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
69 views1 page

The Tangent Vector To A Curve

This document defines and discusses the tangent vector to a space curve. The tangent vector at a point P0 on a curve C parametrized by r(t) is defined as the limit of the vector from P0 to nearby points P as this distance approaches 0. Geometrically, the tangent vector r'(t0) at P0 is the direction of the tangent line to the curve C at P0. The tangent line is the line through P0 in the direction of r'(t0).

Uploaded by

Oey Mirabueno
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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/ 1

The Tangent Vector to a Curve

Let C be a space curve parametrized by the differentiable vector-valued function


r(t). At the point P0 (= r(t0 )) of C, we have the derivative (or velocity) vector
−−→
0 r(t0 +h) − r(t0 ) P0 P
v(t0 ) = r (t0 ) = lim = lim , (1)
h→0 h h→0 h

where we write P for the point r(t0 +h) on C. We give a direct geometric interpreta-
tion of this vector, assuming it is not zero. It follows from equation (1) that for small
−−→
h 6= 0, we have P 6= P0 , so that P0 P is a nonzero vector.
−−→
Theorem 2 Assume that r0 (t0 ) 6= 0. Let θ(h) be the angle between the vectors P0 P
and r0 (t0 ) (which is defined for sufficiently small h 6= 0). Then:
(a) limh→0+ θ(h) = 0;
−−→
(b) limh→0− θ(h) = π; or equivalently, the angle between P0 P and −r0 (t0 ) tends to
0 as h → 0−.
Proof The standard angle formula gives
−−→ 0
P0 P • r (t0 ) [r(t0 +h) − r(t0 )] • r0 (t0 )
cos θ(h) = −−→ =
P0 P kr0 (t0 )k kr(t0 +h) − r(t0 )kkr0 (t0 )k

We cannot take the limit directly, because we get 0/0. However, if we first divide
numerator and denominator by h and assume h > 0, we can apply equation (1)
directly (using the continuity of norms and dot products) to get

r(t0 +h) − r(t0 ) 0


• r (t0 )
h r0 (t0 ) • r0 (t0 )
cos θ(h) = −−→ =1 (3)
r(t0 +h) − r(t0 ) 0
kr0 (t0 )kkr0 (t0 )k
kr (t0 )k
h

as h → 0+. Finally, we apply the continuous function cos−1 to deduce that


θ(h) = cos−1 (cos θ(h)) −−→ cos−1 (1) = 0 as h → 0+,
as required.
If h < 0, equation (3) is off by a sign, and we get θ → cos−1 (−1) = π instead.
Geometrically, the vector r0 (t0 ) is tangent to the curve C at P0 . This leads to the
following definition.
Definition 4 The tangent line to C at P0 is the line through P0 in the direction of
the vector r0 (t0 ).
Thus its parametric equation (with parameter u) is (see (13.3.2))
R(u) = r(t0 ) + ur0 (t0 ). (5)

110.202 Calculus III JMB File: curvtgt, Revision C; 11 Feb 2000; Page 1

You might also like