How do you find the slope and equation of the tangent line to the curve y=9-2x^2 at the point (2,1)?

1 Answer
Aug 31, 2015

y = - 8x + 17

Explanation:

Given -

y = 9 - 2x^2

Its first derivative gives the slope of the curve st any given point.

dy/dx = - 4x

The tangent passes through the point (2, 1)

At x = 2 ; the slope of the given curve is

m = -4 * (2) = -8

Slope of the tangent is the same as slope of the curve at point (2,1)

Equation of the line -

y - y_1 = m (x - x_1)

y - 1 = - 8 (x - 2)

y -1 = - 8x +16

y = - 8x + 17

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