Exercise · ZW-TANGENT-PLANE-009 · ★★★ Advanced

A tangent plane to \(z=x^2+y^2\) is parallel to the plane \(z=4x-2y+7\). What is the point of tangency \((a,b)\)?

Choose one option.

Show answer
  • C. \((2,-1)\)

Explanation

Parallel planes have the same slopes: \(f_x=2a=4\) and \(f_y=2b=-2\), so \((a,b)=(2,-1)\).

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Review the concept: Tangent plane

The tangent plane to the graph of a function \(f(x,y)\) at the point \((a,b,f(a,b))\) is the plane that best approximates the surface near that point and contains the tangent lines of its two coordinate sections.

\[z=f(a,b)+f_x(a,b)(x-a)+f_y(a,b)(y-b)\]

More practice problems: tangent plane

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