Verify implicit derivative and find tangent line features
A multi-part free-response question that asks the student to show/verify a given dy/dx formula via implicit differentiation and then use it to find tangent line equations, horizontal/vertical tangent points, or evaluate the derivative at a specific point.
Consider the curve defined by $2y^3 + 6x^2y - 12x^2 + 6y = 1$. (a) Show that $\dfrac{dy}{dx} = \dfrac{4x - 2xy}{x^2 + y^2 + 1}$. (b) Write an equation of each horizontal tangent line to the curve. (c) The line through the origin with slope $-1$ is tangent to the curve at point $P$. Find the $x$- and $y$-coordinates of point $P$.
6. Consider the curve defined by $2 y ^ { 3 } + 6 x ^ { 2 } y - 12 x ^ { 2 } + 6 y = 1$. (a) Show that $\frac { d y } { d x } = \frac { 4 x - 2 x y } { x ^ { 2 } + y ^ { 2 } + 1 }$. (b) Write an equation of each horizontal tangent line to the curve. (c) The line through the origin with slope - 1 is tangent to the curve at point $P$. Find the $x$ - and $y$-coordinates of point $P$.
Consider the curve given by $x y ^ { 2 } - x ^ { 3 } y = 6$. (a) Show that $\frac { d y } { d x } = \frac { 3 x ^ { 2 } y - y ^ { 2 } } { 2 x y - x ^ { 3 } }$. (b) Find all points on the curve whose $x$-coordinate is 1 , and write an equation for the tangent line at each of these points. (c) Find the $x$-coordinate of each point on the curve where the tangent line is vertical.
Consider the curve given by $y ^ { 2 } = 2 + x y$. (a) Show that $\frac { d y } { d x } = \frac { y } { 2 y - x }$. (b) Find all points $( x , y )$ on the curve where the line tangent to the curve has slope $\frac { 1 } { 2 }$. (c) Show that there are no points $( x , y )$ on the curve where the line tangent to the curve is horizontal. (d) Let $x$ and $y$ be functions of time $t$ that are related by the equation $y ^ { 2 } = 2 + x y$. At time $t = 5$, the value of $y$ is 3 and $\frac { d y } { d t } = 6$. Find the value of $\frac { d x } { d t }$ at time $t = 5$.
Consider the curve given by $y^2 = 2 + xy$. (a) Show that $\dfrac{dy}{dx} = \dfrac{y}{2y - x}$. (b) Find all points $(x, y)$ on the curve where the line tangent to the curve has slope $\dfrac{1}{2}$. (c) Show that there are no points $(x, y)$ on the curve where the line tangent to the curve is horizontal. (d) Let $x$ and $y$ be functions of time $t$ that are related by the equation $y^2 = 2 + xy$. At time $t = 5$, the value of $y$ is 3 and $\dfrac{dy}{dt} = 6$. Find the value of $\dfrac{dx}{dt}$ at time $t = 5$.
Consider the closed curve in the $x y$-plane given by $x ^ { 2 } + 2 x + y ^ { 4 } + 4 y = 5$. (a) Show that $\frac { d y } { d x } = \frac { - ( x + 1 ) } { 2 \left( y ^ { 3 } + 1 \right) }$. (b) Write an equation for the line tangent to the curve at the point $( - 2,1 )$. (c) Find the coordinates of the two points on the curve where the line tangent to the curve is vertical. (d) Is it possible for this curve to have a horizontal tangent at points where it intersects the $x$-axis? Explain your reasoning.
Consider the curve given by the equation $y^3 - xy = 2$. It can be shown that $\dfrac{dy}{dx} = \dfrac{y}{3y^2 - x}$. (a) Write an equation for the line tangent to the curve at the point $(-1, 1)$. (b) Find the coordinates of all points on the curve at which the line tangent to the curve at that point is vertical. (c) Evaluate $\dfrac{d^2y}{dx^2}$ at the point on the curve where $x = -1$ and $y = 1$.
Consider the function $y = f(x)$ whose curve is given by the equation $2y^{2} - 6 = y\sin x$ for $y > 0$. (a) Show that $\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{y\cos x}{4y - \sin x}$. (b) Write an equation for the line tangent to the curve at the point $(0, \sqrt{3})$. (c) For $0 \leq x \leq \pi$ and $y > 0$, find the coordinates of the point where the line tangent to the curve is horizontal. (d) Determine whether $f$ has a relative minimum, a relative maximum, or neither at the point found in part (c). Justify your answer.
Consider the curve given by the equation $6xy = 2 + y^{3}$. (a) Show that $\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{2y}{y^{2} - 2x}$. (b) Find the coordinates of a point on the curve at which the line tangent to the curve is horizontal, or explain why no such point exists. (c) Find the coordinates of a point on the curve at which the line tangent to the curve is vertical, or explain why no such point exists. (d) A particle is moving along the curve. At the instant when the particle is at the point $\left(\frac{1}{2}, -2\right)$, its horizontal position is increasing at a rate of $\frac{dx}{dt} = \frac{2}{3}$ unit per second. What is the value of $\frac{dy}{dt}$, the rate of change of the particle's vertical position, at that instant?
Consider the curve defined by the equation $x^2 + 3y + 2y^2 = 48$. It can be shown that $\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{-2x}{3 + 4y}$. (a) There is a point on the curve near $(2, 4)$ with $x$-coordinate 3. Use the line tangent to the curve at $(2, 4)$ to approximate the $y$-coordinate of this point. (b) Is the horizontal line $y = 1$ tangent to the curve? Give a reason for your answer. (c) The curve intersects the positive $x$-axis at the point $(\sqrt{48}, 0)$. Is the line tangent to the curve at this point vertical? Give a reason for your answer. (d) For time $t \geq 0$, a particle is moving along another curve defined by the equation $y^3 + 2xy = 24$. At the instant the particle is at the point $(4, 2)$, the $y$-coordinate of the particle's position is decreasing at a rate of 2 units per second. At that instant, what is the rate of change of the $x$-coordinate of the particle's position with respect to time?
Consider the curve $G$ defined by the equation $y ^ { 3 } - y ^ { 2 } - y + \frac { 1 } { 4 } x ^ { 2 } = 0$. A. Show that $\frac { d y } { d x } = \frac { - x } { 2 \left( 3 y ^ { 2 } - 2 y - 1 \right) }$. B. There is a point $P$ on the curve $G$ near $( 2 , - 1 )$ with $x$-coordinate 1.6. Use the line tangent to the curve at $( 2 , - 1 )$ to approximate the $y$-coordinate of point $P$. C. For $x > 0$ and $y > 0$, there is a point $S$ on the curve $G$ at which the line tangent to the curve at that point is vertical. Find the $y$-coordinate of point $S$. Show the work that leads to your answer. D. A particle moves along the curve $H$ defined by the equation $2 x y + \ln y = 8$. At the instant when the particle is at the point $( 4,1 ) , \frac { d x } { d t } = 3$. Find $\frac { d y } { d t }$ at that instant. Show the work that leads to your answer.
5. Consider the curve given by $x y ^ { 2 } - x ^ { 3 } y = 6$. (a) Show that $\frac { d y } { d x } = \frac { 3 x ^ { 2 } y - y ^ { 2 } } { 2 x y - x ^ { 3 } }$. (b) Find all points on the curve whose $x$-coordinate is 1 , and write an equation for the tangent line at each of these points. (c) Find the $x$-coordinate of each point on the curve where the tangent line is vertical.