How do I find the equation of the tangent of a curve at a specific point.

The gradient is the rate of change at a specific point on the curve. Since the tangent is a straight line that touches the curve only once at a specific point, the gradient of the curve and the tangent will be the same at that point. We can find the equation of the tangent at any point on a curve by following the steps below: 1: Differentiating the equation of the curve i.e. finding d(f(x))/dx. 2: Substituting the x value of the point in the differentiated equation; we will get the gradient (m) of the curve at that point. 3: We then use the equation of a straight line: y-y1=m(x-x1) where y1 and x1 are the coordinates of the point and m is the gradient found in step 2.

Answered by Aref S. Maths tutor

3019 Views

See similar Maths A Level tutors

Related Maths A Level answers

All answers ▸

how can differentiate using the product and chain rule? e.g y=(4x+1)^3(sin2x), find dy/dx.


Find the equation of the tangent to the curve y=3x^3+x^2+5 at the point (1,9)


Using Discriminants to Find the Number of Roots of a Quadratic Curve


Core 3: Find all the solutions of 2cos(2x) = 1-2sin(x) in the interval 0<x<360


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences