- #1
TyroneTheDino
- 46
- 1
Homework Statement
Find the distance between the origin and the line tangent to ##x^\frac{2}{3}+y^{\frac{2}{3}}=a^{\frac{2}{3}}## at the point P(x,y)
Homework Equations
[/B]
Distance= ##\frac{\left |a_{0}+b_{0}+c \right |}{\sqrt{a^{2}+b^{2}}}##
The Attempt at a Solution
To begin I find the derivative of the original equation. I derive implicitly to find the line tangent to the original curve, and think this is where I begin to go wrong.
I get ##\frac{dy}{dx}=\frac{\sqrt[3]{y}}{\sqrt[3]{x}}##, but something tells me that if I want to find a linear equation for the tangent to the curve. I don't want to define the slope this way.
##\frac{2}{3}x^{\frac{-1}{3}}+\frac{2}{3}y^{\frac{-1}{3}}\left (\frac{dy}{dx} \right )=0## Is what I get before I define what dy/dx is. Is it okay if I just plug dy/dx into this equation. That would give me...
##\frac{2}{3}x^{\frac{-1}{3}}+\frac{2}{3}y^{\frac{-1}{3}}\left( \frac{\sqrt[3]{y}}{\sqrt[3]{x}} \right )=0##
I am not sure if this is valid, but either way after finding the derivative. I am not sure how to evaluate it to get the slope to define the tangent line. I know I am suppose to end up with a y=mx+b equation, I'm not sure how to devise it though.